Nieto will share the stage with a cast full of familiar faces: Ana Labordeta, Claudio Tolcachir and Avelino Piedad, along with Lola Barroso on piano. "It's a wonderful comedy, with a real bite and a lot of emotion. I made this play happen because I've been producing theater for a long time and I'm very good friends with José Troncoso. I wanted him to direct me and to tell a story in which I could take part. I love José Antonio and I think the audience will love him too. He's a very mediocre poor man who wants to do theater, but not just any theater—he wants to take on the great names: Romeo, Creon, Segismundo... He wants to be a great man of the theater," Pepón Nieto says.
But one day, José Antonio's luck changes, and that is when, after one of many auditions, he gets a role. "That's when the disaster begins. The worst thing that can really happen to him is to be given an opportunity. I think this play is one of those in which we take something very small and specific and turn it into something universal. Suddenly, it speaks to you about life, frustration, dreams, and what happens when you pursue them but they don't come true... I think it holds up a mirror to you, and you find cracks in it. Those cracks are what scratch at your heart," the actor acknowledged.
AN INTELLIGENT COMEDY
Teatro de las Esquinas manager María López said the venue is used to putting "recognizable faces" on stage during the Fiestas del Pilar, and that this occasion is even more special because Ana Labordeta is returning home and reuniting with Pepón Nieto. "We did our first play an age ago, and because of the nature of this profession, we hadn't worked together again. We have a great time performing this show, and I think it shows. The audience notices it and suddenly bursts into laughter, but we also see their hearts tighten. The final applause is incredible too, so we're very happy," the actress said.
The play was written and directed by José Troncoso, a playwright "who is doing more and more things and has a very Andalusian sense of humor that we think audiences in Zaragoza will really enjoy," the theater manager acknowledged. "It's a very intelligent comedy. It isn't one of those silly shows made just to pass the time—no. It has a great deal of tenderness and outstanding quality in the acting, the set design, the text... It's brilliant," the manager concluded.
