Reports surfaced in mid-April that worldwide Latin pop star Ricky Martin was apparently in talks to play Zorro in a London musical produced by Adam Kenwright (according to the London Sun, as reported by Reuters). At the time, Kenwright's office told Playbill On Line (April 19) "we can't comment on that and don't know when we can." Reached July 2, Kenwright's office told Playbill On-Line they weren't even involved in any Zorro project.

Meanwhile, the "Hot Stuff" column of the July 9 issue of "Us" magazine quotes producer John Gertz as saying Ricky Martin was never seriously considered for the role. "We're looking for a relative unknown who can sing and act," Gertz told "Us."

Playing Zorro, the masked hero and defender of the oppressed, would not have been Martin's legit debut, since he was a Broadway Marius in Les Miserables in 1996. Fans of coincidence might note that Martin was hired to sing a version of the theme song, "I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Loving You," with Tina Arena for the 1998 Antonio Banderas film, "The Mask of Zorro." (The producers opted to use Marc Anthony's duet with Arena instead).

Reuters reported in April that the producers are also talking to UK singer songwriter Robbie Williams about writing tunes for the Zorro show.

— By David Lefkowitz