A musical built around the Cuban album of the same name is taking over Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, bringing the voice of singer Omara Portuondo and a story set in Havana to the city's biggest stage. Buena Vista Social Club, the five-time Tony Award-winning production inspired by the Grammy-winning album, is set to begin its Orlando run on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
The musical tells the story of the legendary Cuban musicians who came together to record the album, centering on Portuondo, who is known in Cuba as the Queen of Feeling, according to buenavistamusical.com. The site describes how her celebrated voice once carried across the island before she stepped out of the spotlight entirely. The story kicks into motion when an ambitious young record producer offers her a rare opportunity, one that forces her to reckon with her past.
That premise mirrors the real history behind the 1996 recording sessions that produced the actual Buena Vista Social Club album. The Dr. Phillips Center notes that in March 1996, 20 musicians, many of them stars of Cuba's pre-revolution golden age, spent six days inside Havana's EGREM studio making the record, a claim detailed by drphillipscenter.org. Playbill, however, has described the same sessions as a seven-day recording process, and the official Buena Vista Social Club website simply states the veteran musicians assembled at the vintage Egrem studio in Havana that year without specifying a day count.
A Story of Second Chances, Set to Music
The Dr. Phillips Center frames the musical as a tale of big dreams, second chances and the unbreakable bonds formed through making music together. Buenavistamusical.com similarly describes the show as a journey through music and memory into the beating heart of Havana. Those themes play out on stage as the fictionalized producer's offer pushes Portuondo to confront the choices and history she left behind.
The original album's Grammy recognition underscores why its story still draws crowds decades later. Billboard reports that the album won the 1998 Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album.
From Broadway to the Road
Buena Vista Social Club opened on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 19, 2025, according to Playbill, before the production's North American touring company was announced to launch across 36 cities. The touring cast features Karmine Alers as Omara, Frank Rodríguez as Compay, Mauro Castillo as Ibrahim and Robert M. Jiménez as Rubén, the outlet reports. The show carries a book by Marco Ramirez, built from original direction by Saheem Ali.
On Broadway, the production has told its story through dual casting, with Natalie Venetia Belcon and Isa Antonetti playing Portuondo at different stages of her life, as reported by Billboard.
Orlando's relationship with this music predates the musical itself. The Buena Vista Social Orchestra, formed by legendary Cuban musicians in Havana in 1996, performed at Steinmetz Hall inside the Dr. Phillips Center in September 2024, with tickets priced at $39.50, according to Orlando Weekly. That same outlet notes the group's story was captured in a 1999 documentary directed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders.
