The Broadway production of “Buena Vista Social Club” has launched a new educational initiative. Dubbed the Matinée Mission, the program aims to make Broadway more accessible and culturally enriching for New York City public high school students. Through a partnership with the New York City Department of Education and the Situation Project, the in-house nonprofit of Broadway marketing agency Situation, participating students will attend a matinée of the 2025 Tony Award-winning musical.
The inaugural Matinée Mission performance took place on April 30. The program is currently slated to serve 5,000 students across at least five matinée performances of “Buena Vista Social Club” in the coming months.
Within the classroom, participating schools (which are selected by the Department of Education and the Situation Project) can incorporate lessons about the Cuban, Hispanic and Afro-Caribbean culture, music and history central to the story of “Buena Vista Social Club” using the musical’s curated study guide.
Based on real events, “Buena Vista Social Club” follows a group of musicians at the titular nightclub in pre-Castro Cuba. Forty years later, the artists reconnect to record the songs they left behind. Tony nominee Saheem Ali directs the musical, which features a Tony-nominated book by Marco Ramirez set to the songs of the real Buena Vista Social Club’s 1997 eponymous album. The Broadway mounting began previews on Feb. 21 and opened on March 19 the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.
As of the week ending June 8, “Buena Vista Social Club” has grossed over $1 million each week for eight consecutive weeks. The musical received 10 2025 Tony Award nominations, winning four (for Natalie Venetia Belcon’s featured performance, Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck’s choreography, Marco Paguia’s orchestrations and Jonathan Deans’ sound design), in addition to a special, noncompetitive honor for the musical’s onstage band.
Additional information about the Matinée Mission can be found here.
“Buena Vista Social Club” is produced by Orin Wolf, John Styles Jr. and Barbara Broccoli.
