La llamada (musical)

La llamada is a Spanish musical written and directed by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo. It is a comedy, with themes of friendship, love, and the challenges of adolescence. The song selection includes original pieces composed by Alberto Jiménez (a singer for Miss Caffeina), alongside songs by Whitney Houston, Presuntos Implicados, Henry Méndez, and religious songs, among others. It is accompanied by a small band of four musicians.

A film adaptation was released in 2017.

Productions
The musical premiered in the lobby of Madrid's Teatro Lara on 2 May, 2013, playing eight sold-out shows. After its early success, the show performed on the main stage of the theatre starting on 18 October, 2013.

It began its Spanish tour in 2014. Cities visited included Palencia, Valladolid, Valencia o Soria. In total, more than 30 Spanish cities hosted the show. On April 15, 2015, the show celebrated its second anniversary with a special performance.

In 2015, INK Teatro and Claudio Sodi bought the rights to bring the musical to Mexico, where it premiered on 28 August at the Teatro López Tarso. However, the Mexican adaptation had a poor reception and closed after a few weeks.

There have also been plans for productions in Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, and Chile. The show was also performed in Moscow.

Plot
In August 2013, in Segovia, Spain, María and Susana are two seventeen-year olds who are passionate about reggaeton and electro latino; together, they form a band named Suma Latina. Both girls are attending La Brújula, a Christian summer camp they have attended since childhood. The camp is run by two nuns: Bernarda, a modern good-hearted woman who tries to promote faith through music, and Milagros, a young, innocent, and doubtful novice who admires Presuntos Implicados. During the night, María has apparitions of God, who sings Whitney Houston songs to her. The apparition begins to change the lives of the two girls, as they question their lives and their plans for the future.

Musical numbers

 * "I will always love you"
 * "Si esto es fe"
 * "Viviremos firmes en la fe"
 * "Estoy alegre:
 * "I have nothing"
 * "Todas las flores" (Spain) / "Eres mi religión" (Mexico) / "A veces me parece" (Chile) / "Extraño ser" (Argentina)
 * "Lo hacemos y ya vemos"
 * "Step by step"

The song "Todas las flores", from the band Presuntos Implicados, is replaced in the Mexican production with the song "Eres mi religión" from the band Maná. In the Chilean production it is replaced with "A veces me parece" from the Chilean trio Ariztía. In the Argentinian production the song performed is "Extraño ser", from the rock band Suéter.

Recordings
In 2014, a short recording was released with four songs sung by the Spanish cast. In 2019, a recording on the current Spanish cast was released.

Reception
La llamada was received positively by theatre critics, who particularly noted the actors' performances and the show's script. Marcos Ordóñez, of El País, said that "the story is simple and captivating", noting the "natural dialogue", and calling particular attention to Macarena García, whose performance he called "sensational". Saúl Fernández, of La Nueva España, wrote that "the two writers created a produgious musical which transforms [Houston's] songs into a collection of mythic verses".

According to a survey by El País, La llamada was the best theatrical production of 2013. Metrópoli magazine included the show among its ten best theatre productions in Madrid.

Film adaptation
On 4 November, 2015, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo announced the musical would be adapted into a film. The film was produced by Enrique López Lavigne, José Corbacho, and Kike Maíllo, through Apache Films and Sábado Películas. It stars Macarena García, Anna Castillo, Gracia Olayo, Belén Cuesta, and Richard Collins-Moore, and also includes appearances by Secun de la Rosa, Víctor Elías, and Esty Quesada.