2023-08-27 07:01:21
There are shows with a lot of history. This is the case of The King’s Musketeers written and directed by Manuel González Gil. It was known in 1991 with a cast made up of Miguel Ángel Solá, Hugo Arana, Darío Grandinetti and Juan Leyrado. They did four seasons in Buenos Aires, two in Mar del Plata and one in Córdoba. Then in 2006 the female version appeared, made up of Virginia Lago, María Leal, María Valenzuela and Emilia Mazer. And since August 24, a new one is now known, with Nicolás Cabré, Jorge Suárez, Nicolás Scarpino and Freddy Villarreal, at the Astral theater, from Thursday to Sunday, with two performances on Saturdays.
The four interpreters coincide in underlining the same phrase: “All for one and one for all”. Although each one arrived in a different way to the proposal. Nicolás Scarpino received the invitation when he was in Madrid and his desire made him return. He anticipates: “I play the role that Darío Grandinetti premiered, that is, D’Artagnan. When González Gil called me, I accepted immediately, because I loved this show and I have already worked with Manuel eight times. I know that they had asked him to take this text out of the drawer and only now did he want to do it once more. I think the public is not only going to have fun, but they are going to take away a beautiful message”.
Villarreal adds, clarifying: “I embody the role that Juan Leyrado did. But today each of us searched for his own character. It is always time to laugh. A day without laughter is a wasted day, Chaplin said. When the situation is adverse you have to laugh more, it is a recreation for the soul. Suárez will add: “Now I play the role that Miguel Ángel Sola did, but I saw it with Jorge Marrale, who had replaced him. I remember the tribute to our own craft and to the heart of the actor. It was created by González Gil for his nephews and he saw that the adults had more fun than the children”. Cabré ends by saying: “I didn’t see it, although in these times they passed me videos. But I worked with Darío (Grandinetti) and with Hugo (Arana) and that allowed me to know what they were talking regarding when they refer to this show. It was very important to them and I know what the play means.”
—Premiered in 1991: do you think it is still current?
JORGE SUÁREZ: He has a white humor, without double meanings. It was designed for children, even for the ones we have inside, that’s why it didn’t age. It proposes a direct contact with the public from the first moment and it does not have a fourth wall, for which we are very exposed.
FREDDY VILLARREAL: Of all the dialogues we have when we wanted to add something we mightn’t. The comedy is an account of what happened to the musketeers, it has to do with French history. There is no place to update it.
NICOLÁS SCARPINO: It is a timeless work. In these times, working with humor is complicated, so as not to hurt feelings. Today we must be very careful, because everything is very delicate. He has a white, genuine humor, without malice or double meaning. There are four clowns, children playing to do things well on stage, although they thrive on acting errors. We must do everything right for it to go wrong.
NICOLÁS CABRE: It is a text so pure, so white that absolutely nothing had to be added to it or taken out. He has humor for everyone, direct, primary, which is the most wonderful thing regarding him. First it was a child and there they discovered that the parents and grandparents were laughing. The most wonderful thing is his humor. For me it is an honor to be part of a project by Manuel (González Gil) who had it saved for a long time.
—They say that it was the first Argentine work to receive the sponsorship of Unesco for promoting solidarity and friendship among men. What do you think in these feminist times?
NS: In these times the term should be modified, instead of men, it should say human beings… Perhaps it refers to history, since the king’s musketeers in France, in the story of Alexandre Dumas, were men.
JS: At that time man was a word to generalize. I feel that it was an award for friendship, so that we don’t forget that it is a very important feeling in life.
FV: I interpret that at that time Unesco used the word man to generalize. In those years neither that entity nor society were up-to-date with current times. Today the distinction should be to friendship in general. We do not promote a macho idea, on the contrary, the idea is that in the face of adversity, friendship lies at the end of everything.
NC: I think it was an added title, there was even a female version of the musketeers. It underlines the importance of the motto: “All for one and one for all” that can be taken anywhere. It is the story of four actors who must tell the story of d’Artagnan and the king’s three musketeers.
—How do you get along with the choreographies created by Rubén Cuello?
JS: I get along very badly (Laughs). Although it is part of the game. My problem is that my colleagues overwhelm me, because they are very good and I am already a great man by their side. I have to sing when I’m agitated. For me it is a great challenge… This is a different show. I gave myself into the hands of Manuel (González Gil), with whom I had never worked.
NS: We handle them however we can. (He also laughs) It’s so much fun watching the four of us dance. Our choreographer captured how far one can go and did magic with us. We also sing with the music of Martín Bianchedi, they are the same songs from when it premiered, but there is more work on arrangements due to the evolution of the technical teams and today there are more instruments on the musical track.
FV: I get along quite well with the choreography, but that’s what the show is regarding. We play characters and comedy allows it.
NC: I have fun. There is something that remained of Sugar, cheer me up, play singing and dancing. It makes me a little embarrassed, but there is something deep down that I like.
—Were they or are they afraid of ridicule?
JS: I like to play the ridiculous edge. My great teacher – Francisco Javier – taught me to seek not to fall, but to get closer to danger. I think it’s an abyss, where an actor can spread his wings and fly.
FV: No. A comedian should never be afraid of ridicule, on the contrary, they should be friends with it. If he was afraid of him, he might not be an actor, if one must be careful if he does not reach the goal. I’m not really afraid of anything. Not even death, she is my friend, I talked a lot, since I was in intensive care for a tumor and the covid hit me very hard.
NC: I don’t particularly have that fear. It doesn’t happen to me. I feel like this show is an excuse to have fun.
NS: I think it exists if you don’t give yourself fully to the game. If an actor is afraid of ridicule, it is because something is wrong, perhaps he should rethink what is wrong with him. It appears when there are doubts. Before the other laughs at me, it is one who must laugh first.
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