Hear
Although for a few years now the musical genre has been in good health on the Buenos Aires theater billboard, there are few shows that can boast of exceeding the year of performances. A superlative exception is that of Come From Away, the local version of the Broadway hit (with book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein) that this Friday the 24th began its third consecutive season at the Maipo Theater and that has already exceeded 150 performances. “It is always uncertain what can happen to the spectators, that is why we have worked so that this time they find an even more polished setting,” the director begins by saying. Carla Calabrese, a true factotum of the project, since she also participates in it as a producer, adapter and actress. “I believe that this time the work is going to have a deeper impact, due to everything that is being experienced in the country and in the world. When it premiered, in 2022, we were experiencing post-pandemic euphoria, there was a great desire to go out again and attend theaters. It was all hope. Now, here, there is a lot of violence in the streets and what is happening in the Gaza Strip is truly distressing. Humanitarian aid is not allowed to arrive and civilian populations on both sides suffer greatly. That is why today humanity is raw and needs a share of solidarity,” understands the stewardess and promoter of humanitarian missions together with her husband, the film director, doctor, gastronomic businessman, philanthropist and pilot. Enrique Piñeyro, through your own NGO: Solidaire. “I believe, for example, that the scene where peace is talked about and all religions are represented, this year is completely redefined. The work is very international and today, because of what is happening, it touches more intimate fibers. For me his message is more relevant than ever. In this very fragile moment of humanity, we are invited to rescue all the good that exists in us in contrast to the dehumanization prevailing in much of the world,” adds the CEO of The Stage Company and director of Summer night Dream, Shrek the musical and The curious incident of the dog in the middle of the nightamong other events.
It is worth remembering that Come From Away (winner of multiple Tony and Olivier awards, in New York and London, in 2017 and 2019, and chosen here as Best Musical by the Juries of the ACE and Hugo awards, in 2022) takes place in 2001 and is based on real events. It tells the story of seven thousand passengers from all over the world who were stranded for five days in Gandera distant town of Canadawhen United States airspace was blocked after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and forced numerous planes to change destination. Without knowing it, the inhabitants of that small place and the unexpected visitors were protagonists of a story that moved and excited the world, full of solidarity, empathy and humanity.
The third season of the musical in Buenos Aires, which began this Friday, before a packed Maipo that celebrated every song and every touch of humor, will extend until August 25. Then, the local production – with its entire creative team and almost the entire original cast – will begin its internationalization. The very talented actors will be part of the game Gabriela Bevacqua, Federico Couts, Melania Lenoir, Fernando Margenet, Argentinian Molinuevo, Edgardo Moreira, Silvina Nieto, Agustín Perez Costa, Fatima Seidenari, Sebastian Holz, Silvana Tomé, Manuel Victoria, Lali Vidal and Patricio Witts (plus the support band of eight musicians). Only Marisol Otero (the remembered protagonist of the first versions of Beauty and the Beast and Mamma Mia!), who will not be able to travel due to other professional commitments, will be replaced by the Spanish Pepa Lucas. In principle, the work will stop at the splendid Marquina Theater in Madrid, where it will offer functions over five and a half months. This will be the first time a Broadway hit comes to Spain starring Argentines. The premiere there will be on September 11exactly 23 years after what the piece narrates. Afterwards, perhaps they will perform in Barcelona and rotate through other places in the Motherland.
In its transfer to the European continent, the show will undergo a subtle adaptation process (always in charge of Calabrese herself and her co-equipment). Marcelo Klotliar), which will emphasize idiomatic accents, which will give it a greater international atmosphere: “All the actors who play citizens of Gander will speak with an Argentine accent, then the two who come from Texas will do so in Castizo and there will be those who do in Mexican, Dominican, English, German and French. This will be a production more for everyone, much more eclectic, in that sense more similar to that of Broadway,” Calabrese understands.
Although there are still several months until the landing in Spain, expectations are high. “We count on the fact that the Spanish love us very much. Sometimes I think they are one of the few who love us. In other countries we directly have a bad reputation. That is why we must value our relationship with the Spanish people and take care of it. They have always welcomed us with open arms and treated us like brothers, we should be very grateful,” says Calabrese, in obvious reference to the recent diplomatic conflict arising between our country and Spain. “They like our accent and our way of working. They know that we are very passionate and that we always look for the solution to any problem. That is why Argentine actors are highly valued in Spain, and I am not just referring to those in cinema but also to figures in musical comedy. Today in Madrid’s theater plaza several of our best exponents of the genre are working. I hope that, despite everything, when we arrive, they hug us and treat us the same as they do,” she says hopefully.
For the middle of next year Calabrese projects another milestone in the local implementation of Come From Away: a tour through the interior of the country, “something that I previously wanted to do with other shows but couldn’t due to the size of the sets; That of this musical, on the other hand, is more transportable and adaptable to different scenarios,” he maintains. At the same time, it does not rule out performing functions in neighboring countries, such as Uruguay and Chile; and in selling the rights to the adaptation to other Spanish-speaking places. In fact, it has just closed the first deal with producers in Panama and is in advanced negotiations so that the adaptation shared with Kotliar reaches the Mexican City. “Ours is the only adaptation into Spanish that the original creators and producers of the musical endorse, this fills us with great pride and opens the doors to several markets for us. That’s why I think our Come From Away has life for a while”, he concludes. As if this were not enough, it is almost a fact that the Argentine cast will agree to record the full version of the musical in Spanish (possibly in neutral) for broadcast on all platforms. Today you can already listen to a song on YouTube, made exclusively to broadcast the third season of the show in Buenos Aires: “El cielo y yo”, wonderfully performed by Melanie Lenoir.
-And after Come From Away, that? Do you fantasize about Broadway?
–I’m not going to deny that I thought about it, but it would bother me not to be able to work with the actors that I love and have worked with for a long time. I really like Argentine actors, I think we have a special and incomparable talent. So, both on Broadway and in London’s West End, I would miss their ways too much. I’m tempted to try myself in those places, but I feel more comfortable in Latin environments. I know that Spain will be different: it will be like going to grandma’s house and I am very happy with that. In short, I don’t close the door to Broadway, but it is not among my immediate objectives nor does it keep me awake. I’m not much of a projector, I like life to surprise me. I started doing theater in English, many years ago, at the Stella Maris theater in San Isidro. And look where we ended up! I never imagined working at the Maipo Theater, much less being its artistic director. Nor going out into the world to rescue people, taking refugees out of a country at war and taking them safely to others. I am so grateful for the possibilities that life has offered me, that I am a little ashamed to dream of more.
