INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED SENSATION
LUIS BRAVO'S FOREVER TANGO
Sensuous and sophisticated, the tango inhabits a world where everything can be said with the flick of a leg, the tug of a hand, the tap of a foot and the arch of an eyebrow. Created and directed by Luis Bravo, FOREVER TANGO was voted Best Touring Musical by Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle in San Francisco where it played an unprecedented 92 weeks at the Theater on the Square and has returned season after season. Truly an international event, FOREVER TANGO was awarded the coveted Simpatia Prize at the 1996 Spoleto Festival in Italy.
FOREVER TANGO features fourteen world-class tango dancers, one vocalist and an on-stage eleven piece orchestra, including the instrument of the tango, the Bandoneon, in an evening that celebrates the passionate music and dance of Argentina. The dances, performed to original and traditional music, are the result of collaboration between each couple and director/creator Bravo. "The tango is a feeling that you dance ", says Bravo, " a story you tell in three minutes. It's passionate, it's melancholic. It's tender, violent. You dance with somebody - but it's so internal, you dance by yourself. More than just a dance, the tango is music, a drama, a culture, a way of life."
FOREVER TANGO tells the story of the birth of tango in 19th century Argentina where thousands of men, having abandoned a disintegrating Europe to emigrate to South America, found themselves in a crowded abattoirs (packing houses), the bars and street corners of the arrabales (outlying barrios) and in the enramadas (brothels). The tango was born from this lonely and violent existence. Originally shunned by the Argentina society as indecent, the tango became an overnight craze in upper-class Paris when Argentine intellectuals taught it when traveling abroad. The Tango quickly spread across Europe and to America, and was eventually re-imported home to Argentina society, though not unchanged. Born in the brothels and bordellos of Buenos Aires, the tango may be Argentina's best known export.
Creator/director of FOREVER TANGO, Luis Bravo is a world-class cellist who has performed with major symphonies throughout the world. His distinguished credits include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Colon Theatre Opera House, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic and other prestigious ensembles around the world.
FOREVER TANGO'S design team includes Argemira Affonso (costumes), Luis Bravo (lighting), Mike Miller (sound), and Jean-Luc Don Vito (make-up). Victor Lavallen serves as musical director/arranger and composed some of the music in the show.
FOREVER TANGO opened on Broadway June of 1997 for what was expected to be an eight-week engagement, run for 14 months and has since been back to New York on Broadway on three separate occasions, the latest being the summer of 2013 at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The following are excerpts from reviews of FOREVER TANGO around the world! These sizzling reviews and huge demand for tickets forced the run to be extended again and again:
“A must-see!” - New York Times
“Forever Tango shows that the style is more than steamy – it’s smart, even funny … a sensuous, seductive, pleasure.” - USA Today
“an evening of sheer pleasure! Sensual, elegant, dazzling! ” - The New York Daily News
“the most theatrical show on Broadway!” - Associated Press
“The most magnificent, romantic, exciting evening you can ever spend. A fabulous show. Don’t miss it! ” - KGO Radio
“Gloriously varied, stunningly performed & beguilingly sexy: Forever Tango must be seen!”
- The London Times
“Torrid, Tremendous and Terrific” - The Toronto Sun
“A Show that you never want to end” - Marin Independent Journal
“Sensuous and Steamy! Superbly Entertaining” - Clive Barnes NY Post
San Francisco Box Office Record for a Touring Musical: 92 weeks at Theatre On The Square !!