Even though the year 2017 has already begun, there are still many theater shows to be watched in São Paulo. And among so many musicals, comedies and dramas, we sorted out some of the most anticipated plays by the public so far. Write down the tips and do not miss any of them.
1 – “O Homem de la Mancha”, directed by Miguel Falabella
Presented for the first time in 2014, the award-winning show “O Homem de La Mancha” returns to the stage now in 2017, once again under the direction of Miguel Falabella, who has not rested for a minute with a bunch of his artistic projects going on this year. Now the show about Dom Quixote is getting ready for a new season at Teatro Alfa, starting in March 2017.
“It’s a very special work, which makes me more proud, because it maintains fidelity to the original while has a national point of view,” says Falabella. His big idea was to set the scene in a Brazilian asylum in the late 1930s. For example, the Governor was inspired by the Bishop of Rosario – a sailor from Sergipe who was hospitalized in 1938 at the Juliano Moreira Colony in Rio de Janeiro.
The cast of 30 actors completes the 46 performers involved daily in this production, and this season also integrates the actress, Bianca Tadini, in the role of Antonia. But it maintains the pair of actors Sara Sarres (Aldonza / Dulcineia) and Cleto Baccic (Don Quixote / Cervantes) from the firsts few shows in the past. You have another chance to watch it now…
Information
Directed by Miguel Falabella
Duration: 105 minutes
Age rating: 10 years
From March 9th to April 2nd
Teatro Alfa – Rua Bento Branco De Andrade Filho, 722- behind Hotel Transamérica – São Paulo – SP
Thursday: 8:00pm; Friday: 9:30pm; Saturday: 5:00pm and 9:00pm; Sunday: 5:00pm
Admission: between R$ 50,00 and R$ 190,00
2 – “Roque Santeiro”, directed by Débora Dubois
In spite of the fame to be known as the play that was transformed into a musical from the successful novel written by Dias Gomes in 1985 and transmitted by the Globo, the fact is that the show arises, actually, from the original writings dated in back 1969. Even before being purchased by the TV station.
The initial inspiration came from a true case recorded by Euclydes da Cunha in “Os Sertões” (1902), when a soldier was considered dead and reappeared alive three days later during the Canudos War (1896-1897). In the play, the false hero is also a soldier, but of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and he supposedly dies fighting against Nazis in Italy, only to return to his city after 15 years. That is when the plot thickens.
The cast of this montage consists of 13 actors: Jarbas Homem de Mello is Chico Malta; Livia Camargo makes the widow Porcina; Flávio Tolezani is Roque Santeiro; Mel Lisboa plays Mocinha, daughter of Dona Pombinha, lived by the actress Nábia Villela, and the mayor Florindo Bee, played by Dagoberto Feliz.
With a special addition to the soundtrack composed by Zeca Baleiro, who comments: “The track brings a slightly martial touch, a certain military tone, but also has elements of bolero, tango, baião, waltz, much ‘Brazilianness’ and ‘brejeirices’. But it’s good to be clear: the play is different from the novel, from the text to the song”.
Information
Directed by Débora Dubois
Duration: 120 minutes
Age rating: 14 years
From January 27th until May 14th
Teatro Faap – R. Alagoas, 903, Higienópolis – São Paulo – SP
Friday and Saturday: 9:00pm; Sunday: 6:00pm
Admission: between R$ 30,00 to R$ 50,00
3 – “Les Misérables”,directed by Adrian Sarpie (associate director)
The great show “Les Misérables” arrives on Brazilian stages with enthusiasm in one of the most renowned theaters in São Paulo, the Renault Theater. The play that collects the title of the phenomenon with more than 120 awards, 70 million spectators and montages in 44 different countries, presents the classic songs like “I Dreamed a Dream”, “On My Own”, “Stars”, “Bring Him Home”,”Do You Hear the People Sing?” and “One Day More.”
Despite the similar repertoire, all the performances were adapted to the Portuguese language. The original comes from Victor Hugo’s novel. And there are more changes! “It’s not just a more literal representation of the world that Hugo wrote about, it’s a more filmic musical – within the confines of the theater”, says Adrian Sarple, an associate director of the show. “Among other novelties, the setting uses paintings by Hugo himself.”
The plot follows Jean Valjean, a man who is pursued by the police and denounces the moral values of society in the meanwhile.
Information
Brazilian production presented by the Ministry of Culture
Duration: 120 minutes
Age rating: 12 years
From March 10th until July 30th
Renault Theater – Avenida Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 411, São Paulo – SP
Thursday and Friday: 9:00pm; Saturday: 4:00pm and 9:00pm. Sundays: 3:00 pm and 8:00pm.
Admission: from R$ 25,00 to R$ 330,00
4 – “Gota d’Água [a seco]”, directed by Rafael Gomes
Written by Chico Buarque and with Paulo Pontes’s songs, the re-adaptation of the Greek play Medea, by Euripides debutted in December 1975, when the actress Bibi Ferreira took the stage of the Teatro Tereza Rachel (Rio de Janeiro). Medea, now with the title Gota d’água, tells the story of Joan and Jason on an introspective journey into female power and love.
Going back to the stages of São Paulo, the play “Gota d’água [seca]”, tries a new approach to Buarque’s text and diminishes both dialogues and actors in the scenes. It is quite different from the original show.
“The original Gota d’água has a political fabric latent in its clash between oppressors and oppressed, concentrating the story on Joan and Jason, on their ideologies, actions and feelings. I would still like to talk about this most essential policy of everyday Life, which most people sublimate, forget or pretend it is not with them, thinking that being a politician is just knowing how to point the finger to the opponent and eventually express what matters, in a somewhat individualistic way”, says the director Rafael Gomes about the importance of the play nowadays.
Information
Directed by Rafael Gomes
Duration: 100 minutes
Age rating: 16 years
From April 7th until May 7th
Porto Seguro Theater – Al. Barão de Piracicaba, 740 – Campos Elísios. Sao Paulo-SP
Friday and Saturday: 9:00pm; Sunday: 7:00pm
Admission: R$ 50,00 and R$ 80,00
5 – “Constelações”, directed by Ulysses Cruz
The love relationship between Marienne and Roland doubles in so many details that time and space are not enough for both. So much so that the play divides itself between several small sketches and parallel realities. Just like the character herself puts it, “All the choices you’ve ever made, or ever made, are part of a vast array of parallel universes,” says Marianne, the cosmologist in this production by Marília Gabriela. Her companion, Roland is played by Caco Ciocler and is also full of magic and mysteries.
Constelações (Constellations) was originally debuted in 2012 in London, written by Nick Payne, when his story won the Evening Stardard Theater Award for Best Part of the Year. Ulysses Cruz, director of the Brazilian adaptation commented that “Nick Payne conducts his inquiries into the parallel universes with a great sense of humor and warmth. It is in the attraction that Marianne and Roland feel for each other that the piece stops. The irony is that their universes are also parallel, and parallel lines never meet. “
Information
Directed by Ulysses Cruz
Duration: 70 minutes
Age rating: 12 years
From April 7th until June 25th
Teatro Tucarena – Rua Monte Alegre, 1024 (entrance to Rua Bartira) – Perdizes. Sao Paulo-SP
Friday and Saturday: 9:00pm; Sunday: 6:00pm
Admission: R$ 60,00 and R$ 70,00
6 – “Não somos amigas”, directed by Maria Maya
Photo by Ligia Jardim
Two women discuss their friendship in an apartment near an airport, between comings and goings, actresses Lulu Pavarin and Sabrina Greve, who make up for the entire cast, discuss the meaning of unconditional love and hate.
The play is directed by Maria Maya, but the text was written by another woman, Michelle Ferreira, who already has more than ten texts written and staged. About this show, she commented “(…) it speaks of life and death, it touches the public and leads to a reflection. It is a treatise of memory, conflict and love, which is possible to dialogue with sensations of those who watch “.
In addition to all introspection, there is still the mystery of what these women are doing there, and how to keep up with their irrationalities. With a short season, this challenge to the public is less than month in theaters now.
Information
Directed by Maria Maya
Duration: 60 minutes
Age rating: –
March 27th to April 18th
Sesc Consolação – Espaço Beta – 3rd floor. R. Dr. Vila Nova, 245 – Vila Buarque, São Paulo – SP
Friday and Saturday: 9:00pm; Sunday: 6:00pm
Admission: R$ 6,00 to R$ 20,00
7 – “Num Lago Dourado”, directed by Elias Andreato
In 1981, international cinema got to know the story of “On a Golden Lake” with Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda and since then, it became a classic. Now in Brazilian theater, this narrative returns to the public with the same affection as before.
Older couple Norman Thayer (Ary Fontoura), a retired teacher, goes with his wife Ethel Thayer (Ana Lucia Torre) to a house by a lake to spend the holidays, but their daughter Chelsea (Tatiana de Marca), who always had a complicated relationship with her parents, takes the opportunity to leave her stepson with them. At first, the boy Billy Ray Jr (Lucas Abdo) causes a lot of problems, but the story takes a turnaround and rescues the importance of loving and understanding between family and different generations.
Information
Directed by Elias Andreato
Duration: 90 minutes
Age rating: 10 years
From April 8th to July 2nd
Renaissance Theater – Al. Santos, nº 2233. São Paulo – SP
Friday and Saturday: 9:30pm; Sunday: 6:00pm
Admission: from R$ 80,00
8 – “Baixa Terapia”, directed by Marco Antônio Pâmio
Cast of “Baixa Terapia”, which premieres in 17/3 at the Teatro Tuca (on the left, the director, Marco Antônio Pâmio). / Karime Xavier/Folhapress
The comedy that premieres on March 17th, has three different dynamics, intercalating three different couples locked in a therapy room and who are forced to discuss and solve their problems right there, among strangers. The actor Antonio Fagundes, responsible for bring this adapted piece from Buenos Aires, Argentina (original written by the Argentinean Matias Del Federico), says that “They talk about sex, children, everything. At some point you will laugh, because they are talking about things you can relate yourself with”.
In the plot, couples are guided not by a psychologist but by envelopes with precise instructions that causes the dramatic scenes. In the play the couples are formed by Ariel (Antonio Fagundes) and Paula (Mara Carvalho), Estevão (Bruno Fagundes) and Tamara (Alexandra Martins) and Roberto (Fábio Espósito) and Andrea (Ilana Kaplan).
Information
Directed by Marco Antonio Pâmio
Duration: 80 min
Age rating: 14 years
Starting March 17th, 2017
Teatro Tuca – Rua Monte Alegre, nº 1024, Perdizes, São Paulo, SP
Friday: 9:30pm; Saturday: 8:00pm; Sunday: 7:00pm.
Friday: R$ 60,00; Saturday: R$ 80,00; and Sunday: R$ 70,00.
9 – “Monólogo Público”, directed by Michel Melamed
Actor and diretor Michel Melamed
Through a game of aesthetic displacements, Michel Melamed begins in a contemporary Brazil and puts on the scene with a dispute for language. Author, director and protagonist of this play, Michel Melamed returns to the monologue, a genre that made him stand out with the show “Regurgitofagia” (2004). Melamed says that “[the play] is about challenging borders: inside and outside, Public and private, actor and character. I think it’s the grace to present for the public things that cause a lot of interpretations.” It is a must to everyone who enjoys the genre of monologues.
Information
Directed by Michel Melamed
Duration: 60 minutes
Age rating: 14 years
From March 18th Until May 8th
Masp (Grande Auditório) – Avenida Paulista, 1578, São Paulo – SP
Monday and Saturday: 9:00pm; Sunday: 8:00pm
Admission: from R$ 30,00 to R$ 70,00.
10 – “Cantando na chuva”, directed by Fred Hanson
Cláudia Raia e Jarbas Homem de Mello at the musical ‘Crazy For You’ / Marlene Bergamo
With the premiere date scheduled for August 5th, the second half of the year begins with a musical starring the famous couple Jarbas Homem de Melo and Claudia Raia. Along with the American director Fred Hanson, they assemble the Brazilian version of “Singing in the Rain” that celebrates sixty-five years since its original in 2017.
Gene Kelly, who played the original role as the protagonist Don Lockwood in the 1952 film adaptation will have his choreography adapted for the Brazilian public. Actor Jarbas Homem de Melo, also says about the play that “Whoever sat in the front ranks would get raincoats to cover themselves. It’s a great moment in the play, where there’s interaction with the audience”. Stay tuned. The production is still in the process of rehearsals for now.
Informations yet to be confirmed.