Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Awash in urgent music and dance, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB finds thrilling new life as a stage musical

• By drediman
• December 14, 2023
• No Comments

Last night, the highly anticipated musical incarnation of Buena Vista Social Club opened Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theater courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company. As a storytelling-driven adaptation of the legendary Grammy-winning album of the same name, the stage version seeks to more concretely document — but more importantly, excavate — the stories behind the album’s recording. It does so brilliantly.

Although one could technically classify the show as a jukebox musical (a good number of the songs are culled from the album), it has very little of the generic aftertaste that l’ve grown accustomed to from such entertainments. Indeed, Buena Vista Social Club uncommonly seethes with real consequence and dramatic heft. Despite the undeniable allure of the score (especially seductive under David Yazbek’s expert musical guidance), much of the musical’s success as music theater is attributable to the nuanced, thoughtful work by book writer Marco Ramirez. Structured as a sort of memory play within a memory play, Ramirez’s book stealthily peels back layers of history until we arrive at 1950s Havana — the pungent, politically volatile setting from which the album’s Afro-Cuban rhythms have urgently sprung. Given that music plays a central role in the show, by default so do movement and dance. Indeed, choreographers Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck’s choreography rides the pulse of the music sweetly and viscerally, utilizing both Latin-inspired choreography, as well as occasional forays into contemporary dance that feel completely organic and attuned to the human drama at hand.

Tying it all elegantly together is director Saheem Ali’s atmospheric production, which features a stage teeming with supremely talented actor/singers, musicians, and dancers. Together, they weave a vital human tapestry that both moved and thrilled me. Of the performances, the regal Natalie Venetia Belcon and the quietly compelling Mel Semé made deep impressions as singers whose complicated personal histories together create the gateway into the soul of the iconic songs.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
Off-Broadway, Musical
Atlantic Theater Company
2 hours (including one intermission)
Through January 21