BOOK by Melis Aker and Tatiana Pandiani
MUSIC by Jacinta Clusellas
LYRICS by Jacinta Clusellas, Tatiana Pandiani and Melis Aker
AZUL is a Latin American musical, a joyful celebration in a world of magic realism.
Set in a world of magic realism, Act One is a fable prequel. It follows an ambitious young woman, BLUE BIRD, who leaves her homeland behind and travels to the New World (aka USA) in hopes of making a living and a life as a poet.
In present-day New York City, Act Two is a coming of age tale following BLUE BIRD’s daughter, RITA. RITA is a composer, writing an album about a mother and motherland she has never known. When attempting to make her music more authentic, RITA uncovers a family secret that debunks the stories she heard as a child. RITA must now reimagine her parents’ past, as well as her own artistry. Driven by a constellation of songs rooted in Latin American folklore, AZUL is a spectacle driven book musical and intergenerational immigrant story.
LISTEN TO OUR EP! With arrangements and orchestrations by Tony® and Grammy Award® winner Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, In The Heights, Dear Evan Hansen) and Kurt Crowley (Hamilton, Freestyle Love Supreme, Bring It On)
This recording was funded in part by NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre; Ted and Mary Jo Shen and more supporters.
AZUL's DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
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Jonathan Larson Grant Recipient 2023 - American Theatre Wing
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AZUL in Concert at Joe's Pub (The Public Theatre) featuring Ana Villafañe, Joel Perez and more (sold out show - 2023)
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AZUL EP Release Concert at 54 Below featuring Robin de Jesús, Mandy Gonzalez and more (sold out show - 2023)
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Johnny Mercer Foundation, Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals (2023, East Haddam, CT)
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Shen Family Foundation Grant (2022, New York, NY)
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Reservoir Studios, EP Recording, orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire & Kurt Crowley (2022, New York, NY)
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NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre, Recipient. (2022, New York, NY)
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Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, full cast workshop (2022, Connecticut)
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NAMT 33rd Annual Festival of New Musicals - 2021, New York, NY
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National Music Theatre Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center - Summer 2020
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Catwalk Institute - 2020 and 2021 Catskill, NY
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Musical Theatre Factory - 2020, New York, NY *postponed due to COVID-19, to be rescheduled
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Dramatist Guild Fellowship - 2019, New York, NY
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Tofte Lake Center Residency - 2019, Ely, MN
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Westben Performer - Composer Artist Residency - 2019, Campbellford, Canada
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Prelude Festival, Elebash Recital Hall (2019, New York, NY)
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Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts Residency - 2018, Saratoga, WY
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BRIC Lab - 2018, Brooklyn, NY
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New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship Project - 2017, New York, NY
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The Drama League First Draft Residency - 2017, New York, NY
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The Habitat Directors’ Playground Workshop - 2016 - 2017, Brooklyn, NY
AZUL IN CONCERT
AZUL in concert at Joe's Pub (The Public Theatre). A sold out concert featuring Katerina McCrimmon (The Rose Tattoo), Robi Hager (Spring Awakening), Ana Villafañe (On Your Feet!), Joel Perez (Fun Home), Martín Solá (The King and I, On Your Feet!), Brian Flores (Head Over Heels), Gían Pérez (Sing Street), Christina Austin Lopez & More.
This sold out concert was produced by the three creators Tatiana Pandiani (director/book-writer/lyricist), Melis Aker (book-writer/lyricist), and Jacinta Clusellas (composer/lyricist), alongside creative producers Anabel Manuela Romero (FURIOSA Productions) and Ryan Duncan-Ayala. During this special one night only event, Clusellas performed with the band that which featured Federico Diaz, Pablo Lanouguere and Franco Pinna. Arrangements and orchestrations are by Jacinta Clusellas, Kurt Crowley (Hamilton, Freestyle Love Supreme, Bring It On), and Tony® and Grammy Award® winner Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, In The Heights, Dear Evan Hansen). Music Direction by Obie Award winner Ben Moss (Oratorio for Living Things).
54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club, presents Tony Award® nominee Robin de Jesús (In the Heights, La Cage aux Folles, The Boys in the Band) Katerina McCrimmon (The Rose Tattoo), Robi Hager (Spring Awakening) & More in the AZUL EP Release Concert.
This sold out concert celebrated the release of a full cast EP with arrangements and orchestrations by Tony® and Grammy Award® winner Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, In The Heights, Dear Evan Hansen) and vocal arrangements by Kurt Crowley (Hamilton, Freestyle Love Supreme, Bring It On).
Joining this all-star cast were David Merino (Moulin Rouge), Martin Sola (The King and I), Henry Gainza (On Your Feet!, Mr. Saturday Night), Florencia Cuenca and Xavier Cano, along with a band led by Music Director, Ben Moss, joined by Federico Diaz, Pablo Lanouguere and Franco Pinna. AZUL features a score by Jacinta Clusellas, lyrics by Melis Aker, Tatiana Pandiani and Jacinta Clusellas, and a book by Aker and Pandiani. This concert was directed by Tatiana Pandiani and produced by Anabel Manuela Romero, Ryan Duncan-Ayala and Jacinta Clusellas. Casting by Michael Cassara, CSA.
Photos by FURIOSA PRODUCTIONS
MEET THE CREATORS
MELIS AKER (Book & Lyrics) was named a “Woman to Watch” by the Broadway Women’s Fund and is the recipient of the Sundance Interdisciplinary grant. She is a writer/actor/musician from Turkey, based in London & NYC. She has a series in development with Skybound Entertainment, and was named the Signature Theatre Company’s LaunchPad resident playwright. She has had writing developed by Atlantic Theatre Company, Ars Nova, NYTW, Dramatists Guild, The Eugene O’Neill Center, NAMT, Goodspeed Writers Grove, Orchard Project, Playing on Air, New Group, Roundabout Theatre Company’s Space Jam, LaMaMa, the Lark, Noor, Golden Thread Productions, as well as the Finborough and Park theatres, and the Cannes Film Festival. She has worked on the development of a screenplay with Revelations Entertainment headed by Morgan Freeman. Education: King’s College London (PhD), Columbia University (MFA), RADA (Acting). Reps: CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
TATIANA PANDIANI (Book, Lyrics, Direction) is a Latin American writer & director-choreographer who works in Spanish and English. Recent: TORERA (Alley Theatre), Our Town & Nuestro Pueblo (Dallas Theatre Center), Blood Wedding (Yale, SOUTH (Nuyorican Poet’s Café), What the Constitution Means to Me (Associate, Broadway and National Tour). Upcoming: Dial M ( Alley Theatre, Houston), Mother and the Beast (Park Theatre, London), Museum Plays (Miami New Drama/ Rubell Museum), LEMPICKA (associate director alongside Rachel Chavkin). Tatiana has directed and developed new work at the Park Theatre (London), Milwaukee Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, NYTW, IATI, Primary Stages, Signature). As a choreographer, Tatiana collaborates with Latin artists in concerts & music videos. She is the New Works Director at Miami New Drama, and a professor at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. Member of SDC. MFA: Columbia. Reps: Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
JACINTA CLUSELLAS (Music & Lyrics) is a composer, songwriter and guitarist based in New York City. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jacinta’s music brings together South American folklore, jazz and chamber music. Jacinta's debut concept album El Pájaro Azul (published in Japan under the record label Inpartmaint) inspired the musical AZUL and her second EP, AZUL, a collaboration with Alex Lacamoire and Kurt Crowley. Her third EP A Donde Llega el Silencio, produced by West One Music (UK) was sync’d in several Netflix shows in LATAM, including The Surrogacy (Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. in 2023) as well as in TV across Ireland, France and Japan. Jacinta has music directed The Comedy of Errors at The Public Theater, performed at SIX on Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Coco’s concert, toured across the US (SXSW, Lincoln Center, The Great Hall at Cooper Union, Joe’s Pub, Americas Society/Council of the Americas) and internationally throughout Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Canada, Greece and Italy. Jacinta has worked as an arranger for Grammy award-winning artists Alejandro Sanz and A.R. Rahman, and is a Teaching Artist at the New York Philharmonic. Currently working on a new musical comission for the Goodman Theatre, Chicago.
Photos by ALBERT FONT
PRESS
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT AZUL CONTACT
Anabel Romero - Creative Producer - anabelxmanuela@gmail.com
Ryan Duncan-Ayala - Producing Consultant - ryanduncan956@gmail.com
Graphics and Artwork by Azul Santamarina and Maia Chozas