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Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life

 

Veronica Vazquez as SelenaSelena Forever was a stage musical written by Edward Gallardo (book and lyrics) and Fernando Rivas (music) about Selena. The show was created in 2000 to be a touring production and eventually make it to Broadway. The show starred Veronica Vazquez as Selena and Denise Stefanie Gonzalez as young Selena.

Selena Forever was first produced in 2000 to be a touring production and eventually make it to Broadway with a budget of over $2 million. The musical opened on March 21 at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium. Lack of promotion lead to poor tickets sales and the show closed April 30th after playing only six cities and 62 performances.

However the show received some great reviews. Ricardo Baca in the Corpus Christi Caller Times (April 6, 2000) wrote:

“‘Selena Forever’ tells star's story with energy, flair. Enthusiastic audience turned musical's local premiere into a sing-along, dance-along fun time.”

Deborah Martin in the San Antonio Express wrote, “Doses of realism enhance musical about life of Selena.”

The musical was revived (completely re-written by Edward Gallardo and Fernando Rivas with some new songs added and re-produced) in March 2001 in Hollywood under the title of "Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life". The new version of the show again featured Veronica Vazquez.

The head producer for the show,
Tom Quinn, decided to perform the show at smaller venues than the original Selena Forever tour. He wanted to give the production a more “Broadway-style feel”.

The musical opened on March 28, 2001, at the James Doolittle Theatre in Hollywood, California to great reviews and solid ticket sales.

One of the reasons the new version of show was a success was because, unlike Selena Forever, the show was advertised. Selena Forever never had TV spots, billboards or even flyers. Another reason was that Veronica Vazquez got the fans involved in the performance. Fans were encouraged to run up to the front of the stage and cheer as if it was a real Selena concert. Veronica even invited kids up on stage to dance and sing with her (just like Selena did).

The musical played for eight weeks with a sold-out house each night, closing on June 12 after playing almost 90 performances.

What does the future hold for “Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life”?

Edward Gallardo says “there is a theatre in Texas, about an hour out of Houston that wants to do a production in 2111. I'm also negotiating a production in Monterrey, Mexico.”

When productions plans become definite, I will update this page.

-- T.J., Webmaster (Info from Wikipedia and Edward Gallardo)


Show Reviews

'
Selena' in good stage company

Lead actress Veronica Vazquez gives Selena her all, belting out her hit tunes with all the energy the slain Tejano star poured into her music. She plays Selena as more than just a star - she plays her as a flesh-and-blood woman, making the sense of loss at the end of the evening that much more profound.

She's in good company on the stage.

At Thursday's premiere performance, Margo Reymundo, who plays Selena's mom Marcella, stopped the show cold with her passionate rendering of "To Him, She's a Woman," a reminder to her headstrong husband that their little girl is all grown up.

Daniel Valdez (Abraham) balances the well-known blustery aspects of his character's personality with his deep love for his family … San Antonian Liza Ybarra, who plays Suzette … is a lively presence as Selena's sister.

Maxx, who plays A.B., sets the stage on fire …

The scenes recreating Selena y Los Dinos in concert are among the most effective moments in the show. Thanks to set and lighting designer Rick Belzer's work, they play like real concerts, right down to the flashy light show sweeping over the crowd.

Fernando Rivas' music and Edward Gallardo's lyrics blend well with Selena's hits …

The show should appeal to both hard-core Selena fans and to musical theater fans looking to see something new.

-- Deborah Martin - San Antonio Express

Original songs power behind 'Selena'

Of the 41 tunes in 'Selena Forever' … 11 are familiar hits that marked Selena's ascendancey in the music industry. The chart hits include her fans' favorites, such as 'Bidi Bidi Bom Bom," "La Carcacha," 'Como La Flor," "Amor Prohibido" and "Dreaming of You."

But the original songs by composer Fernando Rivas and playwright Edward Gallardo, and a standard, deliver the hardest punches. Most of Selena's songs are played either in snippets or medleys, but the reasons the original songs prove compelling go beyond that.

Denise Stefanie Gonzalez, as young Selena, delivers powerful emotion and longing on "Over the Rainbow," the childlike wish for things to be all right from "The Wizard of Oz." Mixed emotions come to the surface in "Abraham's Dream" when Selena's father, played by Daniel Valdez, wonders why "Mexican-Americans are foreigners in two worlds." Margo Reymundo as Selena's mother, Marcella Quintanilla, hits several high notes in the lengthy "Living on a Bus," which details the rough and tumble world of a novice family band on the road …

The emotional roller coaster gets leavened when Selena sings "I've Grown Up, Daddy," arguing that she can't compete with Madonna or Janet Jackson by being Abraham's daughter. Raucous laughs come when Selena's brother sings the R&B/funk styled "You're going to Die Today, Brother" to Chris Perez after Abraham learns Perez and Selena have been seeing each other. After laughter comes heartbreak, with "I Want to Grow Old With You," the ballad between Chris and Selena, each expressing the longing for a life together. It never came to be.

The best in-concert Selena song performances come in "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" and "Dreaming of You" because of their full instrumentation and magnetic power.

Clarity comes to the melodic "If Tomorrow," when Abraham sings to Selena that he would still love her if she had never become a star, because she was his daughter. The moving number seems to be the demanding and driven Abraham's way of finding peace with Selena.

-- Ramiro Burr - Billboard

Recommended

In a theater season that has brought us a bloated Disney spectacle straight out of "Beverly Hills 90210," "Selena Forever" serves as a tonic for the artificiality that passes as stagecraft these days.

Make no mistake, however, this new musical bears the stamp of the Great White Way. … But in adapting the saga of the slain Tejano star for the stage, creators Edward Gallardo (book and lyrics), Fernando Rivas (original music) and William Alejandro Virchis (direction) have hit upon a fresh variation of the usual Broadway formula.

By rearranging the details of Selena's legacy - her hits, her life experience, even her persona - the musical's creative team has turned her into a universal figure. Representing the American dream, Selena serves as every immigrant's story. No matter what nationality, anyone can identify with her triumph and ultimate tragedy …

As Selena, Veronica Vazquez nails the part completely. (The role is so taxing that another actress, Rebecca Valadez, takes the matinee performances). Of course, it helps that Vazquez eerily looks like the real Selena, right down to her broad hips. But also she's a born performer, who happens to have been schooled as an R&B singer. That training shines through her renditions of Selena's hits, "Amor Prohibido" and "Baila Esta Cumbia."

"Selena Forever" gives voice to the Latino experience; you have to go back to "Zoot Suit" (from the 70's) to recall anything close. That fact alone makes it worth seeing.

--Linda Emerick - Chicago Sun-Times

Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life

Act 1

A New Show's About to Begin - Selena and Ensemble ††
The Ballad of Selena - Los Sueños Del Pueblo (Accordion Man)
Como La Flor - Selena Y Los Dinos †
Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Young Selena and Young Selena Video ††
Simply Me - Young Selena
Abraham’s Dream - Abraham, Marcella, Young Selena, Adult Selena
One Half Hour More/Blue Moon - Young Selena, AB and Suzette †
The Ballad of Selena (Papa Gayo’s) - Marcella, Los Sueños Del Pueblo, A,B., Suzette (Accordion Man)
Abraham’s Dream (Reprise) – Abraham
Living On A Bus / Medley - Marcella, Young & Adult Selena y Los Dinos, Los Sueños Del Pueblo (Accordion Man)
The Ballad of Selena: Chris Segment – Chris
Baila Esta Cumbia - Selena y Los Dinos
I’ve Grown Up, Daddy - Selena ††
The Ballad of Selena - Suzette, Los Sueños Del Pueblo (Accordion Man)
I Could Fall In Love - Selena †
Pizza & Coke – Selena
The Ballad of Selena - A.B., Los Sueños Del Pueblo (Accordion Man)
My Daughter Wants To Be Just Like Selena - Bidi Bidi Bom Bom Moms †
Amor Prohibido - Selena ††
Como La Flor - Selena y Los Dinos ††
Bidi Bidi Bom Bom - Selena y Los Dinos †

Act 2

God' Child (Baila Conmigo) - Selena and Los Suenos Del Pueblo ††
Tu Solo Tu - Mariachi Woman, Aztec Drummers, Dancers †
Just Be Yourself, Selena - Marcella, Suzette ††
No Me Queda Mas - Selena ††
Bidi Bidi Bom Bom - Selena y Los Dinos ††
La Carcacha - Selena y Los Dinos
To Him She’s a Woman – Marcella
The Ballad of Selena - A.B., Los Sueños Del Pueblo (Accordion man)
Missing My Baby - Selena y Los Dinos
Dreaming of You - Selena †
Meet Me In Corpus Christi - Chris, Chorus
Tomorrow and Forever - Chris, Selena
You’re Gonna Die Today, Brother - A.B., Friends
Amame, Quiereme - Suzette, Billy, Chorus
If Tomorrow – Abraham
The Ballad of Selena (The Fan Club) - Marcella, Los Sueños Del Pueblo (Accordion Man)
Como La Flor/ I Will Survive - Selena y Los Dinos ††
Last Dance - Selena Y Los Dinos †
I Could Fall In Love - Selena ††
The Ballad of Selena (The Fan Club Continued) - Los Sueños Del Pueblo (Accordion man)
Letters to Selena – Women
You're Too Trusting - Chris ††
The Ballad of Selena - Los Suenos Del Pueblo (Accordion Man)
Dreaming of You - Selena, Chorus
The Ballad of Selena (Continued) - Cast

† Was In Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life but not Selena Forever
†† Was In Selena Forever but not Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life

 

 
 

Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life - Pictures

Cecilia Faith Leming and Veronica Vazquez

David Cassanova and Veronica Vazquez as Chris and Selena

Denise Stefanie Gonzalez and Mike Gomez as Young Selena and Abraham

Margo Reymundo as Marcella

Ensemble

Selena Forever - a new musical

Selena Forever: Cast Credits

Selena Forever Poster

Veronica Vazquez and Daniel Valdez as Selena and Abraham

Veronica Vazquez as Selena

Veronica Vazquez as Selena

Veronica Vazquez as Selena

Links

"Selena: A Musical Celebration of Life" Official Site

Edward Gallardo's Website

Edward's Selena Memorial page


Archived footage of the show