Never change a winning team. He knows it wellactor Federico Perrotta who, with the excellent Valentina Olla, Sabrina Pellegrino, Claudio Insegno, a now very solid group, will be the protagonists together with the interpreters Franco Mannella, Giacomo Rasetti, Federica De Riggi, of the musical comedy “Stanley and Hardy” on stage at the “Francesco Cilea” theater on Saturday 25 May. Last appointment of the prestigious event ofArt Workshop which closes the theater season with true “thoroughbred horses” ready to stage the daring artistic life of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
Let’s try to discover something more about the life of the most famous comedian couple and the story brilliantly reconstructed by the expert pen of Sabrina Pellegrino who was inspired by the life of the inventors of laughter.
He returns to Reggio Calabria with a very strong text that makes adults and children laugh. Yet, it was not such an easy feat.
“I made a dream come true, I wanted to do a comedy musical show for the whole family and the greatest satisfaction is hearing the children laugh even though they don’t know Laurel and Hardy. They are two immortal comedians, we loved them for the awkward naivety of two grown adults who tease each other like two children. The show is peppered with noises and sketches that involve the audience who get excited because they revisit a past that is now gone. Furthermore, the spectator learns about something he didn’t know because we tell the story in the form of a musical comedy, their life which is profoundly more daring than their gags.”
What don’t we know about Laurel and Hardy?
“We discovered that everything they said really happened to them. For example, Stan Laurel was married 7 times, 3 times to the same wife and in one sketch, he talked about committing suicide because his wife had tried to take her own life several times. They dealt with everyday topics, problems, real events in a brilliant way, playing down the fears, anxieties and ugliness of life.”
Ollio’s clothes fit her perfectly, physically she also looks a lot like her. Can we say it’s a perfect role for her?
“Sabrina did a huge study on Laurel and Hardy and created a character for me that everyone loves. Then, the chiseling done by Claudio Insegno who takes care of the direction and staging, could only be a winning idea. Sabrina managed to find the fusion between Oliver Hardy and Federico Perrotta, she understood what could unite Oliver with me. This is a show for everyone and adults must take children to the theater. It would be a real shame to lose a musical comedy that engages the entire company and above all, offers two hours of light-heartedness and lots of laughter.”
He returns to the shores of the Strait to close the season of Peppe Piromalli’s Oda. Do you want to say something to this blockbuster?
“We are tied to the city and, in particular, to our friend Peppe with whom a very strong friendship was born. The Officina dell’Arte is an incredible reality and, every year, it demonstrates with its artistic choices that it deserves important recognition and a lot of gratitude. Where culture works, where theater is experienced, there is less crime and civilization grows better. I hope that the institutions can support organizations like the Officina dell’Arte because it must continue to grow and be supported for what it does. Theater is the master of life: going to see a show is not just entertainment but must make you ask questions and tickle your curiosity. And then, living on culture and art is a gift for the soul.”
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