Musical theater full of surprises, talent and mystery

A piano, two actors, 12 suspects in a crime, all in musical theater format. How can a work with few scenic elements provoke so many reactions among the public? Murder for two Every performance does it: it’s quite a surprise.

On a trip to Argentina, her homeland, director Anahí Allué was recommended to see this musical with dramaturgy by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Balir. When he attended he realized that it was an overflowing talent meeting.

Upon her return, I do not hesitate to bring her to Mexico. The success was such that today is its re-release in the Mexico Cityand will be at the Milan Theater until April 22, with four actors alternating roles: Aldo Guerra, Iker Madrid, Humberto Mont and Silvestre Villarruel.

When I went to see it in Argentina, I sat in the audience, very neutrally to enjoy, because I had no idea what I was going to see and when the play finished I said ‘but of course I’m going to take this to Mexico and I’m going to do it. to direct soon, to see if these two actors exist.’

It’s not easy what these artists do on stage, because they do absolutely everything: sing, dance, act, play 12 characters… it’s a tour of force! What all actors would like to do. And excellence was achieved, which fills me with satisfaction, pride and joy,” said Anahí Allué, the director of the musical, who looked for producers to start the project six years ago, which was initially joined by producer Jimena Saltiel. from Once Once Productions, and then PlayHouse and The Great Audience.

The director highlighted that it is a very well written and constructed work, which is currently being staged in Madrid and Japan.

Just when you think there are no more, 12 children from a choir suddenly appear, played by the same actor! I don’t want to give away, but it is a glorious moment, because there is a collective expression of amazement from the public,” he revealed.

Murder for twowhich pays homage to mystery novels, addresses the story of a crime to solve, although the detective to do so is not very emotionally stable and the suspects are unusual. This is how this work becomes “the perfect mix between music, virtuosity, police adventure and involuntary humor, so that you laugh until you die while you discover who is guilty.”

Aldo Guerra, son of the first actor Rogelio Guerra (1936-2018), spoke about this experience, whose scenic demands are very high to tell the story.

It’s a pretty simple plot that we’ve seen in different ways: a murder in a mansion. A detective arrives to investigate and interviews all the suspects to find out who it was. We love to wonder who the culprit might be and make assumptions. That is the basis of the work.

The wonder is that only two actors do it, so one actor, either Humberto Mont or Silvestre Villarruel, plays the detective, while Iker Madrid or I play all the suspects. That is to say, the game of this play is that with two actors the entire story is told and, suddenly, the audience will be able to see all the characters.

The extra level is that it is a musical, where there are no musicians, just my partner and I, so we play the piano, live, throughout the work. That is the extra level of coordination, difficulty, demand and virtuosity, because it is a very complicated score,” shared Aldo Guerra, who has had pleasant comments about his development on stage in this production.

The actor explained that he studied piano since he was a child, from 4 to 16 years old, although he had given it up a little until now when it is one of the needs of the work.

For this project I asked myself, can I? It was a huge package! The score is quite complicated, not only with simple chords, but it has a difficulty that took me many times on the piano. We were able to rehearse it for five months and it has been one of the projects that has required the most time.

It was a wonderful, playful, fun and frustrating process, in many moments, that took me out of my comfort zone, which forced me to elevate everything in my being, which required a discipline that I had not allowed myself to do for a long time and that, Now that we have reached a successful conclusion, we finished our first season in 2024 and we resume this second, with a positive reaction to the project, I can only say ‘it was worth all the effort’. “I feel like I have a gift in my hands,” he said.

IN MEMORY OF HIS FATHER

Aldo Guerra shared that it was thanks to his father, the hydrocalid actor Rogelio Guerra (1936-2018), that he fell in love with acting.

It was totally thanks to him. The best gift he could have given me in life was to direct me towards a passion, without knowing it. Since I was little, he took me to the theater with him or to the forums and I grew up in dressing rooms, playing cards while my dad was on stage and I, with the companions who had not yet entered. I fell in love with that magic, that show, that dynamic, that super power that exists on stage. I started very young, at nine years old. My dad is the one with whom I made my debut and my first play.

He gave me a lot of advice, he was a great guy. There was something that always told me: ‘you are my showman’, because I started playing the piano when I was little and then dancing and singing and, suddenly, I was also acting. He told me that he admired those men who could do everything and who could stand alone on a stage and entertain all the people. I didn’t forget that. It is a beautiful gift, he was affectionate, fun, pampering and admirable. I know he would be very proud to see me do this, because he always went to see me at everything, not just one show, but all of them,” Guerra said.

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