MUSIC FROM BAYANO: An Afro-Panamanian Odyssey By Darrel Alejandro Holnes To Play Joe's Pub
The performance will take place on April 14.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 19, 2025
True Colors in association with Miss Mason Productions will present Music from Bayano: An Afro-Panamanian Odyssey, an epic poem with music by Darrel Alejandro Holnes (Black Feminist Video Game with The Civilians) at Joe's Pub on Monday, April 14 at 9:30pm. Tickets ($25) are available for advance purchase at . The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.
This concert presents music from Bayano: An Afro-Panamanian Odyssey, a new work by Afro-Panamanian poet Darrel Alejandro Holnes. Developed at National Black Theatre, Bayano will make its world premiere at True Colors Theatre in Atlanta. Blending original compositions by Holnes with Afro-Panamanian folkloric music in both English and Spanish, Bayano brings to the stage a vibrant musical experience reminiscent of the way Buena Vista Social Club spotlighted Cuban musical traditions. This special event features Broadway singers alongside Grammy Award-winning and nominated artists, with special surprise guests set to take the stage for an unforgettable evening celebrating the rich musical heritage of the African Diaspora..
Music from Bayano is part of Carnegie Hall's Nuestros Sonidos (Our Sounds), a joyous, ongoing celebration of the vibrant sounds, pioneering rhythms, endlessly diverse traditions, and enormous influence of Latin culture in the United States, including vital contributions from the Caribbean. Concerts at the Hall feature musical styles that range from salsa, bachata, and Latin jazz to reggaeton, hip-hop, música mexicana, classical, and so much more, highlighting the game-changing contributions and constant evolution of Latin music from the 1930s to today, with a special focus on genres that have developed and thrived in the US.
The cast will feature Nicole Vanessa Ortiz (Smokey Joe's Cafe on at Stage 42; Footloose at Kennedy Center) and Garrett Turner (Thoughts of a Colored Man on Broadway, Broadway Tour of Tina) with a guest performance by Luis Augusto Figueroa (42nd Street on Broadway; First National Tour of Wicked) and arrangements by Deezle (Grammy Award-winner for Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" and Tha Carter III"). The show will be introduced by True Colors Theatre founder Kenny Leon (Tony Award-winner for A Raisin in the Sun; Tony Award-nominee for Fences and A Soldier's Play) and True Colors Theatre Artistic Director Jamil Jude.
Musicians include Ital Kriss (Grammy nominee), Marco Lopez (Grammy Award-winning engineer), Xito Lovell (Panamanian, Grammy Award and Latin Grammy Award-winner), Ariacne Trujillo (Grammy Award-nominee; My Broken Language at Signature Theater), Manny Marquez (5x Grammy nominee; On Your Feet on Broadway), and Panagiotis Andreous (Grammy nominee for La Clave Secreta) with Music Director Ariacne Trujillo. The evening will also feature special surprise guests, making this a truly unforgettable celebration of Afro-Panamanian music and culture.
Darrel Alejandro Holnes is a writer, producer, and director. Holnes is the author of two collections of poetry, Stepmotherland and Migrant Psalms. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Creative Writing, the C.P. Cavafy Prize from Poetry International, Andres Montoya Poetry Prize from Letras Latinas, International Latino Book Award, Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Medal, the Drinking Gourd Poetry Prize from Northwestern University Press, and others. His plays have received productions or development opportunities at the Kennedy Center for the Arts American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), The Brick Theater, Kitchen Theater Company, BAAD the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, JACK, National Black Theater, and elsewhere. He is a member of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, Civilians R&D Group, Page 73's Interstate 73 Writers Workshop, and other groups. His plays, Starry Night, and Bayano, were both finalists for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference, the Princess Grace Award in Playwriting, and several other awards and honors. His other plays include Black Feminist Video Game, which won an Anthem Award (presented by The Webbys) and was produced by The Civilians for 59E59 Theaters' Plays in Place, Center Theater Group, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the Williams Center for the Arts at Lafayette College. His play Franklin Ave was featured in The Sol Project's Sol Fest and as a part of the Sin Muros Festival at Stages Houston. As a theater director he most recently directed Laughs in Spanish by Alexis Scheer for the Kitchen Theater Company. Holnes is the recipient of a Catalyst Fellowship from the Dramatists Guild Foundation.
Comments
Videos