Theatrical turn in Muntaner

Number 4 Muntaner Street has recovered its theatrical soul. Last October, the historic venue reopened its doors thanks to showman Toni Cano and other partners who have decided to give a new life to what was, between 1927 and 1979, the legendary Emporium hall, where Charles Aznavour debuted in Barcelona and where great singing stars like Gilbert Becaud performed. On this occasion, the venue reopens dedicated to comedy, a genre that many consider the younger sibling of theater, like zarzuela to opera, but which attracts a large audience eager to have fun with humor. The Muntaner venue is the only one in the city entirely dedicated to the comedy genre.

The reopening of the venue is a private initiative promoted by Cano, in which, among others, the production company Corta el Cable Rojo also participates. This company launched a show with the same name in Madrid 15 years ago, and it is now one of those featured on the Teatre Muntaner bill, alongside others, including a production by Cano himself. Corta el cable rojo is an improvisation theater experience based on the connection between actors and the audience. Currently, it can be enjoyed in Madrid and Barcelona, performed by local companies, and there is a third company that performs it itinerantly throughout the country.

Previously, the show was programmed at the Apolo, but the opportunity arose to acquire the Muntaner venue, and Cano and his partners didn't think twice. "It's a way of participating in Barcelona's strategy to recover a strong theatrical offering," says the showman, who hopes that the Arnau and the Principal, two historic venues that have been closed for years, will soon join this effort.

One of the first challenges the owners of Teatre Muntaner have had to face has been its technological update. "We've had to migrate from analog to digital, and in terms of lighting, switch from incandescent to LEDs," Cano points out. Another challenge they are immersed in is recovering the memory of the venue and its different lives since 1927. After the historic Emporium closed, the venue became a discotheque, first under the name Muntaner 4 Discorama and then as Shadows. In 1996, there was a radical shift, and the venue became a theater until 2018, when it closed. Cano and his team have decided to continue the theatrical line, but focused on comedy.

The recovery of the theater's memory is proving to be a more arduous task than anticipated. They have been able to rescue a lot of graphic material, but there is a temporal gap from the Shadows era. However, they are still working on it and have already decided that one of the theater's floors will have a museum purpose. For now, collages from the Emporium era, made with photos of the stars who performed on its stage for five decades, can already be admired on some walls. They want to have all this work ready for when in two years the venue commemorates its first centenary.

Cano, originally from Bon Pastor, one of Barcelona's most humble neighborhoods, acknowledges that he and his partners still have a lot of work to do to make the adventure they have undertaken profitable, but he is optimistic ---perhaps because he comes from a neighborhood where its residents had to work very hard--- and is convinced that the bet on reviving the theater in Barcelona is the right one, and adds that there is potential tourism for this sector. This coincides with the shift towards culture that the city's strategy to attract visitors has experienced.

The new Teatre Muntaner has a capacity for just over 200 people who already enjoy a growing comedy offering. In addition to Corta el cable rojo and Cano's show Traficante de endorfinas, the venue's program also includes Nozing; Mejor locas que mal acompañadas; Saludos cordiales; A quien no le va a gustar; Oye Siri, dime Joan; Perdone, caballero; Sirviendo comedia, and Conversaciones con mi mente. There is also space for illusionism with Wow, because Cano maintains that magic is also a comedy show.

Muntaner is dedicated to comedy and hopefully the whole street will catch on.