Due to popular response, Celia:
The Life and Music of Celia Cruz is extending performances at New World
Stages for the holiday season through January 27 2008, tickets on sale now at Telecharge.com
or call 212-239-6200 / 6240 Spanish. New World Stages at 340 West 50th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue
Performances are Tuesday – Friday at 8PM; Saturday at 5PM*
and 9PM; Sunday at 3PM and 7PM*. *
English performances. All other performances are in Spanish. Please visit www.celiathemusical.com
The musical stars Xiomara Laugart as Celia Cruz, Modesto
Lacén as Pedro Knight, Pedro Capó as the loyal confidant, and Selenis Leyva as
The Woman. With Sunilda Caraballo, Anissa Gathers, Grizel "Chachi"
Del Valle, Wilson Mendieta, Elvis Nolasco and Sekou McMiller.
The original musical is written by Latino playwrights Carmen
Rivera and Candido Tirado; directed by Spain's well renowned Jaime Azpilicueta,
choreography and Production Supervisor by Maria Torres (Latin Heat, Four Guys Named
Jose, Idlewild, El Cantante) and produced by Henry
Cardenas and David Maldonado, the team behind the hit musical, Who Killed Hector Lavoe?
The design team includes: Narelle Sissons in Set Design;
Sarah Sidman for Lighting Design; Jan Hartley for Projection Design; and Sound
Design by Bernard Fox. Also in the production team are Haydee Morales for
Costumes, Ruth Sanchez in hair and Make up, and Isidro Infante for music,
arrangements, and orchestration.
"From her humble beginnings in Cuba to her formidable
sixty-year career, three time Grammy and four time Latin Grammy winner, Celia
Cruz is indisputably one of Latin music's most important and unforgettable
vocalists, and perhaps the most notable ambassador of Hispanic culture in the
world. It was radio's heyday, and Celia's voice became a regular fixture on
Cuban airwaves. Along the way, she met
many influential artists and music producers.
In 1950, she was invited to join La Sonora Matancera, revered as the
Latin equivalent of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. She remained with La Sonora Matancera for 15
years. On July 14, 1962, Celia married
the band's trumpet player, Pedro Knight.
It was a relationship that would last a lifetime. Their journey together began in Mexico, where the orchestra set up base after
Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba. Celia vowed never to return to the island. In
1965, Celia launched her solo career.
She relocated to the Big Apple, where she eventually teamed with the
legendary Tito Puente, with whom she would always continuing working with,"
describe press notes.
She found international fame collaborating with legendary
flautist and composer Johnny Pacheco, co-founder of Fania Records. Their huge
hits included Quimbara, Toro Mata, and Canto a la Habana among many
others.Celia Cruz has been immortalized in film with cameos in Hollywood films including The Mambo Kings and The Perez
Family. She has recorded with some of the biggest names from all genres of
music: David Byrne, Willie Colón, Dionne Warwick, Patti LaBelle, Gloria
Estefan, Wyclef Jean, Angela Carrasco, Oscar D'Leon, Jose Alberto "El
Canario," la India, Marc Anthony and many others. Cruz continued to record
and perform until sidelined by a brain tumor in 2002. While recovering from
surgery she managed to make it in to the studio in early 2003 to record her
last album, Regalo de Alma. Celia Cruz died on July 16, 2003. The passing of
Celia Cruz left a huge gap in Latin music but sealed her immortal status as the
"Queen of Latin Music", "The Queen of Salsa," and "La
Guarachera de Cuba."
