‘Mambo Kings’ ends N.Y. bid
“The Mambo Kings” has had its last dance.
The lavish $12-million musical will not open on Broadway in August, calling it quits Monday after a critically panned tryout engagement in San Francisco that ended June 19.
The musical starred Esai Morales and Jaime Camil as brothers who leave 1950s Havana for the glamorous world of New York nightclubs. Also in the cast were David Alan Grier, Christiane Noll, Latin Grammy winner Albita and Justina Machado.
The show was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love” by Oscar Hijuelos, who co-wrote the book of the musical with Arne Glimcher. The score was written by Carlos Franzetti (music) and Glimcher (lyrics). Glimcher also directed the musical, a job he also had on the 1992 movie version, which starred Antonio Banderas and Armand Assante.
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