Tango Argentino (musical) | |
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![]() Tango Argentino - Dani and Silvina Valz-Obelisco in 2011 | |
Premiere | 11 November 1983Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France : |
Productions |
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Awards | Tony Award Nominations:
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Tango Argentino is a musical stage production about the history and many varieties of Argentine tango. It was created and directed by Hector Orezzoli[1] and Claudio Segovia, and premiered at the Festival d'Automne in Paris in 1983 and on Broadway in New York in 1985. The Mel Howard production became a world-wide success with numerous tours culminating with a Broadway revival in 1999–2000. It set off a world-wide resurgence of tango, both as a social dance and as a musical genre.[2] Tango Argentino recreates on stage the history of tango from its beginnings in 19th-century Buenos Aires through the tango's golden age of the 1940s and 50s up to Piazzolla's tangos.[3] Most of the dancers in the show did their own choreography.[4]
Tango Argentino was a totally unexpected hit. It violated all the rules— It was low budget, used a single set, and showcased slim, athletic professional dancers, such as Nelson Avila, along with middle-aged dancers, such as Verulazo, all on the same stage. The average age of the cast was 42 years.[2]
All this glamour attends a show that even Argentines wouldn't invest in at the outset, a show that made it to Broadway largely by accident, a show that has one set, four accordions (called bandoneons) and a couple of 38-inch waistlines.[5] (Samuel G. Friedman, NY Times 1985)
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