Updated: Jun 18, 2023
It was announced on Thursday that the renowned Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s life story will be adapted as a musical. Kahlo’s life and works have already received much attention – from movies, immersive experiences, T-shirts, and tote bags – but the creators of the musical hope to offer a new perspective on Kahlo’s life, showing novel, previously-untold details to the audience.
However, since there have been multiple attempts to present Kahlo’s life story as a musical, only one of her family members has officially signed off on it. And that would be Kahlo’s niece Isolda P. Kahlo, the author of Intimate Frida.
“In all the stories I heard when I was a little child, our family remembered Aunt Frida as a very joyful woman,” said Mara Romeo Kahlo, universal heiress to the Frida Kahlo legacy, in a statement to The Washington Post. “She was passionate about music, arts and Mexican culture. ‘Frida, The Musical’ honors everything she was: a real woman who fought for her dreams, loved like anybody else and always lived ahead of her time.”
Kahlo depicted her physical and emotional hardships through her vivid artwork, especially her self-portraits. The musical creators say they want to mold those convoluted emotions into something more three-dimensional. “We really want to see Frida through a wider perspective,” said Jaime Lozano, the composer for the musical, in a phone interview.
Kahlo’s personal story certainly contains dramatic details. A New York Times journalist wrote, “The artist had an affair with Russian-Ukrainian revolutionary Leon Trotsky during her volatile marriage to Rivera. A streetcar accident at age 18 damaged her spine and pelvis, leaving her with chronic, debilitating pain. Throughout her life, she often painted from bed and depicted her own body as fragmented, bleeding, split into two — as if trying to make sense of its breakdown. She died at 47.”
Valentina Berger, the producer of the musical, visited Kahlo’s family to see the artist’s life for herself. Berger hopes to use this firsthand experience to develop in the musical an accurate illustration of the many laughs and crazy stories Frida shared with the people she cared for. Berger’s experiences included visiting Kahlo’s mother’s house, including the basement where Frida used to hide from her husband Diego’s rages, to listening to songs the artist used to sing.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658696217464x382757243075349900/%27Frida%2C%20the%20Musical%27%20will%20take%20the%20painter%27s%20life%20story%20to%20Broadway%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
It was announced on Thursday that the renowned Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s life story will be adapted as a musical. Kahlo’s life and works have already received much attention – from movies, immersive experiences, T-shirts, and tote bags – but the creators of the musical hope to offer a new perspective on Kahlo’s life, showing novel, previously-untold details to the audience.
However, since there have been multiple attempts to present Kahlo’s life story as a musical, only one of her family members has officially signed off on it. And that would be Kahlo’s niece Isolda P. Kahlo, the author of Intimate Frida.
“In all the stories I heard when I was a little child, our family remembered Aunt Frida as a very joyful woman,” said Mara Romeo Kahlo, universal heiress to the Frida Kahlo legacy, in a statement to The Washington Post. “She was passionate about music, arts and Mexican culture. ‘Frida, The Musical’ honors everything she was: a real woman who fought for her dreams, loved like anybody else and always lived ahead of her time.”
Kahlo depicted her physical and emotional hardships through her vivid artwork, especially her self-portraits. The musical creators say they want to mold those convoluted emotions into something more three-dimensional. “We really want to see Frida through a wider perspective,” said Jaime Lozano, the composer for the musical, in a phone interview.
Kahlo’s personal story certainly contains dramatic details. A New York Times journalist wrote, “The artist had an affair with Russian-Ukrainian revolutionary Leon Trotsky during her volatile marriage to Rivera. A streetcar accident at age 18 damaged her spine and pelvis, leaving her with chronic, debilitating pain. Throughout her life, she often painted from bed and depicted her own body as fragmented, bleeding, split into two — as if trying to make sense of its breakdown. She died at 47.”
Valentina Berger, the producer of the musical, visited Kahlo’s family to see the artist’s life for herself. Berger hopes to use this firsthand experience to develop in the musical an accurate illustration of the many laughs and crazy stories Frida shared with the people she cared for. Berger’s experiences included visiting Kahlo’s mother’s house, including the basement where Frida used to hide from her husband Diego’s rages, to listening to songs the artist used to sing.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658696217464x382757243075349900/%27Frida%2C%20the%20Musical%27%20will%20take%20the%20painter%27s%20life%20story%20to%20Broadway%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
