Zorro the Musical – Reviews

Zorro the Musical

My Zorro review: Great Entertainment!

Zorro! was on our list of must-see shows this summer and last week we settled our selves down into our seats and waited to be entertained. I’d heard a lot about fancy sword work, acrobatics and effects but wondered if all of this would get in the way of the story. Well, I needn’t have worried. The show is a great romp through a simple story and I just found it all incredibly enjoyable from start to finish.

Families go to see Zorro

As I looked round the audience I saw a huge mix of ages with families of young children, teenagers and much older people. I was a little concerned about the large number of quite young children but that turned out to be unfounded. They were all just as entranced as everyone else and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Zorro as the perfect show for families.

Zorro as a musical with dance

The lively hot passionate and at times heartbreakingly tragic flamenco songs and guitar music added hugely to the magical theatre atmosphere. personally, I would have been happy to hear more from the flamenco performers, but this complex and at times challenging music is used fairly sparingly, which is perhaps easier for an unaccustomed audience. There are some great original songs and also some from the Gypsy Kings’ own repertoire are woven into the plot quite cleverly.

I particularly enjoyed some of the chorus pieces, and overall the mix of singing and dancing was full of energy and exuberance to the point of creating a wonderfully inviting festival atmosphere by the end of the show.

The cast of Zorro

My absolute favourite was Lesli Margherita as Inez, the Gypsy Queen. She was smart and funny, playing the role with an archness that connected her beautifully with the audience. Her singing and dancing were brilliant.

Matt Rawle made a superb Diego, feckless and charming with an edge of steel. He’s got a lovely sense of comic timing and some of my favourite scenes were between him and Lesi. He’s also very athletic and we were treated to some fine stunt work at which I could only gasp in amazement.

Adam Levy was a stunningly vile Ramon, the villain of the piece. His acting was excellent and his singing very fine. In the end he made the odious Ramon a believable character, a tortured soul, more to be pitied than hated.

Nick Caveliere was very good as Garcia, playing the role with a lovely mix of comedy and pathos.

Emma Williams as Luisa glowed with light and looked lovely from the start, then rose to the occasion of singing the set piece solo and a couple of nice duets. My only small reservation about this casting was that she just seemed to look and act slightly out of place against the colourful hispanic flavour of everything else. Like a moonflower in a bed of hibiscus.

Final thoughts

By the end of an evening I could hardly keep still. The Gypsy King’s music and this exuberant production had got right under my skin and I, and just about everyone else, danced my way out of the theatre. Grinning at each other from ear to ear whilst reluctantly exiting the theatre, the audience left no doubt that they had been well and truly entertained, a great night out having been enjoyed by all. I would thoroughly recommend Zorro the musical to anybody.

** Book Zorro the musical theatre breaks **

Other Zorro Reviews

Three stars from What’s on Stage : Zorro

Four from Michael Billington in the Guardian : Zorro

“Lacklustre First Night ” by the Independent – aw, shame for them.

“a whale of a time” : West End Whingers