Video: Aidan Olmo Is Taking the Show on the Road in BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB

Some interviews are more personal than others. Long before Aidan Olmo was preparing to travel the country in the Tony Award-winning Buena Vista Social Club, he was a young musical theatre student with big dreams — and I had the privilege of being one of his teachers.

For years, we worked together as he developed as a performer, went after roles, did songs together, prepared for auditions and eventually worked toward the next major goal: studying musical theatre at Manhattan School of Music. I watched his talent grow, but just as importantly, I watched the work he was willing to put behind it.

I said years ago that Aidan Olmo was one to watch. Now, audiences across the country are about to find out why.

Olmo is making his national tour debut as Young Compay in the first North American tour of Buena Vista Social Club, the acclaimed musical inspired by the artists and music behind the legendary Grammy-winning album. The opportunity marks an exciting new chapter for a young performer who has been working toward a moment like this for years.

For this special BroadwayWorld conversation, Aidan and I reunite — this time on opposite sides of an interview — to talk about landing Buena Vista Social Club, stepping into Young Compay, his training at Manhattan School of Music, and what it means to take his first show across the country.

Of course, it is impossible for me to approach this interview without being a little proud. There is something extraordinary about watching a young artist work toward a dream when that dream still feels very far away — and then getting to watch the moment when it starts becoming real.

Years ago, I said Aidan had next. Well, here he comes.