The production of musicals, recitals, cantatas... has been abundant in many countries, from Italy to Argentina, from Spain to the Philippines to Chile... Again, it would be unthinkable to draw up a truly exhaustive list.

But some works have had a greater impact than others. For example, in the evolution of the artistic-educational journey of the Salesians of Spain, mention should be made of the musical "Juan Soñador" by Salesian Carlos Martínez Voces, and "Don Bosco" by Antonio Gil Prieto and Joan Faner, both premiering in 1988 on the centenary of the founder's death.

Both traveled the halls and theaters of Salesian homes - and beyond - throughout Spain, being seen and acclaimed by thousands of spectators. "Juan Soñador" featured a young Roberto Enríquez starring in several performances; at the time he was attending the "Don Bosco" Youth Center in Valladolid and today is a professional actor, established in Spain and internationally. The musical, whose compilation of the 13 songs from the play is not difficult to find on the Web today, was also performed the following year, 1989, as part of World Youth Day with John Paul II, which was held in Santiago de Compostela.

On the musical "Don Bosco" (1988), this is how one of its authors presented it ahead of the preview: "The dance, rhythm, mimicry and set design will lend themselves to spectacularity and originality. Those who know Don Bosco will have a great time. Those who do not know him will leave the theater feeling that they have known some of the most interesting aspects of his figure and modern genius. There are moments when themes such as youth marginalization, generational rejection, youth promotion and liberation, or simply words like 'love,' 'education,' 'celebration' are highlighted. I think Don Bosco is the saint who best understood young people. And vice versa: young people immediately attach themselves to a saint who is one of them."

In Italy, there was the musical "Don Bosco" (2008) by Piero Castellacci; as a scriptwriter, author or director he had already collaborated on other great musical shows about world-famous saints, such as "Forza Venite Gente," about St. Francis of Assisi, and "Mother Teresa. The Musical," about the saint from Calcutta.

First staged in 2008, it was brought back to theaters across the peninsula in 2015 on the occasion of the Bicentennial of Don Bosco's birth. Speaking of Don Bosco, director Castellacci told L'Osservatore Romano, "He represents the ideal teacher. He has a direct approach with the students, he is capable of recovering boys from the street and channeling them towards a job"; while on the show, he explained, "The key of the musical makes everything ‘popular’ and easy to read (...). These are sung, danced, or acted pictures in which each situation gives back a postage stamp of Don Bosco's life."

For his part, the protagonist, the well-known singer and TV personality Marcello Cirillo, added on both topics, "If there were Don Bosco today, there would be less loneliness. A figure like his is missing to give a voice to those who do not have one (...). It is an artistic representation that elevates the spirit with narrative action, with beautiful songs, with the intertwining of the salient moments of a saint surrounded by twenty actors. It is not a pious work, but a performance that must please and move emotionally speaking."

Finally, we also point out that also as part of the Don Bosco Bicentennial, the play "Giovanni, un Bosco di 200 anni - John, a 200-year-old Bosco," also found wide distribution. "A spectacular journey through the life, work, and charism of St. John Bosco," said its two authors and performers Carlo Pastori and Walter Muto. The show, which features two strange characters - more town square barkers than performers, more acrobats and musicians than lecturers, arriving at the same place, at the same time, with the task of telling all they know about a Don Bosco – can be seen in its entirety online.

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