Es muy caliente when it comes to the rhythm, the pulse, and the romance within the carefully woven plot lines that give life to “Buena Vista Social Club,” a musical tale of glory and heartbreak that brings the soul of Cuba to the Broadway stage!
I’m not gonna lie and say I haven’t had my fill of jukebox musicals, especially after the epitome of a plane crash that was “Swept Away,” and I knew going in that every song was sung in Spanish. That was no help given I lost all my years of learning the language in high school (although thank goodness for the little booklets they provide you to at least give the songs context). But in coming out the other side of this one, my respect for the language, the culture, and the music has only grown. I was taught in school only small components of the culture and history of Hispanic heritage whether it be centered in Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, etc., but not an entire picture was provided. Getting a glimpse into the history of a major component of this fascinating culture, the music, was a lesson I didn’t know I needed. The music gives the listener a drive that can either propel one to hit the floor dancing with unabashed joy or compel the heart to shatter into pieces via such raw emotions. These songs were miniature stories of their own, and certainly deserved to be shared with the entire globe, not just the ears of its homeland, and it’s just as fitting to say these songs certainly belong on the Broadway stage.
While, yes, Marco Ramirez’s book can be a little two-dimensional at points, especially within one of the two plot lines surrounding the year the Grammy-winning album was recorded and even the characters a little in this timeline as well, and maybe a song or two didn’t exactly fit the scene context but I cannot say anything on that given I couldn’t translate so don’t take me to seriously on that one, there is still so much to admire in the story he’s spinning before our eyes featuring characters and relationships you care so much for from start to end, and Saheem Ali’s watchful eyes on the whole of it certainly do a sharp and meaningful job at giving us a story with profound heart, undying determination, and a deep impact. And on top of all that you’ve got the riveting, unabashed, dancers-must-be-elastic-mentality choreography by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck (may another Tony be around the corner for the “Illinoise” winner??). It’s fire and electricity whenever dancing takes the stage here; there’s no holding back in any spin, lift, leap, or whatever other fancy foot work these two have concocted to progress the plot and entertain our creativity-craving eyeballs. Without their moves adding even more to the Cuban atmosphere already provided by rest of the design team, all of this would crumble away and it wouldn’t be the fullest picture of Cuba this musical provides to us. Same can be said to the fantastic ensemble cast of performers/musicians headed by the well-rounded, emotionally driven performances Natalie Venetia Belcon and Isa Antonetti as the famed Omara Portuondo at the two stages of her life these plot lines depict.
It may not be THE perfect musical you’ll ever see (at least writing-wise in certain aspects), but you will find yourself utterly entranced and feeling that urge to burn the floor with dance during your night at the Schoenfeld. “Buena Vista Social Club” lands in my top favorites of the season not only for the storytelling of it all, but for waves of fierce determination and never-ending waves of love it hits its audiences with night after night.
It’s been told that music really does bring people together, and when this album emerged in the late nineties, it looks like it did just that. Let’s see if this resurgence in it in stage-musical form makes us come together once again because in these times, we all could use a sense of love and community only music can give to us.
