Choco Orta leads a Puerto Rican cast in Buena Vista Social Club at Bellas Artes

The Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club opened October 23 at the Sala de Festivales Antonio Paoli in the Centro de Bellas Artes de Santurce, performed in Spanish by a Puerto Rican cast led by Choco Orta as Omara. The musicians on that stage are island players, and they perform the score live.

That matters because the Broadway production won a special Tony Award for its band. The Puerto Rico staging is the first to receive its own license while the original is still running on Broadway, according to Broadway News. The producer is Ender Vega of BAS Entertainment, with Luis A. Miranda Jr. and Lin-Manuel Miranda as co-producers.

The cast and the players

Orta is joined by Michael Stuart as Ibrahim, Ernesto Concepción as Compay, Modesto Lacén as Juan de Marcos and René Monclova as Rubén. Cuatrista Luis Sanz plays Eliades, which puts Puerto Rico's national instrument inside a score built on Cuban son.

Guitarist Juan José Hernández, of the San Juan band Habana, is also on stage. The mix of actors and working musicians is what the local run is selling: the songs are played by people who work in this repertoire, not reproduced from a recording.

Sold-out nights and added date

Metro Puerto Rico reported that the second performance sold out and that Lin-Manuel Miranda was in the audience. Demand also pushed the producers to add a date. Primera Hora announced the extra performance, which brings the run to five shows.

The two remaining dates are October 31 and the added matinee on November 1 at 2 p.m. Tickets are sold through Ticketera. Anyone planning to go should check the Ticketera listing for current availability, since earlier nights in the run have already sold out.

The Bellas Artes engagement is short, and the Sala de Festivales Antonio Paoli is the venue for all five dates. The Broadway original continues its own run in New York alongside the Puerto Rico staging.