INTERVIEW: In ‘New York, New York,’ Janet Dacal starts spreadin’ the news
Photo: New York, New York features Janet Dacal and Angel Sigala. Photo courtesy of Paul Kolnik / Provided by Polk & Co. with permission.
Janet Dacal, the accomplished Broadway performer, is currently starring in New York , New York, the new musical playing at the St. James Theatre on Broadway. In the show, which comes to life thanks to director-choreographer Susan Stroman, a bunch of New Yorkers are depicted trying to make it in the post-war Big Apple. Dacal plays the important character of Sofia Diaz, mother to Angel Sigala’s Mateo Diaz. For Dacal, who has performed on Broadway in everything from In the Heights to Prince of Broadway, being in this show is particular personal.
“Essentially I’m playing my mother on stage,” Dacal said in a recent phone interview. “Both my parents are Cuban, and I just really very easily connected to this piece and to her just because of my upbringing. Also, my grandfather was a baseball player in Cuba, and in one of the scenes, she talks about how she fell in love with her son’s father, my husband in the show, who is a Cuban baseball player. … So there are all kinds of interesting connections.”
Dacal came to the show after she finished the national tour of The Band’s Visit, the Tony-winning musical. She was heading to Flint, Michigan, to perform in a concert version of The Who’s Tommy when the call came to audition for New York, New York. She immediately jumped at the chance to try her hand at these John Kander and Fred Ebb songs, with additional lyrics by her good friend Lin-Manuel Miranda.
“I feel very lucky to be able to truly and authentically depict the Cuban culture on a Broadway stage,” she said. “We’ve got such an incredible creative team, and they are all so open and generous and are enthusiastic about us bringing what we can to the piece. And so because there are so many different stories, which is essentially what New York City is, it’s the immigrant’s story, it’s the artist’s story … exploring those themes in the room and having conversations and dialogue with Susan Stroman and John Kander, it’s the stuff that dreams are made of to be able to collaborate with such incredible leaders in a room and have your voice and your input mean something. It’s a testament to them and how wonderful they are.”
Many of Dacal’s scenes on the St. James stage are with Sigala, who is making his Broadway debut. Dacal said one of the many joys of this acting gig is seeing Sigala have many “firsts” with this new musical.
“It’s his first Broadway show, and people who are close to me know that … for me this experience, in addition to being able to represent the Latinx community on stage so authentically, witnessing Angel’s first experience in a Broadway production has been a highlight for me,” she said. “I feel like I’m front row on a roller-coaster, and it’s been just wonderful to see him throughout this process, but also to sort of relive my firsts. That’s been very, very special to me.”
Dacal’s actual Broadway debut was in Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys jukebox musical. She was part of a company of actors who were also making their debuts, performers who are now Broadway mainstays like Sebastian Arcelus and Krysta Rodriguez. “We had an incredible ensemble of performers in that show, and we were so young,” Dacal said. “We were so green, and we were just so in love with each other and thrilled to be able to be on a Broadway stage for the first time. You never forget those.”
Dacal added: “I feel so lucky, and I’m so grateful for every opportunity. Any chance that I get to stand on a Broadway stage, I think of my 12-year-old self or the little girl who was in a dance class and having so much fun. The fact that I get to do this and make a living out of it is really quite incredible. In addition to that, I’m so grateful to my parents who came from Cuba and sacrificed everything to come to this country so that I can make my dreams come true because they couldn’t do that where they were from. I have to say that having that in my ear growing up as a kid was huge, and so I owe it to them for supporting me in this journey.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
New York, New York, featuring Janet Dacal, continues at the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
