Even though Antonio Banderas' Company opens in Málaga (and not in Madrid) next Wednesday, I've decided to post the trailer here since there are members on this message board who seem to be interested in this production:
Maybe we could retitle this thread and call it 'Musicals in Spain'.
Done! Sorry it took so long. If you need to attract the attention of a mod please tag one of us. We can’t get around all the threads!
So, to elaborate. No, I don’t speak Spanish but really it wasn’t necessary. I knew exactly what they were saying and the acting was fantastic. I heard our fellow member saying this was a replica of the Broadway production and therefore stale but I never saw the BW production so it wasn’t stale to me! I absolutely loved this, and it just demonstrated that you do not need disco dancing lighting rigs, or silly hand held cameras to produce a fantastic version of this show. This material stands up completely on its own and it didn’t run for 6000 performances for no reason My very non-MT loving spanish speaking friend loved it too. He is vision impaired, we sat in the front row (B on the map) and as it’s all played at the front he could see the actors. Paul’s tears broke my heart. The Teatro Calderon in Madrid is beautiful and I would highly recommend 👍🏻
So, to elaborate. No, I don’t speak Spanish but really it wasn’t necessary. I knew exactly what they were saying and the acting was fantastic. I heard our fellow member saying this was a replica of the Broadway production and therefore stale but I never saw the BW production so it wasn’t stale to me! I absolutely loved this, and it just demonstrated that you do not need disco dancing lighting rigs, or silly hand held cameras to produce a fantastic version of this show. This material stands up completely on its own and it didn’t run for 6000 performances for no reason My very non-MT loving spanish speaking friend loved it too. He is vision impaired, we sat in the front row (B on the map) and as it’s all played at the front he could see the actors. Paul’s tears broke my heart. The Teatro Calderon in Madrid is beautiful and I would highly recommend 👍🏻
It´s truly a terrific production. I´ve seen it twice already. The cast is sensational (props to the casting team for getting it perfect!). No elements have been reduced, cheapened, cut... yet the prices are still very much affordable (our sitdown Lion King that´s mostly the touring set and band is almost double the price). The Calderón is indeed beautiful and the sightlines are fantastic.
Last Edit: Feb 13, 2022 10:52:09 GMT by SuttonPeron
BurlyBeaR , I'm glad that you and your friend liked the Spanish production of A Chorus Line. Even though I didn't like the show as much as you and SuttonPeron, I do admit that Paul's monologue is intensely moving and that the actor I saw moved me to tears.
I hope that besides enjoying the show, you also had time to do sightseeing and have fun in Madrid.
And thank you for changing the title of the thread . I couldn't reply sooner because I've been through a rough patch recently.
Teatro de la Zarzuela will broadcast their new and modern production of El sobre verde live on their YouTube channel on 23 February at 11am (10am for those of you who are in the UK):
El sobre verde is a zarzuela/revista, i.e. a Spanish operetta/revue. And if you decide to watch this production, you'll be able to see Iñigo Etayo, Ana San Martín and other talented young actors who are members of the Proyecto Zarza and who usually appear in Spanish productions of musicals.
The production can also be seen at the Teatro de la Zarzuela from 23 to 26 February.
Srdan, thank you for reporting on Musicals in Spain, I have really enjoyed reading your articles. Considering the number of times I have visited Spain, I never thought too much about the theatre scene there. I guess because visits from this British tourist are more about outdoor activities!!
I do particularly recall seeing two theatres in Spain. One was the lovely theatre in Mahon and the modern looking arts centre in Santander. On my next visit, I will certainly look out for more and see what's on.
I know what you mean, hulmeman. People usually come to Spain because of its weather. To tell you the truth, I hate this eternal summer we have here, but I simply adore Madrid’s vibrant theatre scene.
Right now there’s a boom in musicals. Very soon we’ll have lots of new amazing productions:
Kinky Boots has left that dreadful Espacio Iberian’s Delicias and from April on will be playing at the Teatro Calderon.
During the LGBT+ Pride week, we’ll have the world premiere of El orgullo de quererte, a modern zarzuela about a gayling who comes to Madrid from a small town and strikes up friendships, falls madly in love, and blooms in this bustling and cosmopolitan city. I’m so excited about this show!
And in autumn we’ll have Matilda, School of Rock, In the Heights, Singin’ in the Rain, The Chorus (based on the 2004 French film Les choristes), The NeverEnding Story and many more.
By the way, this musical version of The NeverEnding Story has been written by Ivan Macias and Felix Amador, who also created the musical El medico, based on Noah Gordon’s The Physician. This is the overture of The NeverEnding Story:
There are always great operas, zarzuelas and concerts at the Teatro Real, the Teatro de la Zarzuela and Teatros del Canal.
And lots and lots of amazing plays at the innumerable theatres we have in Madrid. Spain really has many great and creative playwrights. If you’re into straight plays, I highly recommend plays by Alfredo Sanzol, Alberto Conejero and Juan Mayorga. They are contemporary dramatists whose plays are simply awesome.
In fact, one of my favourite plays is La ternura (Tenderness) by Alfredo Sanzol, which is a modern Shakespearean comedy about the battle of the sexes. It’s about a woman who decides to take her two daughters to a desert island because she loathes men. What she doesn’t know is that the island isn’t completely deserted because a man who despises women lives there with his two sons.
It’s one of the funniest plays I’ve ever watched and it’s incredible how Sanzol is able to allude to each and every one of Shakespeare’s comedies in this masterpiece.
Alberto Conejero’s plays are extremely beautiful and poignant. Watching them is like reading poetry.
And Mayorga’s plays are very thought-provoking. For instance, he wrote a play about, Harriet, Darwin’s tortoise, in which he shows how callous human beings have become and that if we want to survive in this dog-eat-dog world we need a shell and, sadly, learn to adapt; because only the fittest survive. The ending of the play is great: funny and scary at the same time.
There are many more fantastic contemporary Spanish playwrights and interesting plays and I could write about them for hours on end, but I really don’t want to bore anyone.
Anyway, thank you very much for your kind words, hulmeman.
This frivolous revue deals with a poor man who scoops the jackpot in the Spanish Christmas lottery and starts enjoying life until he wastes all his money and becomes poor again.
In case you decide to spend a few days in Madrid, I want you to know that you can watch two musicals ‘made in Spain’ at Espacio Ibercaja Delicias:
El médico (The Physician) based on the homonymous novel by Noah Gordon - until 24 April:
El tiempo entre costuras (The Seamstress, aka The Time in Between) based on María Dueñas’(s) novel of the same name - until 22 May:
You can also watch El guardaespaldas: El musical (The Bodyguard: The Musical) here from 29 April to 29 May:
And those of you who are also into straight plays can enjoy Erresuma Kingdom Reino, a play based on/inspired by the following Shakespeare’s history plays: Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI and Richard III, at Naves del Español from 12 March to 10 April. The last performance will be in Basque.
This production is directed by Calixto Bieito, the enfant terrible of the Spanish theatre; and Falstaff is played by José María Pou, one of the greatest Spanish actors.
By the way, Bieito’s production of Carmen at the Teatro Real was simply amazing and incredibly hot:
And we’ll have El golem, the new play by Juan Mayorga, at the Teatro María Guerrero from 25 February to 17 April:
From tomorrow to 10 April, you can watch En tierra extraña (In a Foreign Land) at the Teatro Marquina (Madrid).
It's a great play with songs about a fictional meeting between Federico García Lorca and the famous Spanish singer Concha Piquer in 1936. She warns Lorca that Spain is on the brink of civil war and that it is extremely dangerous for him to stay in Spain since he supports left-wing political parties and is gay; and she tries to persuade him to flee to South America with her. We all now that he decides to stay and is brutally murdered by fascists in Granada on 18 August 1936.
This play with songs is really wonderful and the story is very moving. The three actors (Diana Navarro, Alejandro Vera and Avelino Piedad) are simply amazing.
By the way, if you are interested in Lorca, I highly recommend his biography and Lorca y el mundo gay (Lorca and the Gay World) by Ian Gibson.
You can find more information about this show on its official website: En tierra extraña
LetsGo have just announced that they are bringing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie y la Fábrica de Chocolate) to Madrid next season. It will open at the Espacio Ibercaja Delicias in September.
Matilda also opens at the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá (I think it was previously announced for the Teatro Rialto) at the end of September, billed as a "new superproduction". So that's two Roald Dahl books-turned-musicals that will be playing in Madrid.
Post by musicalsmadrid on Mar 15, 2022 15:30:22 GMT
Ey all, I’m a fresh new contributor even though I’m following this board for some time now. With my first contribution I just want to give you updates about the promissing next musical season in Madrid….first of all I want to apologize if my English is not clear or fully understandable ….please take into account I’m not an English native speaker. A new production of Bridges of Madison County (Jason Robert Brown & Marsha Norman) has just been confirmed to premiere in October 2022 at Madrid. Considering this production, the number of musicals expected (either announced or confirmed) for next season in Madrid raises to 12 (still pending confirmation on which one Stage Productions will bring apart from The Lion King which will turn this number into 13). List below: - The Lion King: More than 10 years of success in Madrid (Lope de Vega Threater) - Matilda: premiere 30th Sept 2022 (Nuevo Alcalá Threater) - Mamma Mia: A non replica version will premiere 7th October (Rialto Threater) - Bridges of Madison County: premiere in October 2022 (EDP Gran Via Threater) - Singing in the Rain: premiere 30th September (Nuevo Apolo Threater) - The Neverending Story: Original musical with songs composed by Spanish songwriter Iván Macías (potentially Calderón Threater, to be confirmed) - The Chorus: Musical based on French film Les Choristes, will premiere 16th November (La Latina Threater) - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: as it has been already pointed out in this thread (Espacio Ibercaja Delicias) - School of Rock: probably it will premiere at Espacio Ibercaja Delicias. Recently Andrew Lloyd Weber has visited the premise in Madrid since is not a proper Threater rather a large and ad hoc tent built for that purpose - Company: Antonio Banderas production currently running in Malaga will be moved to Madrid next season (it will probably re-open the historic Albeniz Threater which is under reform) - Malinche The Musical: Original musical composed by Nacho Cano (Spanish songwriter and member of pop band Mecano, he was also involved in the creation of Hoy no me puedo levanter a successful Spanish jukebox based on the music of Mecano) will premiere 15th September. The musical is based on the love story between Malinche (a woman from Nahua tribe) and Hernán Cortés (Spanish conquistador) during the conquest of Azteca Empire (still pending to decided in which space will run…..potentially in a new ad hoc large tent built for it) - In the Heights: it was announced a new production for In the Heights in Spanish on 29th November 2021, there are not news since then though (not sure if the project is still active, it will be hosted in Espacio Raro an ad hoc built large tent)
One of the major challenges Madrid is currently facing is the lack of proper space or theaters with enough capacity to host a musical, for that reason some of them are running in large carps which have been built for that purpose (Espacio Raro, Espacio Ibercaja Delicias or the new to-be-named place where Maliche the Musical will run). Local & regional authorities have plans to increase the capacity and seats with the reform of some theaters in the incoming years. As already mentioned the Albeniz Threater will re-open next season and it has been also confirmed the reform and re-opening of El Palacio de la Musica but still not enough to absorb the increasing demand (and boom) of musical theater in Madrid
I would imagine this is the original Málaga cast (with Antonio Banderas), as opposed to the current Madrid cast, as I remember seeing they were in the recording studio during the Málaga run. I think there are a few actors who didn't join the Madrid production, for various reasons.
Post by musicalsmadrid on Mar 24, 2022 15:57:01 GMT
It has just been annouced that a new Production of Tick Tick....Boom will run next season at Madrid in Gran Teatro Principe Pio CaixaBank. This is on top of the other musicals already listed in this thread.
Ey all, I’m a fresh new contributor even though I’m following this board for some time now. With my first contribution I just want to give you updates about the promissing next musical season in Madrid….first of all I want to apologize if my English is not clear or fully understandable ….please take into account I’m not an English native speaker. A new production of Bridges of Madison County (Jason Robert Brown & Marsha Norman) has just been confirmed to premiere in October 2022 at Madrid. Considering this production, the number of musicals expected (either announced or confirmed) for next season in Madrid raises to 12 (still pending confirmation on which one Stage Productions will bring apart from The Lion King which will turn this number into 13). List below: - The Lion King: More than 10 years of success in Madrid (Lope de Vega Threater) - Matilda: premiere 30th Sept 2022 (Nuevo Alcalá Threater) - Mamma Mia: A non replica version will premiere 7th October (Rialto Threater) - Bridges of Madison County: premiere in October 2022 (EDP Gran Via Threater) - Singing in the Rain: premiere 30th September (Nuevo Apolo Threater) - The Neverending Story: Original musical with songs composed by Spanish songwriter Iván Macías (potentially Calderón Threater, to be confirmed) - The Chorus: Musical based on French film Les Choristes, will premiere 16th November (La Latina Threater) - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: as it has been already pointed out in this thread (Espacio Ibercaja Delicias) - School of Rock: probably it will premiere at Espacio Ibercaja Delicias. Recently Andrew Lloyd Weber has visited the premise in Madrid since is not a proper Threater rather a large and ad hoc tent built for that purpose - Company: Antonio Banderas production currently running in Malaga will be moved to Madrid next season (it will probably re-open the historic Albeniz Threater which is under reform) - Malinche The Musical: Original musical composed by Nacho Cano (Spanish songwriter and member of pop band Mecano, he was also involved in the creation of Hoy no me puedo levanter a successful Spanish jukebox based on the music of Mecano) will premiere 15th September. The musical is based on the love story between Malinche (a woman from Nahua tribe) and Hernán Cortés (Spanish conquistador) during the conquest of Azteca Empire (still pending to decided in which space will run…..potentially in a new ad hoc large tent built for it) - In the Heights: it was announced a new production for In the Heights in Spanish on 29th November 2021, there are not news since then though (not sure if the project is still active, it will be hosted in Espacio Raro an ad hoc built large tent)
One of the major challenges Madrid is currently facing is the lack of proper space or theaters with enough capacity to host a musical, for that reason some of them are running in large carps which have been built for that purpose (Espacio Raro, Espacio Ibercaja Delicias or the new to-be-named place where Maliche the Musical will run). Local & regional authorities have plans to increase the capacity and seats with the reform of some theaters in the incoming years. As already mentioned the Albeniz Threater will re-open next season and it has been also confirmed the reform and re-opening of El Palacio de la Musica but still not enough to absorb the increasing demand (and boom) of musical theater in Madrid
To update this post, Neverending Story is confirmed for the Calderón (where A Chorus Line is playing its final weeks before another run of Kinky Boots). They did a new round of "auditions", inviting the press (sadly, a common and very unfair practice in Spain).
Last Edit: Mar 25, 2022 18:20:20 GMT by SuttonPeron
Just nosing around this as I am thinking of a trip to Spain and would like to make it somewhere I could see a musical. Firstly I speak no Spanish, but wondered if anyone had been to a show in Spain, not known the language, but followed it OK? I would probably try to see something I knew.
Just nosing around this as I am thinking of a trip to Spain and would like to make it somewhere I could see a musical. Firstly I speak no Spanish, but wondered if anyone had been to a show in Spain, not known the language, but followed it OK? I would probably try to see something I knew.
My first language is Spanish, so I´m biased. But generally, our musicals don´t have dense and difficult plots and most of them can be followed by someone who doesn´t know Spanish. Besides, most of the musicals we have are well known franchises, and you´ll most likely know the plot. If you end up going, feel free to reach out in case you need advice on what to see or how to get good tickets.
Just nosing around this as I am thinking of a trip to Spain and would like to make it somewhere I could see a musical. Firstly I speak no Spanish, but wondered if anyone had been to a show in Spain, not known the language, but followed it OK? I would probably try to see something I knew.
I saw A Chorus Line in Madrid and loved it despite not speaking a word of Spanish. I’ve seen it enough times that I knew exactly what was going on. I think if you already know the show well you will enjoy it.
Yeah, it really does depend on what you go to see. If you don't speak any Spanish, you obviously won't understand any of the lyrics/dialogue, so I'd recommend sticking to a show you've seen before in English to follow the story. Or if you go to see something you are unfamiliar with, I'd read up on the synopsis and listen to a cast recording in English on Spotify (if one exists) first.
But of course there's nothing stopping you going to just enjoy a night at the theatre, even without following the story - to enjoy the singing, orchestra, staging, atmosphere etc. You might appreciate different things that you wouldn't normally focus your attention on.
. I couldn't reply sooner because I've been through a rough patch recently.
