B+
This vibrant musical at Atlantic Theater Company was inspired by the bestselling 1997 album of authentic Cuban music from the 1950s played by the musicians who had performed it 40 years before at the long-gone titular venue, as well as by the Oscar-nominated 1999 Wim Wenders documentary about them. The talented director Saheem Ali (Fat Ham) developed the project with David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit) as creative consultant. Marco Ramirez (The Royale) wrote the book. The wonderful music, which is the beating heart of the show, is taken from the original album and its successors. The book, which overcompensates in breadth for what it lacks in depth, touches at least briefly on a lot of themes, including ambition, betrayal, colorism, class, regret and the stirrings of revolution. We meet several of the musicians at the time of the recording and flash back to fictionalized versions of their relationships during the 1950s. Omara (Natalie Venetia Belcon; The Glorious Ones) is a popular recording artist with a reputation as a diva, who condescends to fill in as singer on the album. In her youth, she (Kenya Browne) sang in a touristy sister act at the Tropicana with her sister Haydee (Dayana Esperanza; Mary Jane). When she is introduced to authentic Cuban music at the Buena Vista Social Club, she decides to leave her sister to sing with Ibrahim (Olly Sholotan; “Bel Air”) but his dark skin becomes an obstacle. The old songs played at the recording session stir up old feelings. The musicians are all superb, but I must single out tres player Renesito Avich and flutist Hery Paz for special mention. Choreographers Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck (Carousel) have created some lively nightclub dance numbers for three couples, but their abstract duos for surrogates of the young sisters left me cold. Arnulfo Maldonado’s (A Strange Loop) efficient set combines the seedy club with the recording studio, a seaside promenade and the Tropicana. Dede Ayite’s (Slave Play) costumes are appropriately colorful. At times I wished there were English translations for the songs, but surtitles might have been a distraction. The relative weakness of the book is more than compensated for by the quality of the musical performances. I think I would have enjoyed it just as much, if not more, if they had forgone the book and just presented a concert. Running time: two hours including intermission.
