Ahron R. Foster
There is so much right about the musical adaptation of Buena Vista Social Club at the Atlantic Theater (through Jan. 21, 2024), developed and directed by Saleem Ali. For one, there is Arnulfo Maldonado’s triple-wow design—one of the most beautifully realized stages of the season so far, tangily redolent of that iconic Cuban musical venue in the 1950s, with a raised platform perfect for bruised sunsets along the Malecon.
Then there is the music (by the Buena Vista Social Club), choreography (Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck), costumes (Dede Ayite), and atmosphere-sharpening lighting (Tyler Micoleau): all perfect. But the script, right now at least, doesn’t share the smooth execution of the other elements. Patchily underwritten and with poor character development and minimal stakes, it also assumes you know key moments of the band’s past and Cuban history in general with only the barest information of either being conveyed to the audience.
The musical switches between the 1950s and mid-1990s, with us seeing the Buena Vista Social Club band in its sprightly, radical infancy and then being reformed forty years later to record the songs long left behind. That record would go on to become the best-selling World Music album of all time, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide.