The North American tour of Buena Vista Social Club has set new box-office and attendance records during consecutive South Florida engagements.
The musical grossed $1,822,889 and sold 18,745 tickets during its eight-performance run at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, which ended Oct. 4. Two weeks later, the tour completed an eight-performance engagement at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, grossing $2,035,016 and selling 20,428 tickets.
Both runs became the highest-grossing and best-attended one-week Broadway tour engagements in the histories of their respective theatres.
“To break both box office and paid attendance records in Miami and Fort Lauderdale is a great reflection of the connection audiences are making with our show,” producer Orin Wolf said. “Buena Vista Social Club is rooted in the music and spirit of Cuba, but the story is universal.”
Inspired by the artists behind the landmark 1997 album, the musical moves between Havana in the 1950s and a recording studio four decades later. Legendary singer Omara Portuondo is offered an opportunity to return to the studio, forcing her to confront the relationships, political upheaval and difficult choices that shaped her past.
Buena Vista Social Club received five Tony Awards, including a Special Tony Award recognizing its band. Its Broadway cast recording won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
The touring cast features Karmine Alers as Omara, Frank Rodríguez as Compay, Mauro Castillo as Ibrahim and Robert M. Jiménez as Rubén. Isabel Gonzalez, Aidan Olmo, Jaleel Battles Jr. and Irving Aday O’Connor portray the younger versions of Omara, Compay, Ibrahim and Rubén, respectively.
San Miguel Pérez plays Eliades, with Liana Morales as Young Haydee and Holiday as Juan de Marcos. The company also includes Erica Simone Barnett, Kwabena Bawuah, Armando Brydson, Jazlyn Carreras, Jhon Destrade, Adrían Guardián, Destinee Jimenez, Alex Llorca, Gabby Rembert, Ralphie Rivera De Jesús, Orgena Rose and Josh Tower.
Music director and pianist Nicolas Perez leads the touring band, which includes musicians performing on guitar, bass, trumpet, trombone, woodwinds and multiple forms of percussion.
The production features a book by Marco Ramirez, direction by Saheem Ali and choreography by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck.
The tour launched Sept. 12 in Buffalo and continues through 2027, including stops in Nashville in May and Charlotte, NC in June. For tour information, visit BuenaVistaMusical.com.
PHOTO: A scene from the Broadway production of Buena Vista Social Club. Photo by Matthew Murphy