Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Antonio Banderas have announced a new production company, Amigos Para Siempre (APS), that will produce Spanish-language theater, musicals and live entertainment shows.
According to the announcement, the forthcoming projects will be licensed, produced and developed by APS for Spanish-speaking markets around the globe, including the United States.
Additionally, the company will have first-class stage rights to Spanish-language versions of some of Webber’s musical hits such as The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Cinderella and School of Rock, among others. The Spanish-language rights to Webber’s shows will be ceded to APS by the U.K. composer’s London-based company Really Useful Group.
APS will be overseen by Emanuel Nunez, managing director of NuCo Media Group, and Really Useful Group president Jessica Koravos.
“Not only is Antonio Banderas entertainment royalty, he is also one of the most versatile, creative minds I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Webber, who has EGOT status, said in a statement. “It is truly exciting to partner with Antonio to bring my work, as well as other brilliant Broadway and West End titles, to new markets. While millions of people in the Spanish-speaking world already love our shows and music, the appetite for more, and the level of musical and theatrical talent, is extraordinary. I can’t wait to work with Antonio to bring the very highest-quality Spanish language productions to the world.”
“I had the great privilege to work closely with Andrew during the recording and shooting of his celebrated musical Evita in 1996, but it was when I saw Jesus Christ Superstar back in the early 70’s that I became attached to the music, the theatre and the fabulous talent of Andrew Lloyd Webber,” Banderas, who played Che in Lloyd Webber’s Evita, added. “It wouldn’t be wrong to say that I became an actor because of the enormous influence and the strong impression I experienced when I saw Andrew’s musicals. To have the opportunity to work with one of the most respected and admired composers of all times, offering his amazing works for Spanish speaking audiences, is one of the highlights of my career in show business.”
Banderas, who is Spanish, launched Teatro del Soho Caixabank Theater in 2019 and directed and starred in A Chorus Line, his company’s debut Spanish-language production. Banderas’ Broadway credits also include Nine, in which he earned a Tony Award nomination for playing Guido Contini, and Death Takes a Holiday.
