The 56th Annual Obie Awards were given out at a ceremony last night at Webster Hall in Greenwich Village. The event was co-hosted by S. Epatha Merkerson and David Hyde Pierce, and the awards were presented by Alec Baldwin, Andrew Rannells, Arian Moayad, Frank Wood, Jim Parsons, John Larroquette, Liev Schreiber, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mamie Gummer, Margaret Colin,Nina Arianda, Patina Miller, and Rose Hemingway. Anthony Rapp, of the original cast of the Obie Award-winning musical RENT and his band from the musical WITHOUT YOU performed at the ceremony.
Music director Isidro Infante (who performed with the real Cruz) leads a seven-piece band that accompanies Gathers and the cast in faithful live renditions of the Salsa Queen's repertoire, including 'La Bomba,' Celia's groundbreaking collaboration with Tito Puente which is credited with sparking the popularity of salsa music in the '70s, as well as 'Guantanamera,' 'Químbara,' 'Toro Mata,' 'La Vida es un Carnaval' and dozens more that became universal sensations.
Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz, the Off Broadway musical celebrating the legendary 'Queen of Salsa' currently playing at New World Stages celebrated its 200th performance last night on Tuesday, February 19.
Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz, the new musical that recently opened at New World Stages, has put a new block of tickets on sale today. Celia has also added another English-language performance on Tuesday evenings at 8PM.
Due to popular response, Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz is extending performances at New World Stages for the holiday season through January 27 2008