BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB -SHOW FINALIZED - 12 ATTENDING

It’s easy to like a show that knows itself. Between the first words of the script — a stage direction, “We begin with music” — to the final bow — by the onstage band — the infectiously exuberant and joyous [Buena Vista Social Club](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/31351-buena-vista-social-club) tells and shows exactly what it’s about. The subject here is the singular sound of old-school Cuban music and artists who made it, a sonic sensation that was captured on a milestone 1990s album recorded in Havana that shares its name with the musical. Songs — they’re all sung in Spanish — from the Grammy-winning record including “Candela,” “Dos Gardenias,” and “El Cuarto de Tula” thread through the show, constantly making audience members’ heads bob and bodies wriggle to the beat. “A sound like this,” a character teases early on, “it tends to travel.” And how. The album went on to become a global hit and inspired a documentary and the musical, which premiered off Broadway in 2023. Traveling to Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Marco Ramirez's script that mixes fact and imagination is slimmer. A gun-running subplot? Gone. A critique of colorism? Essentially reduced to a line. The musical covers two time frames. In the ’50s, singers Omara Portuondo and her sister Haydee face divergent futures and careers. In the ’90s, an older Omara eventually finds her way back to the “old songs” and BVSC band members with whom she shares history: guitarist Compay Segundo, vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer, and pianist Rubén González. Unapologetically sentimental, the slender story gets the job done. Choreography by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck is explosive. Director Saheem Ali’s production mambos across time, all while showcasing the BVSC music. ![2 bvsc…