Like a state full of middle children, we Utahns are used to never being the first in line to get something new or exciting. The first spot in line always goes to either New York, the cool, intellectual older sibling with so many museums and stages it takes five whole boroughs to squeeze them all in, or Los Angeles, the flashy younger sibling that has tons of famous friends and everyone thinks is so much fun to hang around.
This time, though, Salt Lake City is beating New York to the punch. Hale Centre Theatre will be the home for the U.S. premiere of “Zorro,” the well-liked musical that started in London’s West End and has taken a world tour before coming to the United States. The team behind the musical are working with Hale to restage the show for the theater-in-the-round format, and it will be running here Feb. 16 through April 11 (tickets are available online). Only then will it head out on its national tour, which will include a three-month stop on Broadway.
Featuring music by the Gipsy Kings, “Zorro” is a prequel to the classic stories that shows how the famous masked man came to be. Based on the mock biography of the same name by Isabelle Allende, it includes references to a variety of other Zorro adventures (including the 1998 movie “The Mask of Zorro,” featuring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones). At Hale, at least, there will also be fireballs.
“‘Zorro’ requires a lot of spectacle and is pushing everything we are able to do at HCT,” Technical Director Kacey Udy said. “While our production offers something completely different from anything to ever grace a Utah stage, our goal was to stay true to the story.”
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