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Ricky Martin Mooted to Play Masked Man Zorro

Why leave it to the girls - boy pop stars can do it, too, surely? According to an article in The Sun, Ricky Martin is set to follow fellow singers Martine McCutcheon and Dannii Minogue onto the London stage to strut his stuff. He is reportedly in final negotiations with producer Adam Kenwright to appear in the West End in the musical adaptation of Zorro. No firm dates or venues have been announced.

Of course, as the recent collapse of the Calista Flockhart-fuelled production of The Philadelphia Story demonstrates, nothing is certain until the curtain's up. For the moment, a spokeswoman from Kenwright's office has told Whatsonstage.com that "we can't comment on that".

If the Puerto Rican star does appear in the musical, it won't, in any case, be his stage debut. Prior to his international fame as a Latino singing sensation, Martin made a name for himself amongst American theatregoing audiences in Broadway roles such as "Marius" from Les Miserables. Now, of course, he's best known for his hip-swiveling renditions of hit singles such as "Livin' La Vida Loca" and "She Bangs" and for selling more than 32 albums and singles worldwide.

The Mexican sword-wielding character of Zorro was created by Johnston McCulley in his 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano. Zorro featured in 65 more stories in which he was portrayed as a romantic, masked hero fighting for justice in the Spanish California of the 19th century.

The character was subsequently embraced by producers of animated cartoons, television series and films. In 1920, Douglas Fairbanks immortalised the legend with his silent film The Mark of Zorro. Subsequent Hollywood remakes saw the likes of Tyrone Power, George Hamilton and, most recently, in 1998, Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas donning the mask. In 1995, Ken Hill's musical adaptation for the stage first appeared in London.

- Terri Paddock

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