GarboForever - Greta Garbo, quem diria?, acabou no Irajá

In Brazil there is a stage play, which is on stage since the 1970's, called "Greta Garbo, quem diria?, acabou no Irajá", which means, in a not very good translation, "Greta Garbo, who would tell?, lives now in Irajá". (Irajá is a poor neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro).

The play is still on Brazil stages and in early 2000s, a TV version of the play was filmed. This version had some differences from the original stage play.

The autor of the orginal play was Fernando Melo. He was born in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, in 1945. "Greta Garbo, quem diria, acabou no Irajá" is his most successful play, which has been staged in the most important theaters of the country and by the greates names of national theatre, such as Raul Cortez, Nuno Leal Maia, Íris Bruzzi, Arlete Sales and others.

It was translated into English and Spanish and staged in various countries, making the author's name famous and respected as a modern playwriter all over the world, turning jornalistic facts into dramatic art, manipulating the intrigue, in his so called "Naturalis Theatre".

The play is a naturalist comedy involving three characters marginalized by the society. Pedro is a homossexual in his 50's, who carries a big frustration in his life: he dreams to be Greta Garbo, the goddess, with his name shining in neon at the entrance of the big studios and theaters of Hollywood, but happens to be a male nurse and to live in the suburbian area of Rio de Janeiro, in Irajá. Renato is the typical countryside boy, who comes to the city and never see any of his dreams coming true.

Mary is a poor cleptomaniac girl, who sees herself obligated to be a prostitute. She had a baby with a foeing man and is exploited by a woman, owner of the brothel where she passes her nights waiting for clients or running away from the police.

Those characters meet, and then the story of each one of them is written differently. They form a love triangle with all the typical ingredients of this kind of relationship: jealousy, intrigue, DISPUTAS, love and hate.

The story goes at Pedro's apartment, a drug-addicted who dreams to be Greta Garbo. Pedro offers his house to Pedro, a m edicine student, who came from the countryside.

In the first act, Pedro, who is in love with a prostitute, lives a conflict about his sexuality, since he get evolved with Pedro. Renato steals drugs from the hospital in which he works to satisfy Renato's necessity, who refuses to hide the prostitute when she is wanted by the police.

The play, which starts like a comedy, ends in a shocking drama about bitterness and cruelty. Garbo is present in the whole play, representing the dream, the goal, the escape.

Garbo is the last scene, where Pedros stands there, alone, like his goddess, cross dressed.

Garbo Stage Plays - Introduction

Garbó - The Stage Play

Joyeux Noël Mademoiselle Garbo

Die Garderobe von Greta Garbo

Dietrich & Garbo: Von Kopf bis Fuss

Ollares de perfil. O mito de Greta Garbo

Greta Garbo, quem diria?, acabou no Irajá

The Private Potato Patch of Greta Garbo

Garbo's Musicals and Stage Plays - Introduction