Málaga, (EFE).- The writer María Dueñas, who has seen how her book “El tiempo entre costuras” has become the first Spanish novel to inspire a musical in our country, is confident that “this will open doors” and ” Let’s not dedicate ourselves only to importing talent”.
“There were experiences of adapting other works, but it is the first purely Spanish novel to go on stage with a purely Spanish production. It honors me a lot”, Dueñas said in the presentation of the musical. That will open from September 1 to 10 next season at the Cervantes Theater in Malaga, where it will begin its national tour.
He recalled that there is “a tradition that comes from outside”. In adaptations of musicals such as “Man of La Mancha” or the versions of “Oliver Twist” or “Les Miserables”. And he believes that the musical based on his novel may be “a good start for a trend.”
In his opinion, in the script for “El tiempo entre costuras” the synthesis of the plot “is magnificent. Because there was a temptation to make only a selection of scenes to give eye-catching and spectacularity”. But the result is “very faithful to the linearity of the novel and respectful of what happens in it.”
Generosity in the adaptation process
“All the twists and turns are included in the musical”, assures Dueñas. That he admits that turning his novel into a musical was “a challenge from the beginning.” But the team of this production has had the “generosity” to make him “participant in the whole process”, so he could not be “disappointed”.
“From the beginning of the musical composition, they sent me piece by piece with WhatsApp audios. And I had an idea of what sensitivity they were transmitting”, explains the writer. She adds that, when she received the script, she also had “the freedom to express her opinion and suggest”, but “it was very well done”.
He highlights that the creators of the musical could have been “tempted to resort to the series” based on his novel. That “it could be a very comfortable reference. But they have had the courage and respect to ignore the series and go to the original source, which is the text.
“Every time I hear a spectator say that the entire book is in the musical, it fills me with satisfaction”, emphasizes María Dueñas.
Mounting Dimension
For his part, the general director of the production company Beon Entertainment, Darío Regattieri, highlighted the dimension of this production, with more than three hundred costume changes and a team of almost eighty people, including technicians and an artistic cast.
The musical composer of the work, Iván Macías, has emphasized that they wanted to be “very respectful and faithful to an idea and to the artistic sensibility that María Dueñas demonstrates and to try to tell the reader of the book the same story.”
Macías highlighted the importance of opening the next season in Malaga, a city “where something is happening with musical theater” and which is “fortunate to have an ambassador like Antonio Banderas”.
For the composer, Malaga is currently “the epicenter of training in Spain” in this genre and “in a few years it will be the second Spanish city in quality of musical theater, if it is not already”, in addition to being “the one that most actors and artists is contributing to the national scene”. EFE