INTERVIEW: Wesley Wray has a full-circle moment and finds himself on Broadway
Photo: Wesley Wray is featured in Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway. Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy / Provided by Polk & Co. with permission.
NEW YORK — Wesley Wray is currently appearing as the younger version of the pivotal character Ibrahim in the Tony-winning musical Buena Vista Social Club, now running at the Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway. The show tells the story of Cuban musicians, both in their younger years and later on in their lives, as they prepare to record an album in order to preserve the many wondrous sounds of their island nation.
“It’s a dream come true,” Wray said in a recent phone interview. “I knew it would be possible because I work hard for what I want, but I didn’t know it would come this soon. I’m just glad to be here and working with the top people on the Broadway stage. What else could you ask for? When people think of entertainment, they think of TV, they think of Broadway, and I’ve got one down already, which is awesome.”
How Wray came to the Broadway company of Buena Vista Social Club is a most interesting story and involves his Instagram account. The Miami native didn’t submit a self-taped audition; instead, casting reached out to him after a nationwide search of musical theater schools.
“They stumbled upon me, and he DM’d me and asked me if I wanted to audition,” the actor remembers. “I was like, ‘Absolutely,’ so I did one self-tape last June 2024. I went to study abroad at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and I got an email saying that they would like me to come in. I told them about being in London, and they did two Zoom auditions. And then I flew back after London to New York a day after and then did my final audition.”
Wray, who is a University of Michigan student, said he knew about the story before joining the musical. Buena Vista Social Club started as a recording project, then a series of concerts, then a wildly successful documentary. This particular musical began life off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company before transferring to Midtown Manhattan.
“For Ibrahim, I kind of knew a bit about him, and I did a lot of research when I was auditioning,” he said. “I was like, this is a cultural work. I want to go in knowing at least a little bit, so I learned about him. I learned about his family, his upbringing of being an orphan at 12 years old and things of that sort. I did a lot more research when I knew that I had the role.”
For Wray, the story of Ibrahim and the stories of the other characters on the stage of the Schoenfeld Theatre speak to today’s society and what’s happening in the news. He appreciates those who are finding the connections.
“If you look at what’s going on in our country right now, I feel like it’s very important to tell this universal story of these immigrants and these Afro-Cubans,” Wray said. “I play an Afro-Cuban who was not even loved and welcomed in his own place, so [it’s important] just talking about the colorism in the country and how that speaks to today as well. Politics are just politics, and music prevails through all of that, how you can make something beautiful, give people hope through music, give people an escape through music.”
He added: “You get all the colors of the rainbow with this musical. You get a sad song. You get a joyful, dancing one. It’s a blast to bring to life.”
In many ways, Buena Vista Social Club is a traditional musical, but there’s also a feeling of being at a concert. Wray likes this mashup and that the show is not typical Broadway fare; he likes to call it a concert with a beautiful plot, a show that breaks many barriers. Helping him bring this story to thousands of audience members on a weekly basis is a dedicated cast who offer energy and verve for their individual performances.
“You form a bond with everybody, and they’re all super, super wonderful to work with and wonderful people in general,” he said. “We hang out all the time, and we’re growing together. We’re performing this beautiful show. We keep making discoveries together and just having fun.”
What’s unbelievable is that Wray is making his Broadway debut at the Schoenfeld Theatre on 45th Street because he has a memory from this iconic row of theaters that actually catapulted him into a career in the arts. That makes his turn in Buena Vista Social Club quite the full-circle moment.
“My first thing was singing, so I always knew I wanted to do something with that,” Wray said. “But the match strike for me was freshman year of high school when I saw Ain’t Too Proud across the street at the Imperial. We were supporting an alum of our high school. … His name is Christian Thompson. We got to see him in the show and meet him, and I saw a bunch of people that looked like me on a Broadway stage. I was like, ‘Wow, this can be possible for me, too.’ That’s really what pushed me to want to do this for a living, and then full-circle moment, Christian Thompson got to see me on the stage in Buena Vista a couple weeks ago, maybe a month ago. I told him about the story, and he was like, ‘Wow.’ So it’s really cool for that full-circle moment.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Buena Vista Social Club, featuring Wesley Wray, continues at the Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
