A Peruvian Marilyn Monroe? Musical that brings you closer to the Hollywood legend has already premiered

What has not been said about Norma Jean Baker, alias Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962). Humble origins, unsatisfactory marriages, an intelligence despised by those who only saw it with their eyes. Her success in cinema, personal life, and speculations about her death have been chronicled in documentaries, books, and films, such as Netflix’s “Blonde.” But her life is not exclusive to Hollywood and million-dollar budgets, she also receives the Peruvian version of it. But what premieres here is not just a story of love and pain.

Directed by Manu Rodríguez and Gastón Curbelo, “Monroe” is a musical where dancer Karla Valer, in the leading role, uses her body arts to represent the rise and fall of the diva of the seventh art. She is accompanied by her colleagues Mariana Quiroz, Mariale Pineda, Samantha Mendoza, Miryam Enriquez, Ana Lucía Bracamonte and Valeria Ayres; the male roles are carried out by Pedro Ibáñez.

Except for a few narrations before each choreography, the work is pure dance, movement and singing, with contemporary pop songs (from the last decade or a little more) sung by the dancers. The viewer familiar with the story will recognize characters such as the playwright Arthur Miller, Marilyn’s third ex-husband, or John F. Kennedy himself, former president of the United States with whom she would have had a clandestine relationship, according to rumors. The circular stage of the Ricardo Blume Theater, around which the seats are distributed, bring the show closer to the audience, a connection that increases in some moments of which there will be no more details in this text to maintain the surprise.

By training Karla dances; Getting into character is something she has needed to learn for this show. In conversation with El Comercio, she says that both Rodríguez and Curbelo asked her to always think about what Marilyn Monroe would do in each scene.

“We as a producer have been working for years making dance shows with different symbols, let’s say well-known artists: Freddie Mercury, Selena Quintanilla, Whitney Houston too. But with Marilyn Monroe what we were looking for was something more from the movement, someone who is clear about her technique and I think Karla is the right one for this character. ”Curbelo told this newspaper. “Marilyn was not a great dancer, but she was a phenomenon that captivated her because she was so sensual and Karla has that combination, she is very hypnotic,” he added.

The script does not mention places, names or events. The times when a voice, Marilyn’s, is heard, it is to establish the woman’s mental state. Before telling a story, “Monroe” wants to convey sensations. “While it is true that there is no chronological order, we do understand the moments on an emotional and artistic level that she went through throughout her life. “That is what we have focused on to make the show”said Rodríguez minutes after the first rehearsal with the public.

Is it necessary to know the actress’s story to enjoy the musical? “I do not think so. I think every person knows who this symbol was.”said Curbelo, who highlights, beyond fidelity to history, that these types of unusual shows are made in the Peruvian capital, in addition to the commitment of the production. “We are telling a story with a lot of love and respect, I don’t know what else to say.”

Who does have something else to say is Valer, the local Marilyn: “I feel that [Marilyn] She was a very strong woman, determined to go where she wanted, and at the same time very sensitive. From what I feel in the scene, she was always good in front of others and alone, in her four walls, she broke down. She was an icon who showed strength, empowerment, sensuality and did what she wanted how she wanted and I love that.”