Morales, Williams Among Leads of Upcoming Mambo Kings Musical

Broadway.com has learned that Esai Morales, Billy Dee Williams, Albita and Justina Machado will join Jaime Camil in the upcoming Broadway musical version of The Mambo Kings.

Morales, who will star in The Mambo Kings as Cesar Castillo, previously appeared on Broadway in a 1992 staging of Salome. His off-Broadway credits include El Hermano, The Tempest, Short Eyes and The Exonerated. Morales' big screen credits include Forty Deuce, Bad Boys, La Bamba, The Principal, Bloodhounds of Broadway, Ultraviolet, In the Army Now, My Family, Mi Familia, The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca and Paid in Full. He also notably played Lt. Tony Rodriguez on NYPD Blue for three seasons.

Williams previously appeared on Broadway in The Cool World, A Taste of Honey, Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright, Hallelujah, Baby!, I Have a Dream and Fences. His off-Broadway credits include Happy Ending/Day of Absence, The Firebugs and Slow Dance on the Killing Ground. Williams became famous in the early 1970s after earning great acclaim and an Emmy nomination for his performance as football star Gale Sayers in the ABC television movie Brian's Song. His film credits include The Out-of-Towners, Lady Sings the Blues, Mahogany, Star Wars: Episode V and Episode VI, Nighthawks, Fear City, Batman, Moving Target and Undercover Brother. He will play Fernando Perez in The Mambo Kings.

Albita, who will play Evalina Montoya in The Mambo Kings, is a recording artist known as "The Cuban Diva." She moved from Cuba to the United States in the early 1990s. In 1995 her first U.S. Album, the successful No se parece a Nada, was released. She has subsequently released Dicen Que, Campesino Que Amaneces, Una Mujer Como Yo, Son, Heco A Mano and Albita Llego. Albita Llego won Latin Grammy for Best Contemporary Tropical album.

Machado is best known for her portrayal of Vanessa Diaz, wife of Freddy Rodriguez's Federico Diaz, in the HBO series Six Feet Under. Her film credits include She's So Lovely, Swallows, Following Paula, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Full Frontal, Final Destination 2 and Torque. She has appeared onstage at the Mark Taper Forum in Blade to the Heat and Black Butterfly. She will play Anna Maria in The Mambo Kings.

The story of The Mambo Kings is based on Oscar Hijuelos' novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, which was made into a 1992 film featuring Armand Assante as Cesar Castillo, Antonio Banderas as Nestor Castillo, Rocoe Lee Brown as Fernando Perez, Celia Cruz as Evalina Montoya and Cordelia González as Anna Maria. Set in 1949, the plot centers on the Castillo brothers, who work by day and by night become stars of the dance halls, where their orchestra plays the pulsing music that earns them the title of the Mambo Kings.

The stage version features lyrics and direction by Arne Glimcher who produced, directed and wrote lyrics for The Mambo Kings film and a book by Glimcher and Hijuelos. Music is by Carlos Franzetti, who worked with Glimcher on the film. Sergio Trujillo Peggy Sue Got Married will provide the choreography.

The Mambo Kings will try out at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre from May 24 through June 19. It is then scheduled to begin performances at the Broadway Theatre on July 20 a change from the original July 18 date in preparation for an August 18 opening.