Wheat Ridge Theatre Company has another hit with the famous folktale
A secret hiding in Wheat Ridge is about ready to burst at the seams. Zorro, the Musical presented by Wheat Ridge Theatre Company, is neatly tucked away in a theatre off 38th Avenue in one of our metro area’s nondescript strip malls. And it is ready to explode. It’s not a perfect production, however, it is filled with energy, excitement and pride making for a meaningful theatrical event.
There is nothing new about the story. It is Zorro as we have all grown to know throughout the years. As outlined in Maru Garcia’s director notes: “Zorro was likely based on Mexican folktales of a noble bandit who fought on behalf of the peasantry and indigenous peoples.” But included in this tale of Zorro, the Musical is an advanced case of jealousy, unrequited love, and ultimately death. In short, it is a mad adventure from start to finish stretching from Spain to California.
Based on a 1919 story by Johnston McCulley, Zorro could easily ride into the sunset as a forerunner to modern-day heroes. But he is back again in a musical with book and lyrics by Stephen Clark, an original story by Stephen Clark and Helen Edmundson, and music by the Gipsy Kings. The Gipsy Kings is a musical group founded in France in 1978, however, they are well known for Catalan rumba, flamenco, and salsa-style music. Using this style, the music and lyrics are a highlight of this production. The recorded music is augmented admirably by Brint Lukens, a flamenco guitarist.
In the starring role of Diego and his alter ego Zorro is Jose Serrano. Recently seen in Wheat Ridge Theatre Company’s production of The Irish Curse, Serrano is both good-looking and virile giving a believable performance as the masked man. His acting is strong, while less so vocally. Luisa, played by Giselle Gonzalez is Diego/Zorro’s love interest and offers up a heartfelt song in the first act called, “In One Fine Day,” along with the female ensemble. Gonzalez is a strong actress and singer and is well-cast as the ingenue.
The supporting cast contains multiple winning performances worth mentioning. Inez, played by Alexandra Alonso, is the Gypsy Queen who falls hard for Diego. Alonso is a striking presence with a strong singing voice as showcased in a variety of musical numbers. The Old Gypsy (Selena A. Naumoff) gives a solid performance and offers sage-like advice. As Zorro’s childhood friend, turned archenemy, Fabian Vazquez plays Roman with the appropriate amount of evil. Roman’s Sergeant Garcia is played by Tony Rivera with a sense of love-struck innocence and a dash of humor as supremely demonstrated in “One More Beer,” during the second act. And as soldiers, Thomas Ogar, and Bryan Sanchez both make valuable contributions to the ongoing action of the musical.
The highly accomplished female ensemble of gypsies and peasants offers up a variety of musical numbers with traditional dance choreographed by Miriam Arenas. The choreography shines throughout the performance and is well-suited for the elongated stage. And as an ensemble, they offer strong vocals throughout the performance.
Also worth mentioning is the sword fighting as choreographed by Carrie Colton. After all, what would Zorro be without sword fighting? Given the close proximately of the actors to the audience, the fight sequences are thrilling and at times frightening. I happened to be sitting in the front row and at times felt nervous the action might spill into the audience. As this review suggests, I lived to tell the tale!
Maru Garcia’s direction is fast and spirited. Garcia has managed to fill the stage with a very large cast without making it seem overwhelming. Each subplot is clearly defined through the excellent use of characters and scene building. She clearly has an affinity for this story as demonstrated by the care she has taken to address all nuances of the story. Garcia transported the audience to another place and time with total attention to the famous storyline.
With Brian Miller as the set designer and Garcia as the prop designer, the entire piece is performed with little scenery and props. This is a definite choice that has been made and for the most part, it works. The scenery that is used has a very rudimentary feel about it that is often only partially representative of the action on stage. Also, the lighting designed by Steven Hartman is adequate but would benefit from more lighting equipment to illuminate the playing area to a greater degree. Of special note is the costume design by Kati Oltyan, who has dressed the cast in period attire that is both attractive and functional.
Wheat Ridge Theatre Company has made an important statement by presenting Zorro, the Musical. “It is important to set examples of superheroes representing the Latin culture,” according to director Garcia. And they have done just that. It is refreshing to see so many actors of Latin descent on stage at one time, and Wheat Ridge does its diverse city proud with another strong production in their new space.
Eric Fitzgerald started producing plays when he was 5 years old. He spent eight years in New York City as a talent agent representing well-known actors and actresses. Fitzgerald also worked for the ABC Television Network for 12 years both with ABC News and ABC Daytime. He lives in Aurora with his cat Max.
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