''Hoy no me puedo levantar'' (''Today I Can't Get up'') is a Spanish
jukebox musical
A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known popular music songs, rather than original music.
Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while others confine themselves to songs perf ...
, with music and lyrics by
José María Cano
José Cano Andrés (born 21 February 1959) is a Spanish visual artist, musician, composer, and record producer. From 1982 to 1998, he was a member and principal composer of the Spanish pop-rock band Mecano. Since 1998, he works primarily in the ...
and
Nacho Cano
Ignacio Cano Andrés (b. Madrid, 26 February 1963), better known as Nacho Cano, is a Spanish arranger, composer, musician and record producer. He and his brother showed an interest in music in their young lives. At 5, he began to play the Spani ...
, former members of the band
Mecano. Based on 32 of the band's greatest hits and named after their first single, the musical centers on a pair of impoverished musicians trying to be part of
La Movida Madrileña
''La Movida Madrileña'' ( en, The Madrilenian Scene) was a countercultural movement that took place mainly in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. The movement coincided with econ ...
, after the fall of
Francisco Franco's dictatorship. Through an analysis of the 1980s, the musical portrays the condition of these boys trying to survive in Madrid, under the shadow of
drugs and
AIDS. The musical ran for four seasons in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
's Rialto Theatre (former ''
Movistar
Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television ( Movistar+) in Spain. Movistar ...
Theatre'') and for three seasons in Mexico City's Centro Cultural Telmex and Teatro Aldama. It was produced by ''Drive'' in Spain and ''
OCESA Teatro'' in Mexico.
Background
In the 1980s Mecano became a very successful and influential band in Spain and many other
Spanish-speaking countries. Although the band split in September 1992, their songs continued to be very popular. This was one of the reasons why
Ángel Suarez, after seeing the success
Broadway musicals have in Madrid, imagined the first musical completely produced in Spain using songs from Mecano. Together with Nacho Cano and José Manuel Lorenzo, they developed a story, written by David Serrano, around the lyrics that were made popular by the band.
Synopsis
Act One
The play is set on Madrid in 1981 and revolves around Mario, a guy from a small town who wants to move to the city following the dream of creating his own band ("Hoy no me puedo levantar"). He and his best friend, Colate, are prepared to leave their town but Colate's girlfriend, Ana, doesn't want him to leave. After Mario promises that he will take care of Colate, she finally agrees and they set off to Madrid ("Quiero vivir en la ciudad"). In Madrid, they go to many bars but they are not allowed to play at any. They arrive at ''El 33'', where they finally take job as waiters in order to earn the money that they badly need to survive and buy instruments. They also find out that there will be a band contest and the winner will be able to record an album. Afterwards, they go to another bar to find more members for their band; there they meet Panchi and Guillermo ("Hoy no me puedo levantar (reprise)"/"No hay marcha en Nueva York"). Back in ''El 33'', Guillermo tries to create a new look for the band with the help of some gay stylists ("Maquillaje") and Mario meets a girl named Maria, falling in love with her; later he confesses his love but she is not interested in him ("Por la cara"). Guillermo introduces them to Patricia and, thanks to Panchi, they discover drugs and start smoking
marijuana ("Hawaii-Bombay"). Panchi introduces Colate to Churchi, a very popular drug dealer in Madrid, and they start using
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
. Ana goes to Madrid to visit Colate but is disappointed when she finds him drugged with many people sleeping in the same room and decides to leave ("Quédate en Madrid"). Anselmo, the owner of ''El 33'', teaches Mario
bulerías
''Bulería'' (; interchangeable with the plural, ''bulerías'') is a fast flamenco rhythm made up of a 12 beat cycle with emphasis in two general forms as follows:
This may be thought of as a measure of followed by a measure of (known ...
to conquer Maria ("Una Rosa es Una Rosa") but she still refuses. Maria tells Patricia about the infidelities of men and propose to become lesbians, later she rectifies saying it was a joke ("Mujer contra Mujer"). After Panchi interrupts the scene, Maria is troubled because she thinks Mario is just going to hurt her ("Lía"). Colate spends all the money they have been saving to buy their instruments in drugs, and he tells the band members it was stolen from him. Anselmo decides to pay for the instruments and be the manager of the band, so they change their name from Luna to Rulé ("Me colé en una fiesta"). Rulé gets to the final of the contest and they win ("No controles"). Afterwards the band members celebrate. At the party, Churchi gives Colate a bag with
heroin as a gift for his success. Mario and Maria have a fight, but at the end, Maria gives in and they start going out ("Medley 1").
Act Two
Some years have passed, and Rulé's album has been a big hit. Colate and Panchi are smoking marihuana in the roof of ''El 33'' and they fantasize about
Dalí and
Laika
Laika (russian: link=no, Лайка; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 space ...
("'Eungenio' Salvador Dalí/Laika"). Afterwards, Anselmo, Mario and Guillermo find them in the roof and tell them they are going to produce the theme of a TV show ("Aire"). Colate goes back to his apartment and has a drug overdose ("Perdido en mi habitación"). Some months later they all get together in ''El 33'' to celebrate that their single "Aire" is a number one hit. Maria doesn't stay long because she has to work the next day and leaves, but she forgets her purse. When she returns she finds Mario making out with another girl, she gets mad and leaves. Mario writes a song for her, but Maria is offended by the song and they break up ("Cruz de Navajas"). Mario goes to find Colate but he is not at his apartment. When he is about to leave, Colate walks in with a bag of heroin in his hand, Mario realises this and tries to convince him to stop using drugs, getting into a fight ("Barco a Venus"). Mario decides to become a solo artist and leaves the band ("El uno, el dos y el tres"). Four years after the band won the contest, Maria shows up in ''El 33'' looking for Mario, but he is not there. She and Anselmo talk about Mario's career and are depressed ("El 7 de septiembre"). When Maria is leaving, Mario walks in and spend the night together ("
Hijo de la Luna"). On New Year's Eve of 1987, Maria, Anselmo, Colate, Panchi and Guillermo get together to celebrate ("Un año mas"). Colate is very skinny and weak and leaves the party early. Colate goes to find Mario in his new apartment but Mario refuses to talk to him and throws him out. The audience learns that Colate has AIDS and he wanted to say goodbye to Mario. Colate phones Ana who is now pregnant and married and says goodbye; afterwards Colate hangs himself in his apartment ("El fallo positivo"). Panchi finds Colate's body and cries. Mario hears the news from Colate and feels very guilty and lonely ("Me cuesta tanto olvidarte"). Mario goes to the cemetery where he finds all his old friends. After they leave Mario stays behind and Colate's ghost appears to him ("No es serio este cementerio"); he tells Mario to go back to Madrid and form the band with Anselmo, instead of him, and get Maria back. Mario does this and goes back to ''El 33'' to meet Maria ("La fuerza del destino" / "Vivimos siempre juntos" / Medley 2).
Aspects of the show
Musical numbers
;Act One
*Overture
*Hoy no me puedo levantar
*Quiero vivir en la ciudad
*Hoy no me puedo levantar (reprise)
*No hay marcha en Nueva York
*Maquillaje
*Por la cara
*Hawaii-Bombay
*Quédate en Madrid
*Una rosa es una rosa
*Mujer contra mujer
*Lía
*Me colé en una fiesta
*No controles
*Medley 1 (J.C., El amargo del pomelo, Los amantes, No controles, Quédate en Madrid, Tú, Te busqué, Sube Sube, La fuerza del destino)
;Act Two
*"Eungenio" Salvador Dalí/Laika
*Aire
*Perdido en mi habitación
*Cruz de Navajas
*Barco a Venus
*El uno, el dos y el tres
*El 7 de septiembre
*Hijo de la Luna
*Un año mas
*El fallo positivo
*Me cuesta tanto olvidarte
*No es serio este cementerio
*La fuerza del destino
*Vivimos siempre juntos
*Medley 2 (Naturaleza muerta, Dalai Lama, Cruz de Navajas, Maquillaje, No es serio este cementerio, Me colé en una fiesta, Vivimos siempre juntos, Hoy no me puedo levantar)
{{col-end
Interaction and multimedia
The musical is an interactive play where the public is encouraged to dance and sing in all musical pieces, especially in the last medley. The
fourth wall
The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
is broken many times stating that the events shown are a musical, showing crew members and interacting with the public (actors come down from the stage and dance, sing and even place wigs and costumes on members of the audience). A large screen in stage shows live images from the public, the actors, the orchestra, along with other pre-recorded videos, which ultimately become important part of the play. Also, in one scene, the characters discuss the plot and their performance in the play.
Productions
En tu Fiesta me Colé
A modified version of the play called ''En tu Fiesta me Colé'' ("I Crashed your Party") was shown in Madrid, Spain. This was a condensed version of the musical (an hour and a half) without the sex and drug themes portrayed in the original, created especially to bring whole families to the theater.
Mexican production
On 24 May 2006 a Mexican production opened in Mexico City with Nacho Cano involved in the casting and co-direction. This production was almost identical to the original and had a few minor changes in order to be suitable for the Mexican audience. The name of Panchi was changed to Chakas and the name of Anselmo was changed to Venancio, and is the only character portrayed as a Spaniard (although the play takes place in Spain); also a group called Las Gelatinas (The
Gelatins) sings a short part at the beginning of the song "
No Controles
"No Controles" is a song written by Nacho Cano, and recorded and released by the Spanish band Olé Olé in 1983.
The song translates as "Don't Control" in English, referring to a series of life choices that could possibly be controlled such as ...
"; this was made as a reference/parody of the real group
Flans
Flans are an all-female Mexican music group, which enjoyed popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Its members were the singers Ivonne Margarita Guevara García, Ilse María Olivo Schweinfurth and Irma Angélica Hernández Ochoa. Th ...
(c.f.
Flan) which made popular the song in Mexico. All the pre-recorded videos were reshot to set some scenes of the play in Mexico City. The interaction with the audience is nearly missing, except for "Maquillaje", "Me colé en una fiesta", and the finale.
Ana Torroja,
Gloria Trevi
Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz (born February 15, 1968), known as Gloria Trevi (), is a Mexican singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, television hostess, music video director and businesswoman known as "The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop".
...
,
Ha*Ash
Ha*Ash is an American Latin pop duo from Lake Charles, Louisiana. The band was formed in 2002 by sisters Hanna Nicole (born 1985) and Ashley Grace (born 1987). The group's name is an portmanteau of letters from their first names. They have rele ...
,
Moenia and
Christian Chávez
José Christian Chávez Garza (, born August 7, 1983), most often known as Christian Chávez is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor, best known for his role as Giovanni Méndez López in the telenovela '' Rebelde'' and its spin-off pop grou ...
from
RBD
RBD is a Mexican Latin pop group that gained popularity from Televisa's telenovela ''Rebelde''. The group achieved international success from 2004 until their separation in 2009 and sold over 15 million records worldwide, making them one of ...
have been special guests to appear in the musical. In May 2007, when the Mexican production turned its first anniversary, the play had the special performances of Nacho Cano and the rock/pop band
Motel
A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...
. On 15 July 2007 the Mexican production closed for the first season; afterwards the play went on tour through Mexico and Latin America in the form of ''Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, el Concierto'' (see below).
''Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, el Concierto''
After the great success of the Mexican production, OCESA Teatro and Nacho Cano created a new condensed production of ''Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar'', that opened September 20, 2007 in Mexico City. This new version centers entirely in the songs, but not leaving aside the main plot. Four songs were deleted ("Maquillaje", "Hawaii-Bombay", "Lía" and "'Eungenio' Salvador Dalí/Laika") and a song was added ('"Ay que pesado"). The length is approximately two hours, one hour and a half less than the original musical.
Casts
Madrid Original Cast
The Madrid Original Cast of ''Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar'' was as follows:
* Miquel Fernández..... ''Mario''
*
Inma Cuesta
Inmaculada Cuesta Martínez (born 25 June 1980) is a Spanish actress. She has starred in films such as ''The Sleeping Voice'', ''Three Many Weddings'' and '' The Bride''.
Some of her best known television credits include performances in ''Águil ...
..... ''María''
*
Javier Godino
Javier Godino (born March 11, 1978 in Madrid) is a Spanish actor.
Biography
Godino began his studies at Juan Carlos Corazza's School of Interpretation. He is a Spanish actor, having worked in both Spanish and international cinematic product ...
..... ''Colate''
* Diego París..... ''Panchi''
* Andreu Castro..... ''Guillermo''
* Fanni Alcázar..... ''Ana''
* Javier Navares..... ''Anselmo''
* Natalia Vergara..... ''Patricia''
* Paloma Arimón..... ''Malena''
Mexico City Original Cast
The Mexico City Original Cast of ''Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar'' was as follows:
*
Alan Estrada
Alan Estrada Gutiérrez (born December 23, 1980 in Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco, Mexico) is a Mexican actor, dancer and singer. His best known role was "Mario" in the Spanish musical '' Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar.'' He is also known for his Yo ...
..... ''Mario''
*
Fernanda Castillo..... ''María''
* Luis Gerardo Méndez..... ''Colate''
* José Daniel Figueroa..... ''Guillermo''
* Rogelio Suárez..... ''Chakas''
* Jannette Chao..... ''Ana''
* Gerardo González..... ''Venancio''
* Valeria Vera..... ''Patricia''
Reception
The play was a success in both Spain and Mexico, having various sell-outs. It has also created a cult-like following among teenagers like ''
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'' did, including several persons that have seen the play more than a hundred times. In September 2007, after two years of its opening, it was announced that the musical has been seen by more than 1,500,000 spectators, making this play the most successful original production in Spanish of all time.
External links
Spanish productionMexican productionMexican production (OCESA)
2005 musicals
Jukebox musicals
LGBT-related musicals
Spanish musicals