Matt Rawle, left, and Adam Levy in the musical “Zorro,” at the Garrick Theater. (Photo: Joel Ryan/Associated Press)Is flaming the new flying? Time was you couldn’t go to a big West End musical without coming across some flashy flying object: a jaunty motor car, a witch, a self-satisfied nanny. But these days the producers of singing spectacles seem bent on playing with fire. A wall of fire (alternating with water) threatens to singe the eyebrows off the audience in the curtain numbers of “Never Forget,” the new jukebox musical built around the songs of the boy band Take That at the Savoy Theater.
Now there is “Zorro,” which opened Tuesday night at the Garrick with music by the Spanish pop flamenco band the Gipsy Kings and which brands its identity in the very first scene with a giant, smoky letter Z, writ in fire. And that’s not all to warm the hearts of pyromaniacs: Zorro (Matt Rawle), who has picked up a few magic tricks while traveling with a troupe of fun-loving gypsies, startles his enemies by making flames burst from his fingers. And, oh, yeah, he flies, too. Or anyway, he (or maybe a stunt double) soars across the stage from time to time on a long rope.
Otherwise, as a show, “Zorro,” directed by Christopher Renshaw (of “The King and I” and “Taboo” on Broadway) with book and lyrics by Stephen Clark, neither flies nor scorches. It’s a low-aiming, silly diversion that tries to summon the blend of thrills and wise-cracking self-parody common to blockbuster summer movies with masked heroes, but winds up feeling more like a Christmas pantomime production (that’s a fairy-tale with music and vaudeville shtick) for particularly child-like grown-ups.
A scene from the musical “Zorro.” (Photo: Alastair Muir)The passionate, ritualistic songs and dances of flamenco don’t fit very comfortably into a comic-strip framework. Nor does the sado-masochistic angst of Zorro’s evil rival, Ramon (Adam Levy), who hangs humble villagers for kicks. A lively actress from Los Angeles named Lesli Margherita comes closest to bridging the gap among the show’s warring sensibilities as a feisty gypsy dancer, leading the company in stage-stomping renditions of “Bamboleo” and “Djobi Djoba.”
Those are the songs that people who listen to pop radio may recognize. There are also some boy-girl ballads in the international poperetta style of Boublil-Schonberg, sung by Mr. Rawle and the demure Emma Williams (who was Truly Scrumptious in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” here), which suggest the aural equivalent of the figurines on a wedding cake. Mr. Rawle, a lithe and handsome lad, seems to have a better time camping it up as Zorro’s effete alter-ego than slashing it up as the fiery swashbuckler. But who wants to wear a heavy black cape and pate-covering mask beneath stage lights in the middle of July? Although as Ms. Margherita’s fashion-savvy gypsy points out in one of several lines that indicate “Zorro” was conceived in the age of style makeover shows, “black is so slimming.”
6 Comments
Enjoyed this post a lot, but I don’t really love the idea of bringing pyrotechnics to theater - you once said that Broadway was becoming just an alternative to Las Vegas; sounds like the West End is really going in a similar direction, whatever one may think of that sort of theater. Also, reading your article from today I was struck by the quote from “Frontline” at the end of the piece - it rings so true and feels like it might be a reoccurring theme of our time - in fact, that quote reminded me very much of the opening narration from the film “Crash” - “I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something…”
— Nicole Bournas-NeyThanks for the tour of London theatre!
Note that the Gypsy Kings got started under a bridge over the Rhone in Arles, France.
— Gay SmithI’ve been enjoying your daily postings — particularly since I did a seven-shows-in-a-week London marathon myself in May, so it’s been interesting to read your opinions on some of the stuff that I saw. I had the same thought regarding the trend of onstage fire after seeing “Never So Good” and “Marguerite.”
— JenniverFirst of all, Zorro was from California, not Mexico. Second of all, they don’t play much flamenco in Mexico, or even in the (at the time) mostly Mexican California. Third of all, the Gypsy Kings are French, and don’t even speak Spanish.
Other than that, this show sounds fantastic. Much like “Leonardo da Vinci,” wherein they forgot that LdV was gay, so the whole “love interest” angle was wrong.
— steveYou guys all seem to have missed the feel good factor of this show. Went last night (Friday 18th July) - what an evening! The audience literally roared their approval. People laughed, cried, sang and danced. Everyone leaving the theatre had the broadest of smiles on their faces. Surely Musical Theatre entertainment at its very best. Lighten up guys - remember the days of good old fashioned fun?
— Carmel WallaceI saw this in previews, and absolutely loved it — as did my fellow audience members. We were all on our feet cheering at the curtain call. It had everything I enjoy in a good story; it was funny, romantic and exciting. As a long-time fan of the Zorro character, I thought Matt Rawle played him to perfection (and his Diego was excellent as well)The entire cast was outstanding; the dancing and the swordfights were phenominal, and the music beautifully sung. It’s been a week since I saw it, and the music is STILL in my head. I agree with Carmel Wallace–this is musical theatre at its best.
— Kathy