Ivan Hernandez Completes Cast of Central Park Capeman Concerts

Ivan Hernandez (Yank!, The Fantasticks) completes the cast of the Public Theater’s forthcoming concert performances of Paul Simon’s The Capeman at Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre. Hernandez will play Salvador Agron, the role created on Broadway by Ruben Blades. The Capeman will have give three concert performances, August 14-16, directed by Diane Paulus. Puerto Rican singing star Danny Rivera has signed on to perform a special vocal encore after each performance, accompanied by a 13-piece orchestra conducted by Oscar Hernandez.

Ivan Hernandez joins previously announced cast members Obie Bermudez as Umbrella Man, Natascia Diaz as Esmerelda Agrón, Nicole Lequerica as Aurea Agrón, Jorge Maldonado as Reverend Gonzalez, Luba Mason as Mrs. Young, Anthony Lee Medina as Young Sal, Élan Luz Rivera as Bernadette, and Abraham Rodriguez as Santero. The ensemble will include Bryan Anthony, Xavier Cano, Myrna Lee Gomila, Nina LaFarga, Omar Lopez-Cepero, Cornell McKnight, Frank Negrón, Luis Salgado, and Tanairi Vazquez. Diaz, Mason, Gomila, Negron and Rivera appeared in the original production of The Capeman on Broadway; Mason and Gomila are reprising their roles from that production.

The Capeman features music by Paul Simon and book and lyrics by Simon and Derek Walcott. The show originally opened at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre on January 29, 1998, and played 68 performances with a cast headed by Marc Anthony as young Sal. The show tells the true story of a Nuyorican street gang member whose story exploded on to the front pages of the tabloids in 1959, ultimately revealing the cultural and racial tensions beneath the surface of New York in that era.

The Central Park concerts of The Capeman will have choreography by Sergio Trujillo. Riccardo Hernandez is credited with “scenic consultation,” costume design is by Emilio Sosa, lighting design is by Peter Kaczorowski and sound design by Acme Sound Partners.