All hail the Prince of Salsa! Grammy-winning Nicaraguan singer Luis Enrique will join the company of Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango for three weeks (July 30 through August 18). Enrique will succeed five-time Grammy winner Gilberto Santa Rosa, who will play his final performance on July 28. As previously reported, Dancing with the Stars duo Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy will headline the production through August 11. Forever Tango will play a limited engagement through September 15, with an official opening night set for July 14 at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
Enrique, one of the leading pioneers that led to the salsa romantica movement in the 1980s, has earned the title "El Principe de la Salsa" (The Prince of Salsa). In 2009, his album, Ciclos, was nominated for several Latin Grammy Awards, and the album won the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. "I feel deeply moved to be making my Broadway debut in Forever Tango," said Enrique in a statement. "I learned the tango from my grandfather. The music you learn with a loved one remains in your heart forever and I am excited to relive childhood memories through this tremendous opportunity."
Forever Tango features 16 dancers and an 11-piece orchestra alongside rotating celebrity vocalists. Created and directed by Bravo, Forever Tango originally opened in 1997 at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre before transferring to the Marquis Theatre. It earned a Tony nomination for Best Choreography. In 2004, the production returned to Broadway’s Shubert Theatre for a four-month engagement.