On Deck—"La Havana Madrid"

Tickets are on sale for Outside SCR’s 2023 production of La Havana Madrid by Sandra Delgado. It runs July 15-Aug. 4 at the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Directed by Cheryl Lynn Bruce, La Havana Madrid is an energetic play with glorious live Latin music. It tells the story of the legendary Chicago nightclub of the 1960s through the experiences of its patrons—Cubans, Colombians and Puerto Ricans who gathered at La Havana Madrid to savor the vibrant beats of salsa, dance to mambo, dine, drink and find community in a new land.

Delgado said the characters were inspired by real people, and each was a composite she created through ideals gleaned from interviews, historical facts— “and my imagination.”

In the play, we meet Maria, a Cuban teenager sent to America in the wake of Fidel Castro’s takeover to escape his threat to shut down schools and send children to work camps. In Chicago, she finds life with foster parents challenging and lonely—until she discovers La Havana Madrid.

There’s Henry and Maruja, who first met at a Medellin club in their native Colombia. Their love story resembles When Harry Met Sally. Next is Carlos, an Afro Puerto Rican teenager, who goes from an angry teen to insightful artist when he’s given a camera.

We meet Tony Quintana, a 30-something Puerto Rican and the new owner of La Havana Madrid. He’s fighting his own battle to regain the respectability he enjoyed in his native land.

And there’s pageant queen Myrna, celebrating her victory and reminding us that “Puerto Rico is not just an island, it’s a state of mind. It has to be.”

La Havana Madrid, the nightclub, may be long gone, but through her vivid characters and the dynamic music, Delgado transports the audience into the very heart of the Latin communities that helped make Chicago a thriving, exciting melting pot.