Misplaced Pages

La llamada is a Spanish musical written and directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo. It is a comedy, with themes of friendship, love, and the challenges of adolescence. The song selection includes original pieces composed by Alberto Jiménez (a singer for Miss Caffeina), alongside songs by Whitney Houston, Presuntos Implicados, Henry Méndez, and religious songs, among others. It is accompanied by a small band of four musicians.

A film adaptation was released in 2017.

Productions

The musical premiered in the lobby of Madrid's Teatro Lara on 2 May, 2013, playing eight sold-out shows. After its early success, the show performed on the main stage of the theatre starting on 18 October, 2013.

It began its Spanish tour in 2014. Cities visited included Palencia, Valladolid, Valencia o Soria. In total, more than 30 Spanish cities hosted the show. On April 15, 2015, the show celebrated its second anniversary with a special performance.

In 2015, INK Teatro and Claudio Sodi bought the rights to bring the musical to Mexico, where it premiered on 28 August at the Teatro López Tarso. However, the Mexican adaptation had a poor reception and closed after a few weeks.

There have also been plans for productions in Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, and Chile. The show was also performed in Moscow.

Plot

In August 2013, in Segovia, Spain, María and Susana are two seventeen-year olds who are passionate about reggaeton and electro latino; together, they form a band named Suma Latina. Both girls are attending La Brújula, a Christian summer camp they have attended since childhood. The camp is run by two nuns: Bernarda, a modern good-hearted woman who tries to promote faith through music, and Milagros, a young, innocent, and doubtful novice who admires Presuntos Implicados. During the night, María has apparitions of God, who sings Whitney Houston songs to her. The apparition begins to change the lives of the two girls, as they question their lives and their plans for the future.

Cast

María Casado

Susana Romero

Milagros

Bernarda de los Arcos

Dios

Mexican cast

Musical numbers

• "I will always love you"
• "Si esto es fe"
• "Viviremos firmes en la fe"
• "Estoy alegre:
• "I have nothing"
• "Todas las flores" (Spain) / "Eres mi religión" (Mexico) / "A veces me parece" (Chile) / "Extraño ser" (Argentina)
• "Lo hacemos y ya vemos"
• "Step by step"

The song "Todas las flores", from the band Presuntos Implicados, is replaced in the Mexican production with the song "Eres mi religión" from the band Maná. In the Chilean production it is replaced with "A veces me parece" from the Chilean trio Ariztía. In the Argentinian production the song performed is "Extraño ser", from the rock band Suéter.

Recordings

In 2014, a short recording was released with four songs sung by the Spanish cast. In 2019, a recording on the current Spanish cast was released.

Reception

La llamada was received positively by theatre critics, who particularly noted the actors' performances and the show's script. Marcos Ordóñez, of El País, said that "the story is simple and captivating", noting the "natural dialogue", and calling particular attention to Macarena García, whose performance he called "sensational". Saúl Fernández, of La Nueva España, wrote that "the two writers created a produgious musical which transforms songs into a collection of mythic verses".

According to a survey by El País, La llamada was the best theatrical production of 2013. Metrópoli magazine included the show among its ten best theatre productions in Madrid.

Awards

Film adaptation

On 4 November, 2015, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo announced the musical would be adapted into a film. The film was produced by Enrique López Lavigne, José Corbacho, and Kike Maíllo, through Apache Films and Sábado Películas. It stars Macarena García, Anna Castillo, Gracia Olayo, Belén Cuesta, and Richard Collins-Moore, and also includes appearances by Secun de la Rosa, Víctor Elías, and Esty Quesada.

References

1. Pablo Giraldo: «La llamada del teatro», Shangay Express, diciembre de 2013.
2. "La Llamada el musical | El Musical La Llamada" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-08.
3. "¡Así celebramos el 2 aniversario de La Llamada!". Marclovesme. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
4. "Obra La Llamada llega de España para inspirar a México". zocalo.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
5. "LA LLAMADA celebra su segundo aniversario con una función especial y la incorporación de Angy Fernandez". todoMUSICALES (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-08.
6. "La Llamada se estrenará en Moscú en mayo". Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
7. "Copia archivada". Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZn4qwh61Ck
9. Various - La Llamada - Las Canciones Originales, 2014, retrieved 2023-10-08
10. https://www.lallamadaelmusical.es/producto/disco-con-las-canciones-originales-de-espectaculo/
11. Ordóñez, Marcos (2013-12-11). "Escaleras hacia el cielo". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
12. FERNÁNDEZ, Saúl (2014-05-19). "Whitney Houston y Macarena García, como Dios". La Nueva España (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-08.
13. "¿Cual fue el mejor montaje teatral?". El País (in Spanish). 2013-12-12. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
14. Ramo, Jose Luis (2015-01-15). "Las 10 mejores obras de teatro en Madrid". Metropoli. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
15. Digital, Libertad (2015-03-06). "LD cumple 15 años". Libertad Digital (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-08.
16. ^ Web oficial 'La llamada' (4 November 2015). "¡La llamada llegará a la gran pantalla!". España.

External links

• Official website of La llamada

• 2013 musicals
• Jukebox musicals
• Spanish musicals
• Fiction set in 2013
• Musicals set in the 2010s
• Musicals set in Spain
• Musicals set in summer camps
• Musicals about nuns
• Segovia
• Whitney Houston