Rachel Zegler Won the Oliviers

Argentina should not waste its tears crying for Rachel Zegler. She just had the night of her life at London’s Olivier Awards, winning Best Actress in a Musical at Sunday’s ceremony for her role as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s revival of Evita. “Thank you so much to the Oliviers for this tremendous honor, and thank you so much to the city of London for making me feel so welcome here,” she said in her acceptance speech. “I never could have imagined it.” Zegler’s West End performance sent shock waves internationally through the theater system, specifically for her nightly performance of “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” which Lloyd directed her to do on the theater’s public balcony to passersby while livestreaming the song into the theater. “It was the honor of a lifetime singing to the people on Argyll Street eight times a week,” she said. “I can’t believe I got so lucky as to sing in front of thousands of you.”

Earlier in the night, Zegler got the chance to perform for even more people. Though her production has been closed for months now, she took the stage to perform “Argentina” in a glittering gold gown. Alone onstage, she started small but grew in power as the musical-theater aria continued. Her voice was crystal clear. The performance felt like a glorious end to her wildly successful London run as the room filled with a standing ovation. When is Broadway? Broadway, please! 

Both Zegler’s acceptance speech and performance can be found in the full Oliviers broadcast below.