Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is producing Songs from The Capeman (April 1 through April 6, 2008), a special concert staging of Paul Simon‘s 1998 Broadway show, The Capeman. The show’s lauded music, in performances at the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St), will feature Paul Simon, Oscar Hernández and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Claudette Sierra, Obie Bermudez, Ray De La Paz, Little Anthony and the Imperials and other guests.
Songs from The Capeman features music by Paul Simon and lyrics by Paul Simon and Derek Walcott. They tell the gripping story of gang member Salvador Agron, convicted of killing two teenagers in the West Side Story-era of the 1950’s. The music and lyrics weave together the sounds of Latin rhythms with doo-wop, gospel and rock ‘n’ roll.The Capeman’s original musical director and arranger Oscar Hernández, who arranged the original show (as well as the theater hits Quien Mató a Hector Lavoe and La Lupe), will join top-flight talent that will include a mix of original cast members and newcomers to the music: Hernández brings his Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra to interpret the mambo-based score, while Puerto Rico-born, New Jersey-bred vocalist Obie Bermúdez (“Antes”) and the veteran New York cantante Ray De La Paz step into the roles originally created onstage by Marc Anthony and Rubén Blades. Latin jazz vocalist and Queens native Claudette Sierra reprises her songs from the show’s Broadway run. As a special treat, Little Anthony and the Imperials (“Tears on My Pillow”) also lend their incomparable harmonies to the evening.
“We at BAM have been honored with a chance to reposition the music from The Capeman so that the songs can truly be heard. Our six-night program presents these finely-crafted pieces in a long-overdue new light,” Says Joseph Melillo, Executive Producer at BAM.
The Capeman concerts are the first in the three-part series Love in Hard Times: The Music of Paul Simon, a month-long program celebrating the music and lyrics of one of America’s greatest artists. Songs from The Capeman will be followed by Under African Skies (April 9-13), which features Simon’s South African-inspired music and American Tunes (April 23-27), which will include some of Simon’s most beloved songs over the course of his extraordinary career, interpreted by several guest star appearances.
April 1 – 6, 2008 at 8pm
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: $30, 50, 65 (call BAM Ticket Services at 718 636 4100 or visit http://www.BAM.org)
Buy the CD:
- In North America: Songs from The Capeman
- In Europe: Songs from the Capeman
Buy the Spanish Harlem Orchestra albums:
- In North America: Viva la Tradición, Un Gran Dia En El Barrio, United We Swing, Across 110th Street
- In Europe: Viva la Tradición, Across 110th Street, United We Swing, Un Gran Dia En El Barrio
Photo by Mark Seliger.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
