A poster for Zorro.Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai International Arts Festival

He looks like an ordinary man, but when disaster strikes he rips off his everyday clothes and jumps into action to defend the justice of downtrodden people everywhere. And there's usually a beautiful woman involved somewhere.

Alter ego

Before there was any Batman, Spiderman, Iron Man, or even Superman, there was the daddy of all superheroes: Zorro, the mysterious masked alter ego of Don Diego de la Vega, a Spanish-Californian character created by the American pulp fiction writer Johnston McCulley in 1919. He famously disguised his identity in a black cloak and a black mask.

Over the decades, the original caped crusader has inspired numerous TV series, movies, cartoons and books. The Zorro industry even warranted the setting up of a company in 1986, Zorro Productions Incorporated, to protect the brand's worldwide trademarks and copyrights. The firm owns all the rights to the name of Zorro, his visual representation and merchandising products connected to the character.

And until November 29, the musical, Zorro, is being staged at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center. This new musical retells the dramatic tale of our romantic hero, combining extraordinary aerial acrobatics, spectacular sword-fighting and incredible magic with the authentic colors of traditional flamenco.

The creative team behind the musical includes Spanish superstars The Gipsy Kings flamenco star Rafael Amargo as a choreographer, and producer, Chilean-American author Isabel Allende. The plot follows young Diego, a performer who joins a group of gypsy dancers and magicians in Spain, before becoming Zorro when he returns to California.

Putting all these elements together is the English director, Christopher Renshaw. 

In the original West End production, the famous British stage actor Matt Rawle played Zorro. At the time The Guardian commented: "The show may not be high art but it is great fun and brings a refreshingly different, Hispanic sound to the jaded world of West End musicals." And it's true that this musical focuses less on its stars and the story, and much more on the flamenco-based score and choreography.

Although this production is without the star-pulling power of Rawle, producer Ricky Nur told the Global Times that, it still has the essence of the original production.

"The Gipsy Kings is still our live band, the music is the same, and we also have flamenco dancing and the magic tricks," Nur said.

"The story of Zorro is well-known almost everywhere around the whole world, including among Chinese people," said Nur. "And when we decided to bring the musical to China and carried out some marketing research here two years ago, almost everyone here told us that they were familiar with Zorro. And I believed that the colorful music and the flamenco dancing could only make this show even more attractive." 

 
A scene from Zorro.Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai International Arts Festival

Large cast

Nur told the Global Times that this production has been authorized by Zorro Productions Incorporated, and that the more than 70 actors were all selected from over 700 auditionees from Israel, America, and the UK.

"The leading star, Cooper Grodin as Zorro, is from America, and he has previously starred as Danny in Grease and Javert in Les Miserables in acclaimed productions," said Nur.

"He has also performed alongside top orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and the American Symphony Orchestra," she added.

As a musical producer, Nur has worked in Israel for more than 10 years and produced musicals including Beauty and the Beast and Oliver Twist. She told the Global Times that most of these were small productions due to the small population of Israel.

"However, China is totally different, and it really can be a huge musical market," Nur added that many Chinese people have told her they love musicals, but that they felt that musicals such as Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Mama Mia, usually only played for a few nights here. "Although it is our first time to present a musical here and probably a big challenge for us, we still decided to plan it as a long tour."

After 40 shows within just over a month in Shanghai, the musical, Zorro will also visit other Chinese cities, including Beijing, Wuhan, Chongqin and Guangzhou.

Nur said that she is currently writing a musical specifically targeted for Chinese audiences. "It is about pandas and it will be a musical that cater to the whole family, both children and adults."

In English dialogue and lyrics with Chinese subtitles.

Date: Until November 29, 7:30 pm (closed on Mondays)

Venue: Shanghai Oriental Art Center 上海东方艺术中心

Address: 425 Dingxiang Road 丁香路425号

Tickets: 280 to 1,680 yuan

Call 400-620-6006 for details