Rachel Zegler overwhelmed by reaction to Evita balcony scene

Rachel Zegler has described the response to her Evita balcony scene as "overwhelming and really moving".

The actress is currently starring as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd's West End production of Evita, which is playing at the London Palladium for a limited 12-week run.

In an interview with ELLE, Rachel discussed the audience's reaction when she leaves the stage and heads to the theatre's balcony to perform the musical's most beloved song, Don't Cry For Me Argentina, to the public outside.

"It's brilliant," the actress said of the scene. "The second Jamie said that's what he was trying to get permission from Westminster Council to do, I said, 'We need to do anything to make that possibility real.'"

She continued, "But, as simple as it may seem, it's a huge production as there (is) a lot of technology and hard work involved to show the theatre inside the Palladium."

While Rachel sings to the public from the balcony, the audience inside watches the performance via a livestream.

The West Side Story star then noted that, every night, the audience applauds when they see how many people are waiting outside the venue, as it's "such a ridiculously impressive thing to pull off".

"When we first performed it, it was just me in a robe and my wig to figure out the lighting and sound for the show," the 24-year-old recalled. "The odd person would stop and take a picture, but the next day, it was 100 people, then 200 and it would double in size."

She added, "It's overwhelming but really moving."

Evita opened for previews on 14 June and is set to conclude on 6 September.