Ocesa Teatro
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OCESA Teatro is a division of Grupo CIE. It is dedicated to produce and promote theater, especially in Mexico City, being the largest producer in Mexico and Latin America.
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[edit] History
The theater division of OCESA, part of Grupo CIE (Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento), was created in 1997 for the production of stage plays and musicals. The first play produced was Confesiones de Mujeres de 30 and later Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Both plays became a great success and so did OCESA's Theater division. Moving from the Orfeon Theater where Beauty and the Beast was playing, the company was seeking to build or buy their own theaters for large format musicals. In 1999 RENT and The Phantom Of The Opera were simultaneously playing at the newly rebuilt Alameda Theaters. In 2000 Telmex bought both theaters and they became part of the Centro Cultural Telmex (Telmex Cultural Center) which consisted of two theaters, with capacity of 2,254 for Theatre 1 and 1,200 seats for Theatre 2, an art gallery and a small shopping center. An agreement was signed between Telmex and OCESA to let OCESA operate the theaters and present mostly exclusively OCESA productions. OCESA Teatro is nowadays, the biggest producer of dramatic and musical theater in Latin America; producing each year at least two Broadway-style shows and two or three plays. It has associations with companies in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Madrid, Barcelona and Portugal, that lets them reduce the costs and risks associated with big budget productions and share copyrights, music, adaptations, sets, or even cast members among the associates in the different countries. [1] Most productions include well known actors from other media but specially those popularized by television. Their shows are characterized for having very high standards of quality and competition is almost nonexistent.
[edit] Productions
[edit] Musicals
| Musical | Opening Date | Closing Date | Performances | Spectators | Theater | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beauty and the Beast | May 1997 | June 1998 | 420 | 650,000 | Orfeon | |
| RENT | June 1999 | January 2000 | 220 | 120,000 | Alameda Theater 2 | |
| The Phantom of the Opera | December 1999 | January 2001 | 400 | 550,000 | Alameda Theater 1 | The most expensive of all productions to date. |
| Man of la Mancha | April 2000 | August 2001 | 443 | 220,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 2 | The scenery was completely different from that on Broadway. |
| Jesus Christ Superstar | March 2001 | December 2001 | 230 | 130,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 1 | |
| Chicago | October 2001 | September 2002 | 329 | 250,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 2 | Bianca Marroquin (Roxie) was invited to do her crossover from Mexico to Broadway in the same leading role for three different seasons, last one with Rap-singer Usher and toured USA and Canada for about three years with Chicago in the same leading role, Roxie Hart. |
| The Full Monty | March 2002 | June 2002 | 130 | 70,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 1 | |
| Les Miserables | November 2002 | August 2004 | 711 | 850,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 1 | Longest running musical in the past decade in Mexico. |
| Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat | April 2004 | May 2005 | 440 | 300,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 2 | The translation and scenery were completely different from a previous Mexican production due to a struggle to get the rights from the play. The only production in which Joseph flies. |
| Fiddler on the Roof | November 2004 | March 2006 | 503 | 600,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 1 | |
| Bésame Mucho | July 2005 | October 2006 | 512 | 350,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theater 2 | OCESA's First Original Production. |
| Selena el Musical | May 2006 | August 2006 | 100 | 80,000 | Blanquita Theatre | OCESA's Second Original Production. |
| Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar | May 2006 | July 2007 | 425 | 500,000 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theatre 1 | |
| The Producers | December 2006 | October 2007 | 300 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theatre 2 | Produced in association with Music Theatre International (MTI). | |
| Beauty and the Beast (revival) | September 2007 | Currently playing, closing 2008 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theatre 1 | This musical revival is the celebration of OCESA Teatro's 10th Anniversary. | ||
| Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | March 2008 | Currently playing, closing July 2008 | Teatro de los Insurgentes | Co-production with Tina Galindo and Claudio Carrera. | ||
| Mentiras | Opening end of 2008 | Foro Scotiabank | OCESA's Third Original Production. Based on popular 70's and 80's Mexican pop songs. (proposed opening has been delayed for finetuning meanwhile the company is focusing on Sweet Charity) | |||
| Sweet Charity | Opening 2008 | Centro Cultural Telmex Theatre 2 | (Revival for Mexico City, first with OCESA teatro) |
[edit] Plays
- Confesiones de Mujeres de 30.
- Master Class.
- Nosotras Que Nos Queremos Tanto.
- The Vagina Monologues.
- Las Obras Completas de William Shakespeare Abreviadas.
- Defending the Caveman.
- Las Viejas Vienen Marchando.
- Todos Tenemos Problemas (Sexuales).
- Proof.
- No Más Sexo.
- Three Tall Women.
- La Obra del Bebe.
- Black Comedy
- Generacion Atari.
- El Método Grönholm.
- Orgasmos, la Comedia.
- Des-Madres.
- Doubt.
- Visitando al Sr. Green.
- Emociones Encontradas.
- Chicas Católicas.
- Adorables Enemigas.
[edit] Criticism
OCESA Teatro has been criticized for not offering an equal opportunity casting selection process in many of their productions. Several shows have been criticized for casting famous figures in main roles, mostly actors made popular by television, only for their attraction power, even if their appearance notably miscast those roles. Also they have been criticized for creating a pool of main actors that continuously reappear in their shows, closing the doors to upcoming actors and becoming a tightly closed group. OCESA Teatro however considers itself the biggest promoter of new talent in Latin America.
There is also criticism that the company strives to recreate the Broadway experience in most of their Broadway originated shows, leaving little freedom of expression to local directors. OCESA Teatro has responded that this is due to restrictions established in the copyright contracts of the original plays; however, despite those directors' complains, the company's most successful shows are those that have been kept faithful to their original Broadway counterparts.
