Broadway's ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ is Big on Tartan Talent

When “Buena Vista Social Club” took Broadway by storm earlier this year, it was the vibrant Cuban music and the fictionalized story of real-life legendary songstress Omara Portuondo that took center stage. But behind the scenes — and in the spotlight — was another powerful story: the impressive roster of Carnegie Mellon University alumni bringing this new musical to life.

The show brings Omara’s journey to the stage through two performances: Isa Antonetti portrays Young Omara in the 1950s at the beginning of her career in Havana, and Natalie Venetia Belcon plays Omara in the 1990s when she reunites with her former bandmates for the iconic recording of the 1997 hit album “Buena Vista Social Club.” Both Antonetti and Belcon are graduates of the School of Drama. Antonetti graduated this spring, and Belcon — nominated for a Tony Award(opens in new window) for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical — graduated in 1991. 

While the two women don’t share much stage time, they are bonded by the passion and heart each of them brings to the character they share. The real-life Portuondo, now 94 years old, attended opening night of “Buena Vista Social Club,” where she met Antonetti and Belcon. After the performance Portuondo said, “I am deeply grateful to have met the entire team of artists. I leave with a joyful heart.”

For Antonetti, the journey to Broadway was quicker than she expected. It’s where she has always hoped she would land, but she imagined it would come after completing her senior year and participating in Showcase(opens in new window) — the School of Drama’s capstone performances in New York and LA for graduating acting and music theater students. Instead, she was cast in “Buena Vista Social Club” in the middle of her senior year, and although she was still able to graduate, she was not able to participate in Showcase or walk with her classmates on graduation day. But she has no regrets.

“I always say that I think, mostly, everything happens for a reason,” Antonetti said. “And I am finding that this is definitely the path that is right for me.”

And while Antonetti may not have entered Gesling Field to the march of bagpipes alongside her fellow Tartans, she had a fitting graduation celebration on stage(opens in new window), thrown by her company. 

“Buena Vista Social Club” is packed with Tartan talent at every level. In addition to Antonetti and Belcon, CMU alumni include the show’s associate director Moses Garcia(opens in new window), production assistant Sidney Rubinowicz, and key members of the sound team: Daniel Lundberg (associate sound designer), Tate Abdullah (assistant sound designer) and Thomas Ford (sound programmer). Two of the show's Tony nominated producers — Ankit Agrawal and Jamie deRoy(opens in new window) — are also alumni.

“Knowing that we have such a strong alumni community was so promising for everyone,” Antonetti said. Ford agreed, adding that anytime he works on a production where CMU alumni are involved, there is a built-in familiarity that brings a certain ease to the work.

CMU’s Broadway presence is strong this season, not just at “Buena Vista Social Club.” Along 45th Street alone (where “Buena Vista Social Club” plays), Antonetti says she runs into fellow alumni whose shows are all playing in neighboring theaters: Molly Griggs, Hagan Oliveras and Noah Pacht in “John Proctor is the Villain;” Jason Schmidt and Kevin William Paul in “The Outsiders;” and Rayven Bailey in “Moulin Rouge,” to name just a few. 

“It’s so fun,” Antonetti said, “because we’re all just on our way to work.” 

Over 50 CMU alumni are working on Broadway this season, on stage and behind the scenes. Tune into the Tony Awards Sunday, June 8 on CBS to catch alumni nominees, presenters and performers — including Leslie Odom, Jr. and Renée Elise Goldsberry reprising their Tony Award-winning roles in a special “Hamilton” performance.