INTERVIEW: Mauricio Martínez to record live album at 54 Below
Photo: Mauricio Martínez will perform Oct. 5-6 at 54 Below in New York City. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Skollar PR with permission.
Mauricio Martínez has a special project coming up at 54 Below in Midtown Manhattan. The famed cabaret venue will play host to a live taping for Martínez’s new musical album. Performances are set for Oct. 5-6, and he’ll be joined each evening by Alexi Michelle and Linedy Genao.
The show is called 5’11, Based in NYC, and it’s an idea Martínez has been working on for quite some time. Although exact details are being kept under wraps, the singer will select songs “of what might have been” from a musical project called — quite fittingly — What If. Audience members should expect some of the best selections of all time from the Broadway songbook.
Martínez, according to his biography, has starred in a great number of Mexican productions of famous Broadway shows, including Beauty and the Beast, Saturday Night Fever, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Drowsy Chaperone, Sweet Charity and The Last Five Years. Broadway audiences know him from On Your Feet!, in which he played the role of Emilio Estefan. Netflix fans can check him out on the series El Vato.
Recently Martínez exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox to talk about the upcoming 54 Below engagement. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audience members expect from your new solo show at 54 Below?
A super fun night filled with some of my favorite Broadway leading man songs ever written, which also happen to be some roles that I’ve auditioned for. And it’s all told through the lens of an actor doing self tapes at home … and as my “readers” (special guests) I have the wonderful Alexis Michelle from RuPaul’s Drag Race and Linedy Genao from Bad Cinderella.
Is the plan to release this evening’s songs as a live album?
Yes. I’m so excited!
What’s it like working with co-writer/director Robbie Rozelle?
Working with Robbie is a dream! He’s one of my best friends. He knows me so well, understands my sense of humor, my voice, and, being a cabaret performer as well, he and I connect at a deeper level when it comes to writing the show together and creating an arc! This show wouldn’t be what it is without him!
How will the special guests be worked into the evening?
So this is super fun because they’re both my friends, and I love it when actors are willing to play along with me. I have the amazing Alexis Michelle from RuPaul’s Drag Race and the wonderful star of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bad Cinderella, Linedy Genao. They both will be readers with me to play different characters. One of them will be my Fanny Brice to my Nicky Arnstein, and another one will be Eva Perón to my Che, and the Sancho to my Don Quixote!
Do you like the intimacy of a cabaret show compared to your work in musical theater?
I absolutely love it. Spaces is like 54 Below are wonderful because it feels really intimate, as opposed to a big Broadway house. Plus here, you’re not really playing a character, per se … you’re playing yourself. So you’re more vulnerable, and the audience is closer to you. It feels definitely more personal. I love doing concerts there.
What’s next for you after this October engagement?
As soon as the concerts are done, we’ll start mixing the recordings so that the album can be ready hopefully before the year ends. Or maybe we’ll release a single for Christmas and the album earlier next year. My brother Jaime Lozano just released his new album Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 2, and I have the honor of singing three songs in it. We’re doing some concerts at Lincoln Center. With a SAG-AFTRA strike going on, I have a TV show that I was supposed to start shooting on pause. Luckily I have a series of concerts lined up in Mexico and here in the U.S. I’m also working on developing two new musicals, including the release of Figaro, with Broadway Records early next year.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Mauricio Martínez performs 5’11, Based in NYC at 54 Below in New York City. Performances are scheduled for Oct. 5-6 at the Midtown Manhattan venue. Click here for more information and tickets.
