‘Buena Vista Social Club’ to transfer to Broadway this spring

The musical, inspired by the Grammy Award-winning album and musical group of the same name, premiered off Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company in 2023.

Qué buena noticia (what great news)! The new musical Buena Vista Social Club will premiere on Broadway this spring, beginning performances at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on February 21 ahead of a March 19 opening night.

Buena Vista Social Club is the name of a Grammy Award-winning 1997 album, the Cuban musical group who recorded that album, and the venue where many of those musicians launched their careers before the Cuban Revolution shut it down.

The musical tells the story of how those musicians momentarily stepped out of retirement to record the Buena Vista Social Club album, which brought classic Latin American musical genres such as son, bolero, and danzón to a new generation. It jumps back and forth in time between the BVSC members’ early-career years and their decades-later reunion.

After the original album became a cultural phenomenon, it went on to earn the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album in 1998. It was later named the bestselling world music album by Guinness World Records and inducted into the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, both in 2022. Additionally, a 1999 documentary about BVSC was inducted into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2020.

The Buena Vista Social Club musical adaptation premiered off Broadway in 2023 with Atlantic Theater Company, the birthplace of Tony Award-winning Broadway hits like Kimberly Akimbo and Spring Awakening. Buena Vista Social Club similarly received critical acclaim.

New York Theatre Guide’s four-star review reads, “The staging and music of Buena Vista are lush, vibrant, and celebratory... [it is] a show that makes you want to get up and dance.”

As with the Off-Broadway production, Saheem Ali (Tony nominee, Fat Ham) directs, and Justin Peck (Tony winner, Illinoise and Carousel) and Patricia Delgado choreograph. All the music is by Buena Vista Social Club.

The Broadway cast features Natalie Venetia Belcon as Omara, Julio Monge as Compay, Mel Semé as Ibrahim, Jainardo Batista Sterling as Rubén, Isa Antonetti as Young Omara, Da’von Moody as Young Compay, Wesley Wray as Young Ibrahim, Leonardo Reyna as Young Rubén, Renesito Avich as Eliades, Ashley De La Rosa as Young Haydee, and Angélica Beliard, Carlos Falú, Héctor Juan Maisonet, Ilda Mason, Marielys Molina, and Sophia Ramos as ensemble members.

Additional casting has yet to be set.

The onstage band of features pianist and music director Marco Paguia, guitarist David Oquendo, bassist Gustavo Schartz, Hery Paz on woodwinds, trombonist Eddie Venegas, trumpeter Jesus Ricardo, and percussionists Javier Díaz, Mauricio Herrera, and Román Diaz.

Buena Vista Social Club also features sets by Arnulfo Maldonado; costumes by Dede Ayite; lighting by Tyler Micoleau; sound by Jonathan Deans; wigs, hair, and makeup by J. Jared Janas; orchestrations, arrangements, and music direction by Paguia; additional arrangements by Javier Diaz and David Oquendo; and music consultation by Juan de Marcos.

Check back for information on Buena Vista Social Club tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Photo credit: Buena Vista Social Club off Broadway. (Photo by Ahron R. Foster)