“The commercial musical can also have a social and transformative message”

For a whole generation, blood brothers it is part of that spark that ignited musical theater in Catalan in the nineties and that continues today in the imagination of fans of the genre. The classic of Willy Russellbenchmark of the British musical of the eighties and more than twenty years in the West End, now returns to the Teatre Condal, the same stage where thirty years ago it became a myth, and again under the umbrella of the same production company. The new version, directed by Daniel English, Ariadna Peya i Andrew Gallenrevisits the play with a contemporary look and a renewed scenic language. In this rereading, the twins separated by fate are Albert Salazar i Roc Bernadí in a proposal that wants to excite and claim the validity of a story that continues to resonate decades later.

What is your relationship with blood brothers?

Albert: I know for a generation it was a very legendary musical and I had heard about it. In class I remember hearing the song “It can’t be true”, it stuck in my head and then I was told it was by blood brothers.

Rock: Look, I’ve been into musicals since I was little and, in Aules, with Dani Anglès, I discovered many of them, but blood brothers it always stuck with me. But I like that it comes again.

But I imagine you listened to the CD with the original recording. What did you think?

Albert: It’s strong, it transports you to a super English era of the 1970s.

Rock: With a saxophone sound that must have been the novelty, I guess.

And now Dani Anglès, Ari Peya and Andreu Gallén arrive and tell you: “Forget all that”.

Albert: totally Forget about the CD and forget about places you’ve been told you’re working.

Rock: In the musical field it is something much closer to what is heard now, a more urban sound, but keeping the essence of the original material. Both Dani and Andreu love and respect the original material, knowing that we have to update it.

Albert: But the base material is already very good.

When you went to the casting, did you already go for this character?

Albert: Dani offered me Miki and I was very hesitant, because there is a respect for the profession of musical actors that I have discovered: they are elite athletes. They have incredible training, both vocal and dance. But I said yes, because the character is beautiful.

Rock: The musical theater genre obviously exists. But I think it’s very important that people like Albert, who are excellent performers, can play musical theater characters, and that it doesn’t make us musical theater actors or text actors. We are interpreters.

Your characters start with one age and end with another. Is having children one of the biggest challenges?

Albert: It was a big melon before we got into it. I, at least, was one of the biggest fears I had. You act like a child on a stage and not fall into caricature. But surprisingly, I think those are the scenes where I have the best time.

Rock: It is the perfect opportunity to lose the fear of embarrassment. How funny: we are preoccupied with acting like children when really the essence of the actor is to play all the time. What these children do is play.

Albert: I think the key is to find the comedy in these kids.

A comedy that contrasts with the drama… Are we all going with the drama?

Albert: totally I’m having a hard time not crying at all the rehearsals watching them. I mean it’s very emotional and very exciting.

There is one thing that Ariadna Peya always works hard on, which is the physical appearance and movement. How are you doing?

Albert: It is very contemporary.

Rock: The movement is another element to tell this story, it is not a decorative element.

Albert: It flows in such a way that you don’t realize at what point the musical number has entered and at what point the scene begins. It’s like everything is perfect.

What do you want the audience to get when they see this proposal?

Albert: I want the public to leave there thinking and feeling more aware than ever of the injustice of being born in one place or being born in another.

Rock: Willy Russell basically does social theatre. And the musical has two sides: the most exciting, in the maternal bonds and between siblings, but at the same time it also has this whole more social part that musicals don’t tend to have much. I hope it proves that the commercial musical can also have a social and transformative message for society.

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