My wife and I were in Times Square on August 6 to see if we could get discounted tickets from TKTS. On Wednesdays, the entity opens at 11 a.m. But by the time we arrived at 10:40 a.m., there were at least 150 people in line. Alas. So we expected to be there for a while.
But then one of the employees told us to get out of line. What did we do wrong? Nothing, as it turned out. We were put at the BEGINNING of the line because my wife’s husband was using a cane! They officially promote folks in the military and folks who saw a Broadway show in the previous week.
However, no tickets were available for the Buena Vista Social Club matinee, so we spent the time on another task. (See a subsequent post.)
We got to the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on 45th Street at about 6:30 for the 7 pm show. I really wanted to see this show because I had seen a movie in 1999 or 2000. Wim Wenders directed the film about Cuban music, “featuring the musicians who recorded the 1997 album Buena Vista Social Club,” produced by Ry Cooder, which I subsequently acquired and loved.
“Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. They named the group after the members’ club of the same name in Havana’s Buenavista quarter, a popular music venue in the 1940s. To showcase the popular styles of the time, such as son, bolero and danzón, they recruited a dozen veteran musicians, some of whom had been retired for many years.”
The story of the musical picks up the thread of the above narrative, specifically how the 1959 revolution impacted the music scene and the musicians’ lives.
Force of nature
Natalie Venetia Belcon played Omara, who had stopped singing six years earlier. Would she be swayed by an enthusiastic young man, a record producer, to return to the recording studio with a bunch of her old musical colleagues? Or would her painful past sideline her?
“Hailed as a ‘jaw-dropping, soul-stirring must-see’ (The Washington Post), the Tony® and GRAMMY® Award-winning BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB is a journey through music and memory into the beating heart of Havana. A world-class company brings the story of the iconic album to thrilling life in this tale of big dreams, second chances, and music that needs no translation.”
The show won five Tonys, including for Ms. Belcon, and was nominated for six more. Following the narrative between 1959 and 1996 was surprisingly easy.
Honestly, the plot threads in the second act were resolved relatively quickly. But it mattered little, because the opening 20 minutes or so of that act became an extraordinary concert, featuring an unbelievable guitarist, David Oquendo.
My wife said it may have been the best show she had ever seen. She may be correct. A touring show will start on September 12 in Buffalo.
Check out the CBS Sunday Morning story from 2025. Oh, it was announced that no photography was allowed DURING the show; this was taken just BEFORE the show. I understand the set was a great replica of the Havana Club.
