The Chicago musical that triumphed on Broadway lands at the Palacio de Congresos during the Fiestas del Pilar

The dancer Roxie Hart and her conviction for the murder of her lover, the deceit, the sensational headlines and the decadence of the 20s will turn the Palacio de Congresos in Zaragoza into a nightclub with the musical of musicals. Chicago is the proposal that SOM Produce brings to these Fiestas del Pilar (from October 3 to 13) directly from Broadway. And it is a replica of the longest-running musical on the American billboard that has already been raising the curtain in New York for almost three decades. The same choreographies, the same songs (albeit performed in Spanish), the same number of actors and even the same number of lights will land in the Aragonese capital with a complex production that is carefully crafted down to the last detail.

The audience will follow Roxie Hart from her prison sentence to her rise to fame, deception and sensationalism in a musical that has a “complex” narrative, in the words of Chicago-based director Victor Conde. “It is a musical for all audiences but it is recommended for an older audience because it has a large component of social denunciation, “fake news”, sensationalist press and a person who becomes famous for having killed. Its narrative is complex because the songs and dances are part of a whole. If you remove a song or a dance, the essence is lost,” explained Conde.

And the essence of Chicago is given by those who interpret it because “there are no two Chicagos alike even if it is the same story .” Artists of the stature of Lizza Minelli, Melanie Griffith, Patrick Swayze, Sofia Vergara or Pamela Anderson have taken to the stage to play some of the characters. And in Zaragoza, Teresa Abarca will play at home, since the Aragonese will give life to the protagonist, Roxie Hart, in some of the performances. After “The Neverending Story,” the actress joins the cast of this titan of musicals.

“Chicago is a delightful musical and for any musical actor it is a gift to be part of it. Just deciding to do the casting and facing it is a challenge but also the team that makes the musical from New York came to Madrid to make the selection together with the Spanish team. You have to nail it in dance, in acting and in singing and also what the American team wanted was to see the essence that each of us gave to the character, so it was another challenge,” explained the actress this Tuesday in Zaragoza.

The musical is the same size as the New York one and the cast is made up of 23-24 actors, eleven musicians who will perform live music and a great technical team including costumes, make-up, lighting… “The cast has an unbeatable artistic quality, they have undergone very tough and demanding castings and their abilities are up to what this musical demands. It is a musical that is alive and requires extreme care. It is very exciting to bring it to Zaragoza and other places but it also has a bit of responsibility because we are bringing a very successful product that needs to be replicated,” said the artistic director.

So successful is it that more than 30 million spectators have enjoyed this show around the world with performances in more than 36 countries. Now, it will land in Zaragoza before going on an extensive tour of many of the coliseums throughout the country and taking the jazz and glamour of a classic wherever it goes. Tickets are already on sale on the website of the Palacio de Congresos and range from 50 to 65 euros, although there are days with discounted tickets.