Antonio Banderas has presented his show ‘Company’, which will serve to reopen on November 17 the Albéniz Theater after 17 years of closure –now renamed Umusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz–, in a city, Madrid, which the interpreter considers has already become “the Spanish Broadway”.
“Madrid has a demanding public that is prepared and also a potential public: that is the one that must be taken care of now”, Banderas has pointed out to justify his change of decision not to leave the Soho CaixaBank Theater in Malaga, also motivated by the reopening of a “mythical” theater.
“I said that I was not going to act outside of Malaga and I have broken the strategy for a sufficiently important theater. Here in Madrid I lived through a historic time and this place has meant many memories for people like Pedro Almódovar”, recalled the actor, who acknowledges having called the filmmaker from La Mancha to attend the premiere –“it will come later, now it is in new york“, he pointed out.
“Opening a theater is good and a ray of hope,Because otherwise, closing it down and turning it into a department store or a record store is a step backwards. Unfortunately, we are now at a time when more theaters are closing than opening,” Banderas said.
However, at the press conference to present the show, he stated that musical theater is going through a “hopeful and exciting” moment, due to the expectation and attention it receives from the public. “When I auditioned for a cast of ‘A chorus line’ for 17 members, 1,800 dancers came: 25 years ago this was unthinkable,” he said.
But Banderas understands that this situation also has “some danger”, because this proliferation can result in a “lower quality” in some shows. “The only way is quality, as we try to ‘bypass’ to take advantage of the situation…”has pointed.
That is why he has advocated for musicals where “there are no pre-recordings and there are real musicians”, seeking a consensus among businessmen in the sector. “There are many people who play to the limit. I would bet on getting together and reaching a series of parameters that cannot be crossed, such as a minimum number of musicians per show“, he has defended.
‘Company’ with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim –author of classics such as ‘Into the Woods’ or ‘Sweeney Todd’–, is a production of the Teatro del Soho CaixaBank. The musical director of the theater, Arturo Díez-Boscovich, will lead an orchestra of 26 musicians who will play live on a set set in the New York landscapes of the 70s.
Banderas has reflected on his career, looking back at his beginnings and admitting that “success is a very rare beast and you don’t know where it comes from“. “Sometimes it has happened to me that I have done jobs for which I thought they were going to crucify me and then it was a path of awards and recognition, and vice versa,” he admitted, ending up making a defense of the theater. “The theater survives because, if it did not exist, it would have to be invented“, it is finished.