Groban and Mason Will Join Paul Simon for Love in Hard Times Concerts at BAM
By Adam Hetrick
20 Mar 2008
Recording artist Josh Groban and Broadway's Luba Mason will join Paul Simon for his anticipated Love in Hard Times concerts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in April.
Songs from the Capeman – running April 1-6 – is set to kick off Simon's month-long residency with the Brooklyn arts institution. Songs from the Capeman will feature Simon as well as The Capeman's Broadway arranger and conductor Oscar Hernández; original cast members Luba Mason, Claudette Sierra, Ray De La Paz; Latin singers Obie Bermudez and Frankie Negrón; New York Dolls guitarist Steve Conte; jazz vocalist Nicole Lequerica; actor Jorge Maldonado; and singer-songwriter Danny Rivera.
The performers will be backed by the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. The evenings will also include guest performances from Little Anthony and The Imperials.
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 David Byrne, Kaďssa, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Vusi Mahlasela, Milton Nascimento and Luciana Souza at the Gilman Opera House April 9-13.
Under African Skies is currently sold out. The previously announced Hugh Masekela is unable to perform in Under African Skies.
Grammy nominee Josh Groban will join Simon for American Tunes, running April 23-27 at the Gilman. The concerts find Simon revisiting "railway stations, urban rhythms, and immigrant dreams" with special guests Olu Dara, Grizzly Bear, Gillian Welch and The Roches.
Tickets are available by phoning (718) 636-4100 or by visiting www.BAM.org.
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Simon penned 36 new songs for the doo-wop, gospel and Latin-flaired score of the 1998 musical The Capeman, 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.
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