“even if you don’t understand their Spanish lyrics, the songs prevail. Never forced into literal service as signboards for the plot but instead performed atmospherically by characters who would actually sing them, they lend coherence and depth to the story with their exquisite harmonies, delirious polyrhythms and raw brass.”
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“The script hits its marks effectively, if not surprisingly, and director Saheem Ali keeps the toggling structure evocative and clear, with valuable help from Arnulfo Maldonado’s set, Dede Ayite’s costumes. But the plot is just a hanger for the musical numbers, which is where ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ comes to thrilling life.”
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“The ending is thus bittersweet — that in this version of ‘Buena Vista Social Club's’ story, it took decades for Ferrer and others to get the recognition they deserved. But getting to hear their music live at the Linda Gross Theater now is a unique and worthwhile treat.”
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“The director, Saheem Ali (“Fat Ham”), does an effective job of integrating the scenes from the past into those set decades later, and, more important, smoothly weaving the songs into the narrative fabric...high praise for the performers must be reduced to a raucous round of metaphorical applause for their uniform excellence. The enveloping beauty of the music, and the pleasure in making it that animates actors and musicians alike, lift the show to frequently intoxicating heights.”
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“The music, however, is really what drives the show forward, with the story always in service to the score...With 14 songs packed into two hours and 10 minutes, ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ can sometimes seem more like a concert. More than once I had to fight the urge to stand up and dance in my seat.”
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"Buena Vista Social Club's greatest asset is also its weakest link, at least when it comes to storytelling. Marco Ramirez's book, which draws on the lives of musicians involved in making the album, has an ambitious structure, unfolding in two separate time frames, that can't possibly be fleshed out in a show that packs fifteen musical numbers -- all of them relevant to the plot only in terms of setting a tone -- in just over two hours of running time.”
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“ ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ is a magical production in every way, with all of its elements lovingly stitched into one seamless design. The music and dancing are truly glorious, while Marco Ramirez's book finds the heart and the soul of the production with a story that absolutely ‘feels true,’ so that everything fits together like a perfect mosaic. ¡Larga vida la Buena Vista Social Club!”
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“All of the songs are performed in Spanish, with no English translations provided. But with music this joyfully resonant, every emotion comes through loud and clear. Not to mention the dynamic rhythms that will have you moving around so much that the seats should come equipped with seatbelts.”
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