"Congratulations to these artists for their voices and choreography and for making this beautiful work a reality. I also congratulate all those behind the scenes," said Card. Ángel Fernández Artime at the end of the performance. "It will be said that we Salesians are folkloric. Yet, in an hour and a half of the show, the fascinating life of St John Bosco is summed up,' the Salesian cardinal emphasized.
The 'Sueños' project was also presented by Fr. Toño Casado himself to Pope Francis at the Vatican. As on other occasions, the Pontiff on that occasion showed interest and applauded the project, encouraging the priest to continue his work of evangelization through his artistic talent.
As the author emphasized, “'Sueños' is a musical for the whole family: fun, exciting and surprising, for believers and non-believers alike (...) a first-rate artistic endeavour to bring that programmatic dream closer to our times, helping us to (re)discover it in a fresh and youthful language”.
The musical sings of and tells the story of the power of a dream: the dream that a humble child from the Piedmont countryside had, which, however, changed his life and that of thousands of people forever, especially that of other children and adolescents and young people all over the world.
In the 90-minute duration of the musical, 'Sueños' really succeeds in moving the audience. Certainly, it is a show aimed especially at those who already know and appreciate the history, life and mission of Don Bosco and the Salesians. But it is also an important artistic work, with music that engages, voices that move, and an enthusiastic call to commitment and to always go further, an attitude with universal value.
An amusing circus troupe is, on this occasion, the perfect package the composer uses to dream and come up with crazy ideas around a fundamental episode in the story of Don Bosco. Thus, the characters Don Bosco (well played by Adrián Salzedo), the Lady of the Trapeze, i.e. Maria, (the always talented María Virumbrales), Mamma Margarita and the double character Max/Jesus, who acts as master of ceremonies, stand out in the musical. They are the main creators of a staging that entertains and excites. At the same time, there is also a lot of dances in the show, with a company of characters that are moved and exciting. Because, as Toño Casado pointed out at the end, 'you all have a dream in your heart'. And because, perhaps today more than ever, in the midst of polarizations, wars, hatred, stress and nervousness, 'we need to dream, to hope, to move forward', and because 'dreams are built by all of us'.
The show will be staged until mid-May at the Salesian opera house 'Paseo' in Madrid; and among the aims of this artistic project, as explained by Fr. Javier Valiente, National Salesian Social Communication Delegate for Spain, is 'that all the boys and girls who are part of the more than thirty theatre groups that exist in the different Salesian schools throughout Spain have it as a reference and a guide to then stage the musical in their respective schools'.
The Salesians also hope that "Sueños, el musical" will become a valuable tool to deepen the vocational dream of Don Bosco, encouraging the educational and pastoral work of so many people who live and work in the service of hundreds of children and young people that God has entrusted to them. The educational material that will be offered will also be an important resource in this sense,' the organizers stressed.
