Podcast Summary: All Of It – Broadway's 'Buena Vista Social Club' Live At WNYC

Host: Alison Stewart
Original Air Date: October 30, 2025
Episode Theme: Culture, legacy, and creative adaptation in Broadway’s Buena Vista Social Club

Episode Overview

In this lively installment of WNYC’s All Of It, host Alison Stewart welcomes the cast, band, and creative team behind the Tony-winning musical Buena Vista Social Club for a live event in The Greene Space. The episode explores how the legendary Cuban album was transformed into a Broadway musical, delving into the show’s music, choreography, and personal connections of those involved. Through candid interviews and live performances, the episode brings listeners inside the process, culture, and spirit animating the acclaimed production.

Key Discussion Highlights

1. Origin and Legacy of Buena Vista Social Club

• Music Director Marco Paguilla recounts first hearing the original Buena Vista album as a college student in the '90s, describing it as “a formative time for me as a musician,” and how re-engaging with it for the show was both an education and “a gift” (09:03).
• The band’s lineup features musicians directly connected to the original spirit, with one (David Oquendo) having performed with original Social Club members (10:46).
  • David: “I have the big responsibility to carry to my shoulder the legacy that I received from my ancestors, from the originals too, because I had the pleasure to perform with Compay Segundo for many years when I was 21.” (10:47)

2. Adapting Cuban Tradition for Broadway

• Bridging Musical Worlds: Marco Paguilla details the challenge and reward of melding Cuban musical traditions with theater storytelling (09:56):
  • “My task...was to bring the theater to the Cuban musicians and the Cuban musicians to the theater...using this amazing legacy...to a story and having emotional stakes within the show. So it’s not just a concert, it’s a theater piece.”

3. Instrumental Insight: The Cuban Tres

• Renesito Avich gives an introduction to the Cuban tres, highlighting its role at the heart of Cuban music (12:00):
  • "This is a national guitar from Cuba...it has three perfect strings, three double strings...with these three notes...big part of the Cuban music and Caribbean music was born."
  • He explains the importance of “tumbao” as a recurring musical pattern (12:22).

4. Improvisation and Live Performance Energy

• Renesito describes his onstage solos as “improvised” and shares his excitement at discovering new freedom within the show (12:53).
• Discussion touches on the energy exchange with audiences:
  • David: “Every night there is love, a lot of love for us. And we take that and then we give it back to you.” (13:23–13:39)

5. Musicians Bonding as a Band

• The cast describes magical first rehearsals, noting how instant connections formed among largely strangers thanks to the shared culture of music (14:02):
  • Marco Paguilla: “Right from the beginning, it just—it was magic.”

6. Dance and Choreography: Cultural Research and Partnership

• Choreographers Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado speak about their personal roots with the music and the challenge of choreographing on equal footing as partners (17:50–19:23).

• Patricia Delgado: “So much of the show is based on dancing with two people together...to just listen to this music, what a gift to be able to create choreography to this music.” (19:28)

• Justin Peck highlights the narrative role of dance:

  • “Dance taps into the subconscious...it expresses a kind of emotion or feeling when words or singing can’t. And with Buena Vista Social Club...there’s so many complex ideas and feelings...when we need some sort of release or relief, that’s when dance comes into play.” (20:18)

• Research for Authenticity:

  • Patricia details the challenge of recreating 1950s Cuban club culture with little documentation, blending Afro-Cuban, ballet, social dance, and more into a fresh stage language (21:20).
  • Justin emphasizes avoiding “pigeonholing” while paying “tribute to the full spectrum of dance as it exists in Cuba” (22:29).
  • They discuss the evolution of choreography and close collaboration with the costume designer to make costumes that move with the dancers (23:52).

7. Song Development: The Challenge of “Chan Chan”

• Discussed as the musical’s “dream ballet”—a sequence refined through 20 versions to express story and emotion almost wordlessly. The segment underscores the collaborative, iterative nature of musical theater creation.
  • Patricia Delgado: “What do we do with it? How do we make it something that tells a story without having dialogue?” (25:10)

8. Debuts, Vulnerability, and Growth on Broadway

• Issa Antonetti (Amara, Broadway debut) and Mel Seme (Ibrahim, Broadway debut) discuss transitioning from students and touring musicians to Broadway (37:15).
  • Issa Antonetti: “Broadway is hard and it’s worth every exhausting moment. And so I. It’s been very easy with these people.” (37:23)
  • David Oquendo recalls skepticism about joining a theater production – “I've never done theater before in my entire life. I'm not sure I am what you guys are looking for,” (38:23) – but was soon won over by collaborative spirit and familiar music.
• The actors reflect on the challenge of singing iconic, emotionally loaded songs in new ways and “finding their voices” in the process:
  • Mel Seme (Amara): “She doesn’t do head voice. She’s all from the chest. She’s all from the gut...That’s who she is. Her shoulders are back, her chin is up, and that is how I found her, is through the voice.” (40:45–41:09)
  • David: Discusses adapting his untrained voice for Broadway: “I never had voice lessons...Marco came to me and was like, all right, in this moment of the song, just give me this long, sustained note...and please match the volume of the band. I'm like, what is happening right now, you know?” (41:36)

9. Collaboration and Trust Among Cast & Crew

• Marco Paguilla emphasizes the importance of teaching both seasoned and new performers the different “muscle” required for Broadway singing and storytelling (42:30).
  • “What may seem small on a record or something in a club setting...may not read in a thousand seat theater. So you need to find a way to scale up that emotion.”
• Mel Seme praises the choreographers’ ability to “put it into other people’s bodies...that’s their emotion, that’s their energy” (44:07), and how the dance sequences are so captivating backstage he has to resist watching.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Musical Legacy:
  • “I have the big responsibility to carry to my shoulder the legacy that I received from my ancestors, from the originals too, because I had the pleasure to perform with Compay Segundo for many years when I was 21.”
    — David, (10:47)
• On the Audience Relationship:
  • “Every night there is love, a lot of love for us. And we take that and then we give it back to you.”
    — David, (13:23–13:39)
• On Choreography and Collaboration:
  • "We like to say [Chan Chan] is the dream ballet of our musical because so much is said with just expressions of movement. But we did like, I don't know, 20 versions of it."
    — Patricia Delgado, (25:10–26:11)
• On Finding Your Voice On Broadway:
  • "She is all from the chest. She’s all from the gut...That’s who she is. Her shoulders are back, her chin is up, and that is how I found her, is through the voice."
    — Mel Seme (as Amara), (40:45–41:09)
• On Adapting to Theater:
  • “I've never done theater before in my entire life. I'm not sure I am what you guys are looking for...But they explained what this was about...and obviously familiar music, and it just, you know, grabbed me, and I just went for it.”
    — David, (38:23)
• On Technical Collaboration:
  • "It was a true collaboration...to have it look a certain way and then work on the dance to match it to create that illusion."
    — Patricia Delgado, (24:57)

Key Timestamps (MM:SS)

• First live band performance: 04:02–08:01
• Host opens interview with band & creative team: 08:01
• On legacy and adapting the music: 09:03–10:39
• Introduction to Cuban tres: 12:00–12:19
• Discussion on improvisation: 12:53–13:02
• First time band played together: 14:02
• Interview with choreographers (Justin Peck & Patricia Delgado): 17:50–27:28
• On the centrality of dance: 20:18–22:29
• On “Chan Chan,” choreography’s dream ballet: 25:10–26:11
• On cast members making Broadway debuts: 37:15–38:23
• Finding character and vocal strength: 40:45–41:31
• Discussing transformative choreography: 44:02–45:28
• Final performance, “La Negra Tomasa”: 45:41

Live Performances (Approximate Timestamps)

• Opening band number: 04:02–08:01
• Mel Seme & Wesley Ray duet: 14:40–16:50
• “Chan Chan” by the band: 27:30–32:13
• “Silencio”: 36:15–36:45
• “La Negra Tomasa”: 45:41–48:06

Conclusion

This special All Of It episode offers a layered, behind-the-scenes look at Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway: an inspiring tapestry of music, movement, and cultural memory. The episode celebrates both the meticulous artistry and spontaneous energy that drive the show, with heartfelt reflections from creators and performers on honoring the original spirit while creating something new for contemporary audiences.

Whether reliving their first encounter with the "timeless" Buena Vista Social Club album or navigating the technical challenges—and emotional resonance—of live performance, the cast and creative team reveal their deep connections to Cuban music, heritage, and each other, making clear why their adaptation strikes such a chord on Broadway.