A HOLLYWOOD star mysteriously pulled out halfway through her hit West End musical last night.
Rachel Zegler, 24, has received rave reviews as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd's Evita at the London Palladium.
Last night she performed the first Act before being replaced by Bella Brown for the second.
No explanation has been given for the switch, but Bella delivered a powerhouse performance that left the audience thankful they got to witness both women in the lead role.
Impressively, Bella played the role of Mistress in the first Act before effortlessly switching into heroine Eva.
She shared a selection of compliments from fans on Instagram last night and added a few comments of her own.
Alongside one, she wrote: "What a lucky audience getting to see both myself and MY ANGEL REG ZEG!!"
In another she shared a post that highlighted the various role swaps that took place yesterday, writing: "Today really showed just how important swings and covers are within this industry!! They are the pillars of the show!! A proud day to be at @officialevita."
Theatregoers weren't disappointed by the change.
One person wrote afterwards: "Okay so mid show switch, both rachel and bella brown were UNREAL."
Another said: "Bella was an absolute joy to watch the second act, completely erased any disappointment of not seeing rachel again. She has a huge career ahead of her."
A third shared: "It was amazing seeing Rachel tonight, but Bella Brown was SENSATIONAL. I'm actually glad we got to see her do the second act!"
The production nor Rachel has yet to comment.
The famous musical, originally brought to the stage by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, tells the story of inspirational Argentine Perón, who rose from a poverty-stricken childhood to become a political and philanthropic powerhouse.
She launched the country's first large scale female political party and spent six years as Argentina's First Lady prior to her death from cervical cancer.
Leading lady Zegler was recently spotted cosying up to her stage co-star Nathan Louis Fernand as they watched Sabrina Carpenter perform BST Hyde Park.
Nathan is part of the ensemble in the West End Show and has previously clocked up roles in The Lion King, Magic Mike and Hamilton, as well as performing as a backing dancer for KSI and EVE.
"Rachel and Nathan were with their Evita co-stars Bella Brown and Mia Mullarkey during Sabrina," an onlooker told The Sun.
"But they only had eyes for each other and seemed really close.
"When Sabrina was performing Rachel was leaning back into Nathan and he looked really happy with himself.
"Later on in the night she gave him a kiss on the cheek as he showed her something on her phone.
"They make a really lovely looking couple and it looked like they had a blast."
Rachel had been in a relationship with Hunger Games actor Josh Andrés Rivera, with the pair going official with their romance back in 2021.
But last year insiders said they had broken things off after three years, with Rachel editing some of her Instagram photos to remove Josh from the pictures.
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