Fame (Fama), the stage musical inspired by the 1980 Academy Award winning movie and the 1982 TV series of the same name will receive its Mexican premiere at the Teatro de los Insurgentes in Mexico City. Previews will begin Nov. 1 for a Nov. 6 opening night.

Conceived and developed by David De Silva, the stage production of Fame features music by Steve Margoshes, lyrics by Jacques Levi and book by Jose Fernandez. The show's title song, "Fame," was composed by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore.

Directed by Jaime Azpilicueta and choreographed by Goyo Montero, Fama - El Musical tells about the dreams and hopes of aspiring stars at New York's legendary High School of the Performing Arts.

Fama features a cast of 24 young talented performers from Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. Some members of the cast are Miguel Antonio Fonseca, Dariana Cruz, Yuri Rodriguez, Jose Luis Veneito and Ernesto Amezcua.

Designing Fama are David Anton (sets), Mitzi (costumes) and Angel Ancona (lights). Claudia Casillas, a spokesperson from Televiteatro, told to Playbill On Line that a cast recording of this Spanish version of Fame is planned, although no record label has been signed yet.

Fame will run for a five-month limited engagement in Mexico City before launching a South American tour that will include stops in Dominican Republic, Colombia and Venezuela. There are also plans to take this production to Spain.

Other Fame productions around the world include the London production, which will re-open (for a limited run) Nov. 11 at the Victoria Palace, the recently opened Tokyo production, and a German tour; which features an all-American cast. A North American tour has been announced to begin performances at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre on Sept. 8, 1998.

Producing Fama in Mexico are Televiteatro, RAC Producciones and Rodven Producciones. For information and tickets call Boletel at (5) 420 7777.

-- By Claudio Carrera
Mexico Correspondent