Musical to shine light on life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo

Plans for a musical about the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo have been announced.

The show will reportedly feature music by Mexican composer Jaime Lozano and lyrics by the award-winning playwright Neena Beber.

The musical has the blessing of the Kahlo family — universal rights owners of the Frida Kahlo estate — alongside BTF Media and theatrical producer Valentina Berger.

Mara Romeo, speaking on behalf of the Kahlo family, said: “We are deeply moved that this show will allow audiences around the world to get to know Frida as so much more than just an artist.

“Full of joy, ahead of her time, and steeped in the culture of Mexico, she was a woman driven by an unending passion for life. I hope that this show inspires women everywhere to have the courage to fight for their dreams.”

Kahlo produced more than 150 paintings, mostly depicting herself and events from her own life which changed drastically when she was injured in a tram accident aged 18.

She underwent a series of painful surgeries for her damaged spine and pelvic bones, then wore casts until her death in 1954 at the age of 47.

Bedridden, she started to paint, and one of her early admirers was Diego Rivera, the celebrated muralist and activist whom she married in 1929 and would be with her until the end, even though he often broke her heart with his affairs.

The planned show — called Frida, The Musical — will follow Kahlo’s journey from Mexico City to Paris and New York, and finally back to the house of her birth.

Producers call it “a full-throated celebration of Kahlo’s joyous spirit of creativity and her unmatched gift for transforming physical and emotional pain into breathtaking beauty”.