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It was the most talked about theatre scene of the year: Rachel Zegler performing Don’t Cry for Me Argentina from the balcony at the London Palladium to crowds gathered on the street below. At the Olivier awards on Sunday night, Zegler delivered the song from Evita again – this time on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall – and took home the award for best actress in a musical.

Host Nick Mohammed said that Zegler had become “a new landmark for London sightseers” during Evita’s run last summer. “People who hadn’t bought a ticket could effectively watch it live for free whereas everyone inside had to pay to watch it on a giant screen,” he explained, jokingly calling it “a business model that I’m sure could really catch on”.

Zegler described Evita’s director, Jamie Lloyd, as a “genius” for staging the scene in such a way and giving “a piece of theatre, just in the street” to young people who may not be able to afford West End ticket prices. “It’s so beautiful that Jamie Lloyd made such an accessible moment of theatre for people to walk by and witness something really, really cool,” she said. Later, she added that she felt lucky to have been a part of the show and that she would like “every person from every different walk of life” to be able to experience art in such a fashion. She praised Londoners for making her feel welcome and described those who had waited outside to watch the balcony scene as being “so giving with their energy and love”.

The actor, whose musical films include West Side Story and Snow White, said that she would sing the high notes from another of Evita’s songs, A New Argentina, as part of her routine before going on stage. At the awards, she praised Elaine Paige who originated the role of Eva Perón, first lady of Argentina, in the West End in 1978. Paige received the special award for her career in theatre and said that Zegler’s victory was the “proof of the pudding” for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s enduring musical.

A popular winner, Zegler made a point of thanking Bella Brown, the alternate Eva Perón at the Palladium. Brown played the role of the Mistress in the musical but was also Zegler’s understudy and at one performance replaced the star mid-show. “I could not have done this without such a brilliant alternate,” Zegler said, hailing Brown’s work in both roles.

While acknowledging the difficulty of replicating the balcony scene, Zegler and Lloyd Webber have spoken of their hope that Evita will transfer to Broadway, like Lloyd’s revival of the composer’s Sunset Boulevard. That show, starring Nicole Scherzinger, won seven Olivier awards. Evita picked up two awards from five nominations, with choreographer Fabian Aloise also recognised. He praised the cast for how they performed his dance moves on a stage designed as a huge staircase. Evita was beaten to the prize for best musical revival by Into the Woods at the Bridge theatre.

Zegler, who has lived in London “on and off” for four years, returned to the Palladium for a solo concert shortly after Evita ended and then again, last month, for a production of the musical The Last Five Years co-starring Dear Evan Hansen’s Ben Platt. A live recording of that performance will be released next week.