Latin Singer Migguel Anggelo Returns To Detroit With Acclaimed New Show

After a successful run at NYC's legendary Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, singer, dancer and performer, Migguel Anggelo is returning to the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) on Oct. 19 to present his show, So Close: Love & Hate as part of DIA's Friday Night Live! series

So Close: Love & Hate is a truly intimate production addressing divisiveness, humanity and hope. Broadway World described it as "something universal that also happens to feel so singularly now," saying "[Migguel] distilled this moment in time and made something beautiful out of our less-than-certain reality."

Accompanied by just four musicians rather than his full band, The Immigrants, Anggelo presents a rich collection of songs including an array of original compositions punctuated by Latin classics, American standards, Broadway, opera and Bjork. Anggelo pours his lush voice and enormous soul into this new show directed and developed by Obie Award winner David Drake (best known as the creator of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me) and under the musical direction of Jaime Lozano (who was named Broadway's "next big thing" by Lin Manuel-Miranda).

In describing how this show came to be, Anggelo says:

The reason I created this show is simple; right now it feels like there is a lack of tolerance and unity in the U.S. and beyond. We as a people are being threatened. I worry about the world we are giving our children, that we are destroying what's in their hearts and the love in their future. To me, art and music come from frustration, challenges, and the oppression of freedom or love. Love and hate often walk hand in hand with each other, they are sisters. But it's our responsibility to see that love prevails over hate. Love is always the answer.

Hailed by critics as "a dynamic treat" and a mixture of "Mambo meets Andy Kaufman, spiced with a pinch of Michael Bublé," Anggelo has taken cues from Lin Manuel Miranda, John Leguizamo and Cesar Alvarez, using his performances as a vehicle to explore issues of heritage, identity, tradition, language and more as a first generation Latino immigrant. By doing so, he holds a mirror for those that don't find their story represented on the stage. This manifested most recently in Welcome to La Misa, Baby, which premiered in late 2017 at the Clemente Cultural Center. In this sold-out one-man play, Anggelo responded to the Pulse Nightclub shooting by introducing us to an array of characters in a gay nightclub, and depicting the sacred role these clubs play in the LGBTQ community.

In addition to his work illuminating the LGBT experience, Migguel is inspired by his experience as a Latinx immigrant, as evident in his original compositions such as "Inmigrantes", a powerful anthem written to unite all people regardless of ethnicities and nationalities. Because of its message and recent headlines about the current administration's stance on immigration, the song has been featured on NBC's Visiones, AP Latino and El Diario in the last month.

Anggelo's proudest accomplishment as a citizen of the world came during his first international tour as a cultural attaché under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. He and his band, The Immigrants, returned to Russia this February for a month for "The Songbooks of the Americas" tour, a mash up/juxtaposition of the American and Latin American Songbook. Accompanied by Broadway's Grace McLean and the leading chamber orchestras in Russia, The Songbooks of the Americas will be presented at top concert halls from Moscow to Saint Petersburg and cities in between, as well as Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and Spaso House.

Migguel Anggelo Presents: So Close: Love & Hate

Friday Oct. 19 at 7:30 PM

DFT Auditorium at the Detroit Institute of Arts

5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48202

Free with museum admission
For more information: https://goo.gl/YQim8X

With musical direction by Jaime Lozano, So Close: Love & Hate is directed and developed by Obie Award winner David Drake.

Musical Arrangements: Jaime Lozano

Costumes: Clint Ramos and Migguel Anggelo

Piano: Jaime Lozano

Saxophone, Clarinets, Flute: Brad Mulholland

Cello: Marza Wilks

Percussion: Joel Mateo

Friday Night Live! is supported by the DTE Energy Foundation.

To post a comment, you must register and login.