PRESENT PERFECT, New Musical by Jaime Lozano and Nancy Nachama Cheser, is Coming to 54 Below in November

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, will present selected songs from the new musical Present Perfect by Jaime Lozano and Nancy Nachama Cheser on November 8th at 7pm. Mexican director, composer, arranger & orchestrator Jaime Lozano is back at Feinstein's/54 Below fresh from his recent rousing successes at Lincoln Center to present one of his most personal musicals. What better way to spend part of Election Day than celebrating this new twist on the American Dream sung with infectious vitality, a Latin beat and lots of simcha.

Present Perfect follows stories from as close as ultra-Orthodox Borough Park to as far as Japan. When a young woman steps outside the confines of her insular religious Brooklyn community, she finds herself as much an immigrant in a new land as the recently arrived students she teaches in her adult English class. Lives intertwine as each in their own way struggles to belong, find love, and succeed in a new country. By the end, the students and their teacher find that, just like English grammar, rules are not always black and white, the answers are not always the most obvious, and life is best lived in the present. Present Perfect entertains, inspires, and authentically resonates with the spirit and complexity of the journey to find home. "Kudos to playwright Nancy Nachama Cheser and composer Jaime Lozano for this thoroughly engaging piece" The Day

NYC-based director and writer Rebecca Aparicio will be directing. She has worked with The American Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre, Playwrights Center, EST, The Orchard Project, Classical Theatre of Harlem, National Black Theatre, and more. Joining the evening will be Mauricio Martínez (On Your Feet, El Vato), Stephanie Lynne Mason (Fiddler on the Roof, Broadway and in Yiddish ), Florencia Cuenca (A Never-Ending Line, Children of Salt), Robi Hager (Spring Awakening, Doctor Zhivago), Henry Gainza (On Your Feet, Mr. Saturday Night) Musa Hitomi (Women on Fire: Stories from the Frontlines), Rodd Cyrus (Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Mamma Mia at The Hollywood Bowl) and more.

Present Perfect plays 54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on November 8, 2022, at 7pm. There is a $35-$75 cover charge and $25 food and beverage minimum. Live streaming is available for $25. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.

To Livestream, please use the link below:

54below.com/PresentPerfectLIVE

MORE ABOUT Jaime Lozano

An accomplished musician, vocal coach, composer, arranger, orchestrator, musical producer, and musical theater director from Monterrey, Mexico who has been considered by Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda as the "next big thing" on Broadway. Jaime is one of the artists selected for the 2020-2022 Joe's Pub Working Group and the 2020-2021 The Civilians' R&D Group. Selected stage works include Tlatelolco, Myths, The Yellow Brick Road (Off-Broadway and National Tour), The New York Times said, "With its accessible melodies and robust harmonies, the score by Jaime Lozano and Tommy Newman earns comparisons to Stephen Flaherty's music for Once on This Island," Carmen La Cubana (European Tour), Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 "Best of Fest" Production), A Never-Ending Line (Comédie Nation in Paris, France and Off-Broadway), Savage (UAB at Birmingham), Present Perfect (Live & In Color). About his album "Jaime Lozano & the Familia: Songs by an Immigrant" released by Broadway Records, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote: "The album establishes Jaime as a force to be reckoned with in musical theater, in Latin music, or wherever else he wants to go."

MORE ABOUT NANCY NACHAMA CHESER

Nancy Cheser had been a professor of English as a Second Language for ten years when two incidents in class propelled her to write the musical Present Perfect. Thunderstorms were rolling in from the Everglades. One Cuban student was looking out the window and said that his brother was in a small boat crossing the Florida Straights at this moment, and he feared for his life. The rest of the class was spent watching the weather report and praying. The second was the day a student displayed her selection of black lace bras from Colombia on the desk to sell and insisted Cheser needed a push-up bra. Luis Salgado, Salgado Productions, NY. (Assistant Latin Choreographer, original In the Heights, Assistant Director with Sergio Trujillo Cirque de Soliel) directed a ten-day workshop and reading in 2018. In September 2018 the creative team was the winner of Live and in Color Development Award and two ten-day development retreats directed by Devanand Janki. In 2020, Cheser won a Florida Individual Artist Grant to stage full performance of Present Perfect.

MORE ABOUT 54 BELOW

54 Below was founded as a place for the Broadway community to celebrate Broadway performers, both established and new, who sing not only the music of Broadway and the Great American Songbook, but also new material intended for Broadway and off-Broadway stages. The club features fine dining and superb scenic, lighting, and sound designs entirely imagined by Broadway designers. For performers, writers, musicians, and more, 54 Below gives opportunities to advance their craft, expand their repertoires, and develop their voices in a way that is more personal, making them stronger as artists. It gives Broadway fans an opportunity to see their favorite artists in a different way, deepening their relationship and understanding of their talent.

A recipient of the 2022 TONY AWARDS® Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, 54 Below celebrates Broadway musicals and writers of the past and present, promoting an ongoing engagement with their work. It is also a place for innovation in musical songwriting and performance. Collaborations born at 54 Below give rise to and help develop new theatrical projects and new musicals. In addition, its popular streaming video activities and audio recordings support these activities, helping to build a new Broadway audience worldwide, both in age and geography.

54 Below is one of the most in-demand performance venues in the city, presenting over 700 shows each year. Unique in its mission, it has become an indispensable member of the Broadway ecosystem, providing a place for seasoned and emerging artists to hone their craft, try out new work, grow their fanbases, and gather as a community. The management team includes Proprietors and nine-time Tony Award winning Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, and Tom Viertel, Creative and Programming Director Jennifer Ashley Tepper, and restaurant General Manager Mandisa Boxill.

Located at 254 West 54th Street, the club presents live shows at 7pm and 9:30pm. Late night programming will resume in the coming months. Tickets and information at 54below.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.