Musicals return to Brazil’s São Paulo with eclectic casts and strict sanitary control

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In 2001, with the premiere of the musical Les Misérables in São Paulo, the genre began a phase of expansion and professionalization in the Brazilian market, becoming a major source of income for the city – a study conducted by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation showed that in 2018, musical shows had an economic impact of R$1.01 billion (US$195 million) in the São Paulo capital.

The pandemic abruptly interrupted the industry last year and, after 18 months of inactivity, it is back in action with the premiere of Cinderella, the Musical and Donna Summer Musical on Thursday, September 2.

“To this end, a strict adherence to health regulations was required,” says Touché Entretenimento’s executive director Renata Borges, responsible for Cinderella, back on stage at Teatro Liberdade. “It is the most difficult production of my career, because we are dealing with something you can’t see, the Covid-19 virus. And even with all the health protocols observed, there’s still a minimal amount of risk.”

Renata is experienced in working with large casts – she has signed the production of sumptuous shows such as Peter Pan, the Musical and Madagascar, A Musical Adventure, in addition to Cinderella, which first premiered in 2016. Since then, the famous tale of the poor girl who becomes a princess remains filled with special moments – particularly when the Fairy Godmother (Helga Nemetik) readies Cinderella (Fabi Bang) for the ball with a literal swipe of magic (actually, a 3D holographic effect, used for the first time on stage in Brazil).

But backstage, the situation is now different. There are fewer actors in total, only 22. “I have 3 casts in parallel, because we need to have understudies for all characters,” Renata says. “And to think quickly about what might happen. This requires detailed planning and plans B, C, D, E, F.”

The new routine taught precious lessons – after some suspected Covid cases emerged in the group, the producer increased the number of weekly tests from 2 to 4. She also hired an infectious disease specialist, who advises the cast and technical crew, as well as spreading bottles of hand sanitizer in common areas and keeping present a company specialized in sanitizing, which goes into action as soon as rehearsals are over – which have been taking place with everyone wearing masks.

“They were good breath tests,” Gottsha says, who plays the evil stepmother with great humor. “Saying the lines and also singing require extra effort. And the worse part is that we didn’t know what expressions we were making with our mouths, because no one was watching.”

IN ‘CINDERELLA’ AND ‘DONNA SUMMER,’ CASTS TAKE EVERY HEALTH PRECAUTION

The actors and technical crew of the Donna Summer Musical were gathered on the stage of the Teatro Santander on Sunday afternoon, August 29 for the dress rehearsal. “We decided that the cast will no longer wear a face shield during the performance,” said Julio Cesar Figueiredo, who co-produces with Bárbara Guerra.

“The shield muffled the sound and prevented the lines and singing from being well understood.” So, with everyone’s approval, the shield was exchanged for a more intense battery of Covid tests: 4 per week, instead of the usual 2.

This was yet another element in the list of precautions surrounding the musical’s production, which is extensive: mask wearing is mandatory backstage and, in the dressing rooms and in the cafeteria, acrylic panels separate people. Bathing is also not recommended in the dressing rooms, and the technical crew wears anti-viral overalls. “We managed to prevent Covid cases,” Figueiredo says.

Inspired by the career of Donna Summer (1948-2012), considered the queen of the dance floors, the show premiering on Thursday features 24 performers and a technical crew of around 50 professionals. “We also have 2 understudies for the cast and another 2 for the technical crew, in case something needs to be changed,” the producer says.

The abandonment of the face shield was celebrated by the cast. “It really hindered our feedback and muffled our voices – and we still sounded like characters from Black Mirror,” jokes Karen Hils who plays Donna Summer in the third phase of her life – the previous performers are Jeniffer Nascimento and Amanda Souza. The show opens with a greeting from Karen that perfectly fits the current moment. “It’s exciting to say ‘I’m glad you’re back,’ because in the current context, it proves the resilience of the theater class.”

The musical premiered in March 2020 but ran for less than 2 weeks due to the interruption of all cultural activities by the São Paulo state government. Since then, at least 4 re-staging dates were announced, but soon cancelled, due to the unstable control of the pandemic.

“And when we were able to return to work, my schedule was full,” Jeniffer says, who plays Donna at the height of her career. “In addition to the musical, I’m also recording two TV shows and two series. So I won’t have any time off in September.”

Like the rest of the cast, Jeniffer felt the long downtime. “Everyone kept working on their voices, but it’s different when you’re back in action – I was no longer used to dancing in high heels and felt some cramps during rehearsal,” she says.

Amanda Souza, who plays young Donna, used one of her character’s lines as a mantra to bolster her motivation. “I like it when she said she performed every show as if it were her last – it gives off a very positive energy.”

Identifying with the characters is also a hallmark of the cast of Cinderella, the Musical, which premieres at Teatro Liberdade on Thursday, September 2. With songs by the celebrated duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, authors of plays that set the pillars of Broadway musicals in the 1940s, the show is directed by the duo Charles Möeller and Claudio Botelho, responsible for the version that premiered in 2016, now with the contribution of Vanessa Costa.

“The tone is fabulous, but we looked for a new positioning of the characters, yet without them losing their main features,” the director says. In fact, Cinderella, originally created in 1965, is a majestic musical and deals with the universe of women and their right to fight for their dreams.

“We grew up with these characters, but times have changed,” says Fabi Bang, who plays the main character as a more determined woman. “The audience, particularly female, doesn’t want to see submission on stage anymore.”

The sentiment is shared by other female performers. “The bullying and moral harassment scenes suffered by Cinderella were created in order to cause outrage,” notes Thuany Parente, who plays Gabrielle, one of Cinderella’s half-sisters. “And the text is more empowering, showing how she manages to survive in the midst of chaos, with her stepmother and sisters making her suffer,” adds Luana Bichiqui, who plays Charlotte.

And, so that the actions of the trio are not only evil, particularly the Stepmother’s, the decision was to resort to humor. “I try to emphasize the irony in my lines,” explains Gottsha, the Stepmother. “But in a subtle way, preserving humor and delicate topics like challenging racism and sexism.”

Another pattern-breaker emerges in the behavior of Prince Topher, played by André Loddi – as if he were a Shakespearean character, he reveals his doubts, right in the first song, whether or not he has the calling to be king.

“Since he has always lived inside the palace, the prince does not realize the social troubles of the village and only learns about them when Cinderella talks about it during the ball,” Loddi says. The message is reinforced by Jean Michel, a village boy who preaches freedom among people. “This proves how the musical hasn’t aged,” says the character’s interpreter Diego Montez.

Cinderella, the Musical

Teatro Liberdade – São Joaquim Street, 129, tel: (11) 3207-9760
Thursday and Friday at 8:30 PM / Sat. at 4 PM and 8:30 PM / Sun. at 4 PM and 8 PM.
Tickets from R$120 to R$240

Summer – Donna Summer Musical

Teatro Santander – Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek Avenue, 2.041
Thursday and Friday at 9 PM / Sat. at 5:30 PM and 9 PM / Sun. at 4 PM and 7:30 PM
Tickets from R$75 to R$280