July 6, 2008

Home
Playbill Club
Discounts
Benefits
Join Club
Member Services
News
U.S./Canada
International
Tony Awards
Obituaries
Awards Roundup
All
Listings/Tickets
Broadway
Off-Broadway
Regional/Tours
London
Features
Week in Review
Broadway Grosses
On the Record
Stage to Screens
On Opening Night
Playbill Archives
Ask Playbill.com
Special Features
All
Playbill Store
Enter Store
Casting & Jobs
Job Listings
Post a Job
Celebrity Buzz
Diva Talk
Brief Encounter
The Leading Men
Cue and A
Onstage & Backstage
Who's Who
Insider Info
Playbill Digital
Multimedia
Video
Interactive
Polls
Quizzes
Contests
Theatre Central
Sites
Connections
Reference
Awards Database
Seating Charts
Restaurants
Hotels
FAQs

RSS News Feed


News: US/Canada
Related Information
Email this Article Email this Article
Printer-friendly Printer-friendly
BAM to Present Concert Version of Simon's The Capeman

By Adam Hetrick
29 Jan 2008

Paul Simon
photo by Robert Clark

Paul Simon's short-lived Broadway musical The Capeman will make a New York return April 1-6 when the Brooklyn Academy of Music presents Songs from The Capeman at the Harvey Theatre.

Songs from the Capeman is set to kick off Simon's month-long residency with the Brooklyn arts institution, Love in Hard Times: The Music of Paul Simon, which will allow the Grammy winner the chance to collaborate with a range of musicians throughout April.

Songs from the Capeman will feature Simon as well as The Capeman's Broadway arranger and conductor Oscar Hernández joined by original cast members Claudette Sierra, Ray De La Paz and Latin singer Obie Bermudez. The performers will be backed by the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. The evenings will also include guest performances from Little Anthony and The Imperials, with additional artists to be announced.

Simon penned 36 new songs for the doo-wop, gospel and Latin-flaired score of the 1998 musical, described by Clive Barnes of the New York Post as "the most bewitching and bewitched Broadway score in years." With a libretto by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott, The Capeman tells the true life story of Salvador Agron, a Puerto Rican gang member who murdered two teen-agers in the late 1950s, then underwent a conversion as a poet while in prison.

Opening to mostly negative reviews, The Capeman ran only 68 performances on Broadway, earning Tony Award nominations for Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations and Best Scenic Design.

A complete cast album was recorded but never released; however, it is currently available for download via i-tunes. Simon did release the album "Songs from The Capeman" featuring the Grammy winner performing songs from his musical.

Simon's residency at BAM also includes Under African Skies, showcasing his African and Brazilian influences that he explored in the albums "Graceland" and "The Rhythm of the Saints." Simon performs alongside Hugh Masekela, Milton Nascimento, Kaïssa, David Byrne and Luciana Souza. Under African Skies plays the Gilman Opera House April 9-13.

And, Simon revisits "railway stations, urban rhythms, and immigrant dreams" in American Tunes – featuring Simon, Olu Dara, Grizzly Bear and The Roches — April 23-27 at the Gilman.

Tickets will go on sale Feb. 11 to the general public. Friends of BAM and Visa Signature cardholders may begin purchasing tickets Feb. 4 by calling (718) 636-4100 or by visiting www.BAM.org.




Keyword:

Features/Location:

Writer:

 


advanced search

Free Membership
Exclusive Ticket Discounts
Join

NEWEST DISCOUNTS
The Country Girl
Some Americans Abroad
Grease
Summertime Classics
Damn Yankees
A Catered Affair
Naked Boys Singing
Thurgood
Title of Show
The 39 Steps

ALSO SAVE ON BROADWAY'S BEST
A Chorus Line
August: Osage County
Boeing-Boeing
Cirque Dreams
Gypsy
Spamalot
Title of Show
Xanadu
Young Frankenstein

and more!



Newest features from PlaybillArts.com:

Photo Journal: Doktor Faust at the Munich Opera Festival

20 (PLUS) QUESTIONS WITH: Pianist David Greilsammer

Click here for more classical music, opera, and dance features.


· Schedule of Upcoming Broadway Shows
· Schedule of Upcoming Off-Broadway Shows
· Broadway Rush and Standing Room Only Policies
· Long Runs on Broadway
· Weekly Schedule of Current Broadway Shows
· Upcoming Cast Recordings
· Hit Show Ticket Tips
· Broadway's July 4th Performance Schedule Changes


Which viral video series have you enjoyed more?
Cubby Bernstein
Title of Show

View Results
(without voting)

Email this page to a friend!