rest of Springfield are saddened, but she reassures them by telling them that "[they] can still reach [her] via email ("Smart Girl Six Three", a parody of "Eva's Final Broadcast"). Just as Lisa arrives at her new school, Homer pulls up and refuses to let her attend, not wanting to deal with the extra driving time. Springfield Elementary is eventually able to restore music, art and gym by cancelling flu shots and selling loose cigarettes. As an endnote, the writers say that at the advice of their lawyers, they have absolutely no knowledge about a musical based on the life of Eva Perón. Production The idea for the episode was devised by Al Jean, who was motivated by his love of theater. He regarded Evita as a great political musical, and stated that "[he] just always thought that it was one of the most brilliant things ever, and to have Lisa do that was the genesis of this episode." Although Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa, had originally assumed that the central conceit of the episode was intended as a political satire, Al Jean clarified in the commentary track that he had no political motivation and just wanted to "get Lisa singing". Jean also credits himself with the idea of inviting Michael Moore to make a guest appearance. He cites his love of Roger & Me (which he says "really captured the whole way [he] felt growing up [in Detroit]") as a contributing factor, but ultimately the deciding factor was hearing Moore's acceptance speech for Best Documentary Feature during the 75th Academy Awards, during which he publicly denounced George W. Bush. Jean notes that “the staff is full of fans”, so the idea was met with near-unanimous enthusiasm. Moore quickly accepted the offer without even knowing what his role in the episode was going to be, stating that not only had he been watching The Simpsons since its conception as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, he had been a fan of Matt Groening's work since the early 80s, and used to run Groening's Life in Hell comic strips in an alternative newspaper that he operated from Flint, Michigan. He appreciated that the episode focused on the elimination of art programs in public schools, and enjoyed being called a "professional buttinski" by Kent Brockman. The musical numbers were composed by Alf Clausen, the show's primary composer from