In 1996, a group of established musicians gathered at the EGREM studio — the national record label of Cuba — in Havana. Led by musician Juan de Marcos González, Buena Vista Social Club set out to celebrate the vibrant legacy of Cuban music. Little did the band know that one of the three albums they recorded would become a global phenomenon, leading to a Grammy award, a performance at Carnegie Hall and an Oscar-nominated documentary.
That album was eponymously titled “Buena Vista Social Club,” and the latest installment in its ever-expanding universe is a new musical of the same name, developed and directed by Saheem Ali, with a script by Marco Ramirez. The musical, which opened on March 14 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, features 15 of the group’s songs — both ones on the album and those recorded after. It is brought to life by the talented cast and 10 musicians, helmed by conductor and pianist Marco Paguia.
Ramirez splits the musical’s timeline into the past, 1956, and present, 1996. In the present, Juan (Justin Cunningham) recruits Cuban musicians to form the recording group. His final target is the imperious singer Omara (Natalie Venetia Belcon), who has retired. Despite her icy reception, Juan leaves her his first album; as Omara reminisces her past songs, a young version of herself (Isa Antonetti) enters the stage, exuding excitement.
In the past, Omara and her older sister Haydee (Ashley De La Rosa) sing and dance as a duo at the high-class Tropicana nightclub. While Haydee is anxious to escape Cuba’s worsening political landscape, Omara dreams of singing music that connects to her culture. She strikes up a friendship with guitarist Compay (Da’Von Moody) and pianist Rubén (Leonarda Reyna), who invite her to the titular social club to watch them perform.
The club is where the musical comes alive. The onstage band sounds terrific, thanks in part to the show’s well-balanced sound design and choreography that builds in theatricality. It starts simple and unsynchronized, but moves up to lifts, kicks, leaps and all that jazz. They dance across a spectacular set, which features an intricate tiled floor and rustic walls. As the ensemble twirls around the stage, bright spotlights accent impressive moves and the dancers’ vibrant skirts billow with every spin.
Omara is enthralled by the club, but her growing attraction to both its passion and Ibrahim (Wesley Wray), a singer she meets, puts her at odds with her sister. And, although she might prefer not to, 40 years later she still remembers her pain when she attends one of Juan’s recording sessions. After all, as Compay puts it, “old songs kick up old feelings.”
There certainly is a lot of feeling in the present, but Ramirez’s script only sketches the past. Pressing topics such as racism and dictatorship are mentioned, but not given enough attention to significantly impact the plot. Some dialogue also comes across as contrived: When Compay introduces the club to Omara, Moody gives a dramatic pause before saying its name, as if the character knows it’s also the name of the musical he’s in.
In 1996, the plot flows better. Perhaps because there are fewer and shorter scenes, but also because the older performers — Julio Monge as Compay, Jainardo Bastista Sterling as Rubén and Mel Semé as Ibrahim — bring nuance and charm to their characters that comes from their years of theatrical experience. The biggest wonder is Belcon’s performance as Omara: She takes in every second of the music, first resistant to embrace its sound but slowly giving in. It’s a joy to watch her eventually freely dance along, and her rich and radiant voice brings warmth to the songs when she decides to join the project.
More than anything else, “Buena Vista Social Club” places great emphasis on the band. Set designer Arnulfo Maldonado designed a sliding platform for them to play on, the spotlight shines on musicians performing solos and Ali has them open both acts with a non-plot-related song. During the second act opener, an astounding solo on the tres, a Cuban guitar-like instrument, was just as mesmerizing — if not more — as any of the singing or dancing.
It didn’t surprise me that at the end of the show, after all the actors had cleared the stage, the band took the last bow to cheers and thunderous applause from the amazed crowd.
Contact Ethan Li at eli@nyunews.com.
