THEY CALL ME CUBAN PETE Cabaret Comes to Don't Tell Mama

They Call Me Cuban Pete, The Music and Genius of Desi Arnaz comes to famed NYC cabaret location Don't Tell Mama, located at 343 West 46th Street. The musical revue of the personal and professional life of Desi Arnaz is set for April 25th at 7 pm. Doors open at 6:45 pm.

The cabaret is set to star Danny Bolero. Bolero made his Broadway debut in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 93 revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and appeared in Broadway's IN THE HEIGHTS. He is currently performing in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite with Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, which runs through June 2022. February. He has been in numerous plays on and off-Broadway, including The Public Theater's production of "Miss You Like Hell." In addition, he can be heard as the voice of Abuelo in the PBS Kids animated series, "Alma's Way."

Background:

Last October marked the 70th anniversary of the I LOVE LUCY show, and it's not surprising that tributes to the famous Hollywood couple have been pouring in ever since, including Alan Sorkin's movie "Being the Ricardos" and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment documentary. But it's a short play by actor/playwright Danny Bolero that was previewed at New York's Episcopal Actors Guild, that provided a unique perspective of Desi Arnaz that is rarely seen. A point of view from Arnaz that Latino producers and other industry professionals of color would find of interest -- how Arnaz was able to star in his show that remains a main staple of American culture today and how he was able to change the way television shows are made. It's a production Bolero has dreamed of doing for decades, "I've had this idea for about twenty years, and here and there I would write it. But with the pandemic shutting Broadway for 18 months, I had the time to finally finish it with the help of a grant from the city."

"They Call Me Cuban Pete" took off when Bolero received a $5000 City Artists Corps grant to do a reading of the play. The grant allowed him to develop and preview his cabaret/play. Bolero wrote it because "I wanted people to see how he was discriminated against because he was Cuban. But, more importantly, I don't believe he received the recognition for all that he accomplished in his life." But it is also the spirit and tenacity that Bolero is great at capturing of the late Arnaz where he quotes him in the play saying, "It seemed like whenever I took a chance, it usually worked out and set me on a different path. A better path."

In his cabaret show, "They Call Me Cuban Pete: The Music and Genius of Desi Arnaz," Bolero takes us on a journey of what Arnaz experienced in his life -- from the Arnaz family losing everything in the 1933 Cuban revolution to his musical career, to Broadway, then meeting Lucille Ball and making it in Hollywood. Bolero captures the struggles of Arnaz as he sings his favorite songs. At a club he frequented, now marked for destruction, Arnaz reminisces about his life. Directed by Madeline Mccray, with musical direction by Drew Wutke, Bolero talks about Arnaz's rise in the entertainment industry. He talks about the obstacles he faced as a Latino actor with movie moguls like Louis B. Mayer and collaborations with I LOVE LUCY writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. Finally, he tells us how he met Lucille and what struck him about her in his first meeting with her. Unless you have read Arnaz's autobiography, these are facts that are missed in the mainstream coverage of the couple. Nevertheless, these are items of interest to those who want to know the man who was such an innovator in television, changing the way sitcoms are filmed and shows are produced at the beginning of television and into the 60s.

Bolero's "They Call Me Cuban Pete" will have its club premiere on April 25th, and at Don't Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th Street, doors open at 6:45 pm for a 7:00 pm show. The entrance fee is $20.00 with a two-drink minimum

To post a comment, you must register and login.