I haven’t understudied in over 10 years, but as an understudy now I feel very strongly about giving the performance that Ricky was directed to give. That doesn’t mean I don’t put my own spin on it, because he and I are naturally very different. What it means is that I must be truthful to what has been directed by Michael Grandage, what [choreographer] Rob Ashford has staged, and how [music supervisor] Kristen Blodgette prefers to hear the role sung.

And what is lovely about the role of Che is that he is very independent. He weaves in and out of the story, he comments, he narrates, and he is the voice of the people and the conscience of Eva herself. This allows me quite a bit of freedom within my own staging without interfering with what others are doing.