John Leguizamo-Produced “Buena Vista Social Club” Musical About Making of Iconic Album Sets Broadway Run
Coming in 2025, the show will tell the story behind the hit 1997 album by an ensemble of Cuban musicians
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; Courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company
John Leguizamo; and key art for Buena Vista Social Club musicalNearly 30 years after the album Buena Vista Social Club became a critical and commercial success, a new musical inspired by the making of the 1997 record is coming to Broadway.
Produced by John Leguizamo, Luis Miranda and LaChanze, Buena Vista Social Club will make its Broadway debut with preview performances beginning in February 2025 before opening at Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City in March.
Depicting true events, the musical will bring the famed album to life as it "tells the story of the legends who lived it," a press release for the production said. It added that through a "sensational cast," audiences will witness an "unforgettable tale of survival, second chances, and the extraordinary power of music" as they are transported to the heart of Cuba and where the sound of Havana was born.
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Ahron R. Foster/Courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company
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Buena Vista Social Club — which is also produced by Orin Wolf, John Styles, and Barbara Broccoli — will feature a book written by Marco Ramirez, direction by Saheem Ali and choreography by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck. David Yazbek will lead the music team with Dean Sharenow serving as music supervisor.
The Broadway cast is set to include Natalie Venetia Belcon (Omara), Julio Monge (Compay), Mel Semé (Ibrahim), Jainardo Batista Sterling (Rubén), Isa Antonetti (Young Omara), Da’von Moody (Young Compay), Wesley Wray (Young Ibrahim), Leonardo Reyna (Young Rubén), Renesito Avich (Eliades) and Ashley De La Rosa (Young Haydee).
Angélica Beliard, Carlos Falú, Héctor Juan Maisonet, Ilda Mason, Marielys Molina and Sophia Ramos round out the company. Additional cast members will be announced at a later date.
News of Buena Vista Social Club's upcoming Broadway run was announced the same day the album was released 27 years ago on Sept. 16, 1997.
Since then, it won the 1998 Grammy for best traditional tropical latin album and tropical/salsa album of the year by a group at the 1998 Billboard Latin Music Awards. The record was also listed as one of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003.
Footage of the band's live performances of the album in Amsterdam and New York was captured in a documentary, also titled Buena Vista Social Club. Released in June 1999, it later earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature Film.
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Buena Vista Social Club will begin performances on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025 before officially opening on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.
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