\u201cWhat follows is the story of a band. Not ours, but we\u2019ll do our best,\u201d a character says in the opening.<\/p>\n
Back in the 1950s, the musicians are scraping by, performing in the chic Tropicana nightclub on one side of Havana and grooving in a social club on the other side, the \u201cwrong\u201d side where tourists never venture.<\/p>\n
Flash forward to the 1990s: Producer Juan de Marcos (played by Holiday) is trying to get diva Omara Portuondo (Karmine Alers) to sing on a Cuban concept album of pre-revolutionary songs he is working on with veteran musicians she knew before becoming a star \u2014 back when she and her sister, Haydee (Liana Morales), were desperately chasing a stateside recording contract.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day, with the right record, this island might remind the world that Mozart\u2019s got nothing on us,\u201d de Marcos says.<\/p>\n
As you might well imagine, there\u2019s a romance too, though the passion comes off as cutesy as opposed to hotsy. Omara is infatuated with singer (and busboy in the seedy social club) Ibrahim Ferrer (Jaleel Battles Jr.), whose Afro-Cuban heritage means he has to busk on the piers of Havana.<\/p>\n
And, yes, the characters are based on real-life participants in the megahit album, though some liberty has been taken with their stories.<\/p>\n
The Broadway production won five\u00a0Tony Awards after bowing on the Great White Way in 2025 (John Leguizamo and LaChanze were among the producers). And this past February, the cast recording won for Best Musical Theater Album at the 68th Grammy Awards.<\/p>\n
Ahhhh, that music.<\/p>\n
Though this is theater \u2014 at times bordering on choreographic performance art \u2014 the music itself has the immediacy and sharp attack of a top-class concert, seemingly bubbling up in an improvisational way as if it just came from a late-night jam session.<\/p>\n
Every tuneful tah-dah accent gets a roar of approval \u2026 the brass blasts \u2026 the vocal wails. But the ticket-buying audience on media night, presumably fans of the 1997 album that launched two documentaries and this stage musical, had quieter reactions, giving a murmur of recognition to some \u201ccanciones.\u201d While being seduced by the more yearning passages with the gliding and mellifluous singing, the crowd sometimes gave a soft (but audible nonetheless) \u201cmmm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something is satisfied.<\/p>\n
Rubbery arrangements wrap themselves around several musical styles, such as bolero, danz\u00f3n, salsa and son cubano. And the 10-member ensemble onstage throughout the show, veritable virtuosos each and every one of them, sound like twice that number (if the fiery \u201cCandela\u201d doesn\u2019t get you chair dancing, then that\u2019s on you, not them).<\/p>\n
It must be said that the show dances gingerly around many of the controversial lightning rods of Cuban politics. Then again, this is a Broadway show, not \u201cNoticias Telemundo Investiga.\u201d The narrative touches upon, for example, violence, economic inequality and racism before and after the Cuban Revolution without hitting it hard during the two hours with a 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n
![\"Irving](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TFL-L-IrvingAdayOConnor-AidanOlmo-LianaMorales-IsabelGonzalez-snipped-screenshot-01.jpg\")
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Matthew Murphy<\/p>\n
From left, Irving Aday O\u2019Connor, Aidan Olmo, Liana Morales and Isabel Gonzalez in “Buena Vista Social Club.” (Matthew Murphy\/Courtesy)<\/p>\n
The book for \u201cBuena Vista Social Club\u201d was written by Marco Ramirez<\/a>, with choreography by Patricia Delgado<\/a> \u2014 both are native Miamians. Delgado\u2019s hubby, Justin Peck<\/a>, co-created the dancing for the show (both have previously worked with the Miami City Ballet).<\/p>\n And there you have it. South Floridians don\u2019t necessarily need to speak Spanish to resonate with this show. Everything about this musical \u2014 the story, the movement, the music, the look, the feel \u2014 talks to us in a way we understand because the very DNA of the \u201cBuena Vista Social Club\u201d is sooooo SoFlo.<\/p>\n It will speak to you.<\/p>\n If you go<\/p>\n \u2022 \u201cBuena Vista Social Club\u201d is playing at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, through Oct. 4. Tickets start at $52.65. Visit arshtcenter.org<\/a> or call 305-949-6722.<\/p>\n
![\"Jaleel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/TFL-L-Jaleel-Battles-Jr-company-of-Buena-Vista-Social-Club-snipped-screenshot-01.jpg\")
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