The cultural revitalization that Antonio Banderas is undertaking in Malaga, his hometown, with the Teatro del Soho is extending beyond its borders. The Catalan capital is experiencing these weeks the artistic power of this personal and professional project with the arrival of Banderas' productions, making the actor and director the great protagonist of the theatrical billboard. The Malaga native's landing in Barcelona overcomes the forced hiatus due to the pandemic, which interrupted his premiere in the city with A Chorus Line, a play with which he had raised the curtain in February 2020 and then what happened, happened. To heal that wound, the musical has returned to the Catalan capital and can be seen until the end of May at the Tivolí theater. And to truly heal it, it has been accompanied by another, Company, at the Apolo theater until early June.
Antonio Banderas has been the protagonist of both musicals when they were performed in Malaga, but he has decided to concentrate his participation solely on the stage of the Teatro del Soho. He does this to boost his commitment to the city, forcing people to travel there if they want to see him playing characters like Zach or Robert. For the performances in Barcelona, Antonio Banderas has entrusted Manuel Bandera and Roger Berruezo to take over from him. Both acknowledge that they feel a great deal of respect and responsibility in replacing him. "It's a challenge that is not being easy. It was Antonio's character, with his way of doing and singing. I have a different age, energy, and qualities," says Berruezo, an actor from Maçanet de la Selva who has been seen in musicals such as Què, el nou musical, Hoy no me puedo levantar, Ghost and La Bella y la Bestia, and series such as Águila Roja.
With the advice given by the boss, performance by performance they are making the characters more their own and end up facing experiences similar to those narrated by the protagonists of A Chorus Line, a Broadway classic conceived by Michael Bennet that for the first time put the spotlight on the members of a musical and gave them a voice. In this musical, Zach is looking for the members for a new musical production and, beyond traditional castings, he truly wants to get to know the aspirants.
Manuel Bandera is the one leading the Tivoli theater, after passing through Madrid, and, thinking about the plot, he remembers how his beginnings in theatrical musicals were and how he overcame challenges. It all started with an audition for Beauty and the Beast. After not fitting the profile for the Beast, he focused on Gaston's. It was given to another colleague, but, after a while, they ended up calling him to replace him, opening a new facet in his artistic career, which began in Malaga theaters, was complemented as a dancer, and has also led him to Pedro Almodóvar's films and series like Amar en tiempos revueltos and Acacias 38. After Gaston, coincidentally Berruezo also played this character, other productions came like Zorro, Cabaret, and Chicago. "I already had my share of musicals covered," he maintains, until Banderas thought of him for A Chorus Line. "It came to me unexpectedly," he remarks.
In Berruezo's case, his beginnings in the world of musicals are worthy of their own script. He was studying Graphic Design when he started competing in a karaoke contest. He reached the final and won it. Manu Guix was on the jury and encouraged him to audition for Grease. He didn't get any role, but he saw a sign in everything that had happened and decided to leave Massana and enroll in Acting at the Coco Comín school. Years later, he has taken to the Apolo stage playing Robert and his mid-life crisis in Company, another Broadway classic written by Stephen Sondheim. In Malaga, he had followed the character closely, from the skin of one of the supporting actors and acting as Banderas's cover, although he never had to replace him. Thus, he suddenly landed the lead role in Barcelona, where friends and family are coming to see him play at home. When the performances in the Catalan capital finish, they will go to Madrid.
If comparisons between Barcelona and Madrid are a constant, musicals are no exception. The Catalan capital is experiencing a boom in this type of theatrical performance in recent years, as evidenced by the reopening of the Apolo theater. Berruezo points out that Barcelona's billboard still cannot be compared to Madrid's, since their audiences do not respond in the same way. In Madrid, there is more tradition, but in Barcelona there is still a way to go. "People are not used to paying these prices for musicals made in their city, while if they travel to New York or London, they pay triple," he reasons. For Bandera, on the other hand, issues like this go in phases and he recalls how he came to the Catalan capital in the late 80s when he was a dancer because it was experiencing a period of effervescence.