Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
AngusN
Broadway Star Joined: 3/23/05
#1Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/3/08 at 5:50pm
I went to see the opening of Zorro last night at the Opera House in Manchester. It was touch and go whether they were going to open because of technical difficulties (again). However, thankfully they did.
It was a brilliant show. Excellent music by The Gypsy Kings and John Cameron, very authentic and engaging. It had the typical musical ballads that will be sung by balladeers for years to come; the most beautiful of the evening was The Man Behind the Mask sung by the female lead.
Other musical numbers that weer a stand out was the famous Bamboleo, which was performed by the comic female supporting role; Inez. This was a real crown pleaser and had many people clapping along.
The performers were all outstanding. Matt Rawle played Diego, he sung beautifully and acted incredibly well. Although I feel that he did try too hard to resemble Jonny Depp in Pirates of the Carribean.
Adam Cooper played Ramon and had great stage presence and a superb dance solo to open the second Act.
Aimie Atkinson (BBC Radio 2 Voice of Musical Theatre 2006) played Luisa. Her voice was phenomenal - she reminded me of Lea Salonga - she had many audience members crying listening to such gorgeous songs as The Man Behind the Mask and A Love We'll Never Live. Aimie played the role with the correct balance of vulnerability and feistiness that the role required. I feel her acting needs a little work - maybe this was due to nerves, - but her singing blew me away. (sorry I don't like saying anything negative about her)
Lesli Margherita was clearly the audience's favourite as Inez. She was a clear triple threat. Her characterisation was so impressive, she commanded your attention each time she walked on stage. A real treat to watch her perform.
The set was awesome. I just hope they can avoid the technical difficulties for the rest of the previews.
The book was the only criticism I have of the show. Whilst, I know the films are very tongue-in-cheek, I found the really obvious, preditable gags were funny, but distracting from the intense music and storyline. The humour should be left to the comedy characters, not all speech.
If you like Boubil and Schoenbourg you will love this. I recommend it to all musical lovers. I'm certain that it will be a huge hit in the west end. Go see it.
#2re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/3/08 at 5:52pm
Where is this playing? Manchester, NH?
Edit: oooh..nm...in England.. lol! I just read two sentence..my bad!
J*
Updated On: 4/3/08 at 05:52 PM
#2re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/3/08 at 5:53pm
I'm guessing England.
I'm also guessing this has no relation to the "Zorro: The Musical" I saw years ago in Houston.
#3re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/3/08 at 9:03pmYeah its at the sister theatre of where i work, its getting a lot of buzz.Its nice the UK has a brand new musical worthy of the West End
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
#4re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/4/08 at 12:10amCalvin, I believe you mean "Z - the Masked Musical". Unless there's three Zorro musicals? I have the "Z" concept recording and I rather like it except for some terrible lyrics here and there. I'd say it's more Frank Wildhorn then Boubil and Schoenbourg, but it's not the same show as the one playing in the UK right now.
theactorsociety
Stand-by Joined: 4/24/05
#5re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/4/08 at 1:03amI won tickets to see a staged reading of Zorro with Eden Espinosa, but I couldn't go!!!
#6re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/4/08 at 2:55amSo this is not the one based on Isabel Allende's novel right?
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#7re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/4/08 at 6:45am
This isnt 'Z-The Musical'.
Its a brand new piece with an original story by Stephen Clark and Helen Edmundson with music by The Gypsy Kings. Choreography is by world acclaimed flemenco dancer, Rafael Amargo.
The show is currently on a short tour prior to an eventual West End opening. There are currently a few problems finding a London theatre.
A young actress with Noel coward after a dreadful opening night performance said to him 'Well, i knew my lines backwards this morning!''
Noels fast reply was ''Yes dear, and thats exactly how you said them tonight'!'
#8re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/4/08 at 6:58am
Z-The Musical is the only CD I've ever listen to once and they 'e-bayed' straight away.
Might try and catch this one on the tour at some point as it sounds promising, though I've heard it could still do with a bit of a brush-up before the West End...
Updated On: 4/4/08 at 06:58 AM
#9re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/4/08 at 7:00am
Manchester this week and Milton Keynes next week!
It looks like Milton Keynes may pull the Tues opening performance due to to the ongoing get-in 'problems'!
A young actress with Noel coward after a dreadful opening night performance said to him 'Well, i knew my lines backwards this morning!''
Noels fast reply was ''Yes dear, and thats exactly how you said them tonight'!'
Updated On: 4/4/08 at 07:00 AM
NYUrickydrummer
Chorus Member Joined: 12/15/05
#10re: Zorro the Musical - Go see it!
Posted: 4/6/08 at 7:05pmOh God. I went to the workshop of this last year, the one with Eden Espinosa. DREADFUL! Unless there were some MAJOR rewrites in the music (bad, bland lyrics) and book (banal), I can't see this having any redemptive qualities. Granted, there wasn't much in the way of choreography then.
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