Azul the Musical will receive a work-in-progress presentation produced by Prospect Musicals in residence at Baruch College on November 3. The team behind the musical (Jacinta Clusellas, Tatiana Pandiani, and Melis Aker) have been selected as residence artists for Prospect Musical's Fall 2025 Residency at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, which culminates in the presentation following several weeks of continued development.
The musical has had several previous presentations, including a star-studded reading in 2023 led by Ana Villafañe, as well as concerts featured in the 2020 National Music Theatre Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center, NAMT 2021 Annual Festival of New Musicals, Goodspeed Writers’ Grove, and the 2022 NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre. Azul the Musical is also alumni of the Playbill Songwriter Series; watch their performance in the video below.
The Baruch College presentation will star Tony Award winner KO (West Side Story, In the Heights, Moulin Rouge), Katerina McCrimmon (Funny Girl national tour), Robi Hager (Spring Awakening, Fun Home), Henry Gainza (On Your Feet!, Mr. Saturday Night), Xavier Reyes (CATS: The Jellicle Ball, Kinky Boots) and Karen Lugo (Comedy of Errors, At the Wedding).
AZUL was created by director-librettist-lyricist Tatiana Pandiani, librettist-lyricist Melis Aker, and composer-lyricist Jacinta Clusellas. The musical weaves together two distinct realms to question the place of art in a capitalist society. Bluebird, a hungry and idealist poet, seeks a better life in a new land, and in a mundane post-9/11 and present-day Jackson Heights, Rita, a composer, struggles to forgive her father, understand her roots, and reconnect to a land she has never known.
The presentation on November 3 will feature direction by Tatiana Pandiani, assistant direction by Thalia Ranjbar, music direction by Ben Moss (Oratorio for Living Things, Spring Awakening), assistant music direction by Simon Broucke, arrangements and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, In the Heights) and Kurt Crowley (Hamilton), and dramaturgy consultation by Alex Gemignani.
Those interested in attending can email [email protected].
