I'm sure that the original production of THE APPLE TREE predated EVITA by several years. An alternate (Carman Alvarez) filled in for Barbara harris for the matinees.
Even earlier, Elaine Stritch was the matinee Martha in the original WHO's AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
And I remember seeing Derin Altay I think her name was and really enjoyed her
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES---
"THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS
"There were stories she would walk into Joe Allen's (and) proclaim 'I AM ARGENTINA'!"
This is the kind of thing that sounds entirely plausible, but also entirely like she was joking. She was playing the "First Lady of Argentina," after all! Someone overheard it who didn't know her, they report she's a monstrous diva, and that's how such stories get perpetuated.
Not that I'm particularly interested in defending her...but this sounds pretty understandable.
It was Terry Klausner - I saw her on a Wed matinee. I wasn't aware of the matinee alternate, so I went back the next week to see Patti. I actually liked Terry so much, I specifically went to see Sophisticated Ladies just to see her.
It's quite a long time ago, but I don't remember why it had to be such a warzone. The show had premiered in London and was well run-in by the time it transferred. There were not huge changes.
And on the subject of Evas, Elaine Paige was dynamite. New York missed out not getting her.
Terri Klausner was by far the better Eva -- she not only had a better voice than LuPone, she was a highly trained dancer so the production numbers were all spot on. I saw LuPone later and just didn't have the same experience. Klausner had real electricity and could do far more with her vocal phrasing. LuPone was, as I recall, quite threatened. Smart of Klausner to insist on playing six performances in the chorus -- that only added dimension to her performance.