Buena Vista Social Club (musical)

Last updated
Buena Vista Social Club
MusicVarious Artists
LyricsVarious Artists
Book Marco Ramirez
Basis Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
Productions2023 Off-Broadway

Buena Vista Social Club is a 2023 stage musical, with a book by Marco Ramirez and featuring the music recorded by the ensemble musician group Buena Vista Social Club . [1] [2]

Contents

The musical is set in Havana, Cuba and spans time from the 1950s to the 1990s, following the lives of four prominent musicians, the effect communism and the rise of Fidel Castro had on musicians at the time, and their eventual collaboration in 1997 on the landmark album Buena Vista Social Club . The music in the show is presented entirely in the Spanish language, with the musical styles of Son, Danzón, and Bolero represented in the musical score. [3] [4]

Production history

Off-Broadway (2023)

The show was developed by Saheem Ali, who also served as director. David Yazbek is a creative consultant on the show, as well as the real life Juan de Marcos González who is portrayed in the musical, Nick Gold, and Ry Cooder. [5] Saheem Ali also serves as director, with choreography by husband and wife team Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck. The associate director is Moises Garcia, with Carlos Gonzalez as associate choreographer. Orchestrations and musical direction were by Marco Paguia, alongside music supervisor Dean Sharenow. Scene design is by Arnulfo Maldonado with costume design by Dede Ayite. [6]

The show premiered at the Atlantic Theater Company on November 17, 2023, and played until January 28, 2024, extending twice from the original end date due to high ticket sales and critical acclaim. [7] The show was nominated for three Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations, and Best New Off-Broadway Musical. The show was nominated for seven Lucille Lortel Awards including Outstanding Musical. At the Drama League Awards, the show was nominated for Best Direction of a Musical and Outstanding Production of a Musical. [8] [9] [10]

Original cast and characters

CharacterOff-Broadway (2023)
Omara Portuondo (adult) Natalie Venetia Belcon
Omara (young)Kenya Browne
Ibrahim Ferrer (adult)Mel Semé
Ibrahim (young)Olly Sholoton
Rubén González Jainardo Batista Sterling
Rubén (young)Leonardo Reyna
Compay Segundo Julio Monge
Compay (young)Jared Machado
Eliades Ochoa Renesito Avich
Juan de Marcos González Luis Vega
Haydee Portuondo (young)Danaya Desperanza

Musical numbers

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Buena Vista Social Club</i> (film) 1999 film

Buena Vista Social Club is a 1999 documentary film directed by Wim Wenders about the music of Cuba. It is named for a danzón that became the title piece of the album Buena Vista Social Club. The film is an international co-production of Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Cuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buena Vista Social Club</span> Cuban musical ensemble

Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the group after the members' club of the same name in the Buenavista quarter of Havana, a popular music venue in the 1940s. To showcase the popular styles of the time, such as son, bolero and danzón, they recruited a dozen veteran musicians, some of whom had been retired for many years.

<i>Buena Vista Social Club</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Buena Vista Social Club

Buena Vista Social Club is a studio album by Buena Vista Social Club, an ensemble of Cuban musicians directed by Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder. Produced by Cooder, it was recorded at Havana's EGREM studios in March 1996 and released on September 16, 1997, through World Circuit internationally and Nonesuch Records in the United States. It is the only standard studio album exclusively credited to the Buena Vista Social Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoshana Bean</span> American actress and singer-songwriter (born 1977)

Shoshana E. Bean is a Tony-nominated American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Uhry</span> American playwright and screenwriter (born 1936)

Alfred Fox Uhry is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has received an Academy Award, two Tony Awards and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing for Driving Miss Daisy. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Stage Theater</span> Theater company in New York City

Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established writers. The company has an off-Broadway theater, the Tony Kiser Theater at 305 West 43rd Street on the corner of Eighth Avenue near the Theater District, and formerly had an off-off-Broadway theater, the McGinn–Cazale Theater on the Upper West Side. In April 2015, the company expanded into Broadway theater productions when it bought the Helen Hayes Theater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan de Marcos González</span> Cuban bandleader and musician

Juan de Marcos González is a Cuban bandleader, musician and actor, best known for his work with the Buena Vista Social Club and in the 2021 Sony Pictures Animation film Vivo as the voice of Vivo's owner, Andrés.

Marcy Heisler is a musical theater lyricist and performer. As a performer, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, and numerous other venues throughout the United States and Canada. Heisler was nominated for the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for Dear Edwina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">54th Tony Awards</span> 2000 awards ceremony

The 54th Annual Tony Awards was an event held at Radio City Music Hall on June 4, 2000, and broadcast by CBS. "The First Ten" awards ceremony was telecast on PBS. It was hosted, for the third time since 1997, by Rosie O'Donnell, with special guest Nathan Lane.

The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Foundation, with additional support from the Theatre Development Fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Timbers</span> American writer and director

Alex Timbers is an American writer and director best known for his work on stage and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Drama Desk Award, as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. Timbers received the Drama League Founder's Award for Excellence in Directing and the Jerome Robbins Award for Directing.

<i>Here Lies Love</i> Musical

Here Lies Love is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave the Philippines. The album features 22 guest vocalists and was released on 5 April 2010, under Nonesuch Records and Todomundo in several formats, including a deluxe double-Compact Disc set with a DVD of music videos from the album and a 120-page book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Kitt (musician)</span> American composer and musician

Thomas Robert Kitt is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, and musician. For his score for the musical Next to Normal, he shared the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Brian Yorkey. He has also won two Tony Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Next to Normal, as well as Tony and Outer Critics Circle nominations for If/Then and SpongeBob SquarePants. He has been nominated for eight Drama Desk Awards, winning one, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for Jagged Little Pill in 2021.

Sergio Trujillo is a theater director, choreographer, dancer and actor. Born in Colombia and raised in Toronto, Canada, he is now an American citizen and resides in New York City. Trujillo was the recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Ain't Too Proud and the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Memphis. He is the first ever Hispanic recipient of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camille A. Brown</span> American dancer

Camille A. Brown is a dancer, choreographer, director and dance educator. She is the Founder & Artistic Director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and has congruently choreographed commissioned pieces for dance companies, Broadway shows, and universities. Brown started her career as a dancer in Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, A Dance Company, and was a guest artist with Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Brown has choreographed major Broadway shows such as Choir Boy, Once on This Island and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! that aired on NBC. Brown also teaches dance and gives lectures to audiences at various universities such as Long Island University, Barnard College and ACDFA, among others.

Kenneth L. Roberson is an American choreographer and dancer best known for his work on Avenue Q.

Kristoffer Díaz is an American playwright, screenwriter, and educator. As a playwright, he has five full-length titles amongst other works which have been widely produced and developed. In 2010, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. The play gave him the Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Play and the New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award. In 2024 he received a nomination at the Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Musical with Alicia Keys for Off-Broadway production Hell's Kitchen.

<i>Titanique</i> 2017 jukebox musical

Titanique is a jukebox musical created by book writers Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli, and music supervisor Nicholas Connell. The musical is a parody of the 1997 film Titanic and uses music introduced by Céline Dion.

The Connector is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Jonathan Marc Sherman, from an original story by Daisy Prince. The musical is set in the 1990s world of journalism in New York City, and follows the behind the scenes drama amongst the staff of a fictional newspaper titled The Connector, concerning journalistic integrity and plagiarism.

References

  1. Buena Vista Social Club Off-Broadaway Database Listing] accessed 2024-04-26.
  2. David Browne. "Inside the Buena Vista Social Club Musical". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  3. "Review: Cuba's Past Sings Out in 'Buena Vista Social Club'". Observer. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  4. "Buena Vista Social Club (Off-Broadway, Atlantic Theater Company/Linda Gross Theater, 2023)". Playbill. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  5. "Review: Buena Vista Social Club captures the magic of Cuban music". timeout.com. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  6. "World Premiere of Atlantic Theater Company's Buena Vista Social Club Begins Performances November 17". Playbill. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  7. "Buena Vista Social Club World Premiere Extends Again". Playbill. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  8. "2024 Drama League Award Nominations Announced - TheaterMania.com". April 22, 2024.
  9. "2024 Nominees : Lucille Lortel Awards". lortelaward.com.
  10. "Dead Outlaw Leads 2024 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations; Read the Full List". Playbill. Retrieved 2024-04-27.