How 'Evita' made Eva Peron a pop culture icon

This October 1950 photo shows President Juan Peron and wife Eva waving to crowds from the balcony of Casa Rosada, the office of the Argentinian president. In the musical "Evita," Eva sings "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" to the crowds from this balcony following her husband's presidential win. She reveals in song that she first wanted fame and glory but now only wants to serve her people.

"Evita" began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976 by British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. It was later reconceptualized as a musical, debuting in London's West End in 1978 and winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical. Following its Broadway run in 1979, it became the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.

Michelle Pfeiffer, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close were all considered to play Peron in Alan Parker's 1996 film musical. But he casted singer Madonna after receiving her heartfelt letter on why she'd be the best fit. Both Parker and Lloyd Webber insisted she attend vocal lessons. Madonna's diary entry on the filming of the iconic song says: "I felt her (Eva) enter my body like a heat missile."

The iconic opening scene of "The Sound of Music" where Maria (played by English actress Julie Andrews) sings the titular song against the breathtaking Austrian alps. Maria von Trapp wrote and published "The Trapp Family Singers" in 1949, which inspired the 1956 West German film "The Trapp Family," which then inspired the 1959 Broadway musical "The Sound of Music" and this 1965 film version.

This was the final collboration of legendary American musical duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. "The Sound of Music" premiered on Broadway nine months before Hammerstein's death. It is about a young, irrepressible governess with seven precocious children under her care, who falls for their widower father under the dark shadow of Nazi Germany's annexation of Austria.

And while the musical ends with Maria, Captain von Trapp and the seven children resolutely "climbing every mountain" out of Salzburg to avoid the Captain’s imminent drafting into the German Navy, in reality they took a train. This 2008 picture shows three of the real life von Trapp children — Johannes, Maria and Erika — posing outside their former home, Villa Trapp, in Salzburg, Austria.

Famously uttered by the inimitable Yul Bryner, whose casting as King Mongkut of Siam in both the 1951 musical and 1956 film versions of "The King and I" might not have passed muster today. Another Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, it tells the story of an English governess who is hired to teach English to the king's children. Sparks fly when both strong-willed parties clash on culture.

"The King and I" was inspired by the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who had spent several years as an English governess to the wives and children of the Siamese Royal Family. Historians have questioned many of Anna’s recollections, pointing to several striking irregularities that were found throughout Anna’s memoirs, including her own backstory and happenings at the royal court.

Featuring an international cast from over 20 nations, 1999's "Anna and the King" starred Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat as King Mongkut opposite Jodie Foster's Anna. The original story and earlier portrayals of King Mongkut as an "unkind and lecherous man" did not sit well with the royalty-revering Thais, and are therefore banned there. The film was shot in neighboring Malaysia instead.

Inspired by Steve Pateman, who saved his family's traditional shoe factory by branching out into footwear for drag queens, the musical "Kinky Boots" made its Broadway debut in 2013. Based on a similarly named 2005 British film, the musical was also a hit for promoting respect and acceptance for the trans and LGBTIQ communities. Pateman, who even modeled his kinky boots, is now a firefighter.

Originally opening to lukewarm response, "Kinky Boots" later earned 13 Tony Award nominations and won six, including Best Musical and Best Score for 80s popstar Cyndi Lauper in her first outing as a Broadway songwriter. In 2016, it won three Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical.

Having taken seven years to compose, Lin-Manuel Miranda's sung-and-rapped musical "Hamilton" features a cast of non-whites playing the roles of America's founding fathers. Miranda, who himself plays the titular role, said that he was inspired to write the multiple-award winning musical after reading the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

A line in the opening song of "Hamilton" goes: " ... the ten-dollar founding father without a father." Hamilton was the US' first Treasury Secretary and is one of three non-presidents to grace an American dollar note. In 2015, the Treasury Department had planned to replace his portrait with that of a woman but dropped the idea due to the widespread renewed interest in Hamilton after the musical.