FROM HAVANA TO BROADWAY:
A SOCIAL CLUB WORTH JOINING
Buena Vista Social Club is a sun-drenched, rhythm-soaked explosion of life, proving that sometimes a show just needs space to breathe—and in this case, to raise the roof. After its more intimate Off-Broadway run at The Atlantic, this production has found its true home on the Main Stem, where the score burns even hotter, the dance floor is wider, and the sheer joy is cranked up to a blistering degree. And this ain’t hyperbole.
Before Fidel, the missile crisis, Elian, and the new U.S. move towards normalizing relations with Cuba, there was the party. And that’s exactly what the roaring crowd at last night’s opening at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre got in spades. This jubilant, guaranteed rouser is a celebration that looks to be a mainstay on Broadway for quite some time.
Wesley Wray (center at microphone) and company
The mostly true story is roughly 35% of the show, with the red-hot music supporting the tale. Bookwriter Marco Ramirez creates full-fledged characters with humor and gumption, even adding a bit of suspense covering two periods—the Communist Revolution of 1956 and the recording of the album 40 years later. Above all, there’s a universal story which speaks to modern times: does one flee despotism or stay home to keep the people’s culture alive?
Natalie Venetia Belcon, Mel Semé (foreground), Wesley Wray
Back in 1997, the studio album Buena Vista Social Club took the world by storm. Inspired by the music played at a Havana members club—a nightclub for live Afro-Cuban music and dancing—it both celebrated and cemented the fluid formidability of popular pre-revolution Cuban music performed by Cubans. It notched a Grammy Award, and has become one of the best-selling Latin albums of all time. The recording was so popular that Wim Wenders made a documentary about the musicians, which catapulted the group into becoming a global phenomenon. As proven by the smooth syncopated verve on stage tonight, this music remains timeless, as rich in soul as it is in orchestration.
The Broadway company of Buena Vista Social Club
It’s 1996, and a young producer (Justin Cunningham) is amassing the grandfathers of Cuban music to play among fresh new voices for an album. But he wants an erstwhile Cuban singer and star, Omara Portuondo (Natalie Venetia Belcon, the original Gary Coleman in Avenue Q!), to sing on the album. Omara is not interested, but this invitation makes her reflect on old times, when she and her older sister, Haydee (Ashley De La Rosa), starred at the ritzy Tropicana. Haydee is ready to leave the island with a contract from Capitol Records, but Omara (Isa Antonetti) is more attracted to being a vocalist with guitarist and singer Compay Segundo (Da’von T. Moody), vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer (Wesley Wray), and pianist Rubén González (Leonardo Reyna). The show then vacillates between the political tensions of pre-revolution Cuba and the recording of the album.
The Broadway company of Buena Vista Social Club
The casting by the TRC Company is impeccable—Antonetti and De La Rosa are so strikingly similar they might as well be twins, adding another layer of authenticity to the family dynamics at play. The huge ensemble is stacked with vocal powerhouses and master musicians who don’t just perform the music—they live and breathe it. Some do that and dance—how many times can you say you’ve seen quadruple-threats on stage? And the social dancing by married couple Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado is fresh and sexy while being reminiscent of Jerome Robbins’ work in West Side Story‘s “America” (Peck choreographed the Spielberg film). Reyna is so astoundingly great on piano that it’s shocking when he shows acting mettle. And the infectiously spirited Renesito Avich amazes when he opens Act II playing the tres guitar as Eliades Ochoa, an original member of the Buena Vista Social Club.
Justin Cunningham, Marco Paguia (seated at piano),
Renecito Avich, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Román Diaz
And let’s talk about the 12-member onstage band—because they are the heartbeat of the show. Featuring a powerhouse lineup that includes David Oquendo on guitar, Jesus Ricardo on trumpet, the super-inventive Eddie Venegas on trombone and Román Diaz on percussion, the orchestra doesn’t just accompany the action; they fuel the action. Music Supervisor Dean Sharenow ensures that the music is authentic—it sounds like nothing you’ve heard on Broadway before. Along with arranger and orchestrator Marco Paguia (who also conducts from the keys), they keep the energy high and the audience swaying, recreating the rich, intoxicating sound of Havana’s golden era with jaw-dropping precision. And Belcon’s vocals soar effortlessly above the intoxicating arrangements.
Leonardo Reyna (seated at piano) and the company 
Dede Ayite‘s costumes are a show unto themselves, a swirling canvas of Havana nights, all saturated colors, vintage glamour, and fabrics that seem to move in perfect harmony with the music. With Arnulfo Maldonado‘s double-tiered set invoking the wrought iron balconies of Havana, the effect is nothing short of hypnotic, a living painting in motion.
Isa Antonetti
Then there’s the sound. Even if you don’t speak a word of Spanish, you’ll hear every single syllable, thanks to Jonathan Deans‘ classy sound design that captures the rolling poetry of the lyrics and the full, rich depth of the band (a booklet in the program elucidates the songs and their meanings). It’s rare for a Broadway show to deliver this kind of clarity while keeping the live-in-the-moment, intoxicating energy of a Havana nightclub, but somehow, Buena Vista Social Club pulls it off.
Bottom line? This isn’t just a show; it’s a party, a concert, a time machine, and a love letter to Cuban music all at once. Developed and directed by Saheem Ali, the Atlantic Theatre production gave it a solid foundation, but Broadway is where it truly belongs—where it can shake the rafters, rattle your bones, and remind you why you fell in love with live theater in the first place. Check your blood pressure before attending—this show will set it racing.
photos by Matthew Murphy
Buena Vista Social Club
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
open run
for tickets, visit Buena Vista Social Club
