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The Nederlander entertainment group finally succeeded after
trying for several years to produce a Broadway musical in Cuba,
a spokesman for Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment said.
U.S.-produced musicals were disallowed in Cuba after the 1959
revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power.
Although a workshop production of "Carmen Jones" was staged in
Cuba in June, this Spanish-language production of "Rent" will be
the first Broadway musical with a full cast, musicians and
production elements in Cuba in over 50 years, spokesman Keith
Sherman said.
In 2011, Nederlander produced a concert based on Broadway show
tunes in Cuba. Then, Cuba's Culture Ministry invited Nederlander
to stage a full Broadway musical.
Sherman called it an "arts-based" production rather than a
profit-making venture, saying low-priced tickets would fail to
cover costs.
Nederlander, one of the biggest theater and music venue
operators and producers in the United States, is producing
"Rent" in conjunction with Cuba's National Council of Performing
Arts at Havana's Bertolt Brecht Theater with a company of 15
Cuban actors.
It will be directed by Andy Señor Jr., a Cuban-American who
starred in the show on Broadway, playing the role of Angel. He
later served as a protege of original "Rent" director Michael
Greif and directed several traveling productions of the show
around the world.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; editing by Gunna Dickson)
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