This show contains adult language, death, mature themes, strobe light, violence
The Blacklist Babes return with a new show following their previous “City Beautiful” series. This original production features a live band and stars Gabriel Quijano as the neurotic Quinn.
On May 5th — also known as Cinco de Mayo — Quinn, who has a major fear of the number five and his own birthday (which falls on Cinco de Mayo), believes he’s cursed never to experience a good birthday. Bad things just tend to happen on his special day.
His real-life sister, Marisa Quijano-Sirois, plays his sister Raven. Michael Kennedy portrays Quinn’s boyfriend, Henry, while Cherry Gonzalez and Eduardo Rivera play his best friends, Clara and Felix, respectively. Together, they attempt to organize a surprise party for Quinn, who — consumed by fear of the curse — has barricaded himself in his bedroom. Unfortunately, he’s locked in with a “Cin-co Pilot,” an Alexa-style AI that feeds his neurosis by delivering an endless stream of bad news on the day of his 25th birthday.
“Cinco’ showcases strong vocal performances from Quijano-Sirois, Gonzalez and Kennedy. As an ensemble, the group vocals generally worked well, although at times the live band — featuring Paul Tugwell, Michael Colbassani and Forrest Holcomb — occasionally overpowered some of the singers who weren’t as vocally robust during their solo numbers.
The original music includes emo-esque songs and drew heavily on Latin musical influences, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of most of the cast. The actors on stage integrated seamlessly with the live band, making them an essential part of the show rather than simply accompaniment.
Cinco had shades of Sondheim’s Company, wrapped in an angsty musical narrative that celebrated Latino heritage, family, friendship and the dangers of getting trapped in your own head instead of living life to the fullest.
See “Cinco: The Musical” at the Renaissance Theatre Company May 21 at 9:30 p.m., May 22 at 8 p.m., May 24 at 8:30 p.m. and May 25 at 1:30 p.m.
