NEW YORK – You could say that when Lin-Manuel Miranda needed some help with "Buena Vista Social Club," the Tony Award-winning musical he coproduces, the Broadway icon made a "call to the bullpen."
Bernie Williams, who spent 16 seasons with the New York Yankees and won four World Series championships, was a center fielder and never pitched out of the bullpen. But the five-time MLB all-star, who picked up a guitar around the same time he picked up a baseball glove in his native Puerto Rico, tells USA TODAY that he was happy to answer the call.
Miranda, along with his father, Luis, who also coproduces "Buena Vista," asked Williams to play guitar in the social club's band. It marks the Yankees great's Broadway debut.
"Do not threaten me with a good
time!" Williams, 58, remembers telling the Mirandas. He'll continue with "Social Club" until Nov. 29; the show announced Friday, Nov. 6, that it'll wrap its Broadway run on Jan. 17, 2027.
"It's been just this roller coaster, a wave of emotions and it's been amazing," Williams continues. Jose Iglesias, who played parts of 13 seasons with the rival Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, is also in the show making his Broadway debut as the narrator.
"Buena Vista Social Club" is set in Cuba and based on the true events of Afro-Cuban musicians reconnecting following the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s. The artists recorded the 1997 album "Buena Vista Social Club," which went on to win a Grammy. Unlike other Broadway productions, the band is onstage for the entire performance.
Williams is no stranger to performing in New York, with both his glove and guitar. The former World Series champion, whose No. 51 is retired alongside other Yankees greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio, headlined Carnegie Hall in 2025.
In 2009, three years after he left baseball, Williams received a Latin Grammy nomination for his album "Moving Forward." He's shared stages and studios with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jon Secada.
Williams, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, says that his experiences "performing under pressure" both on the field and onstage have helped "tremendously" with his Broadway debut. He relates the moments of when he used to face off against a marquee pitcher in a pivotal part of the game to preparing to nail "every single part" of a Broadway performance.
"That kind of pressure, to have the preparation to get there mentally, spiritually, physically, I definitely was able to take all of that into my preparation to play on Broadway," Williams says. "You try to get a reaction from the audience, an acknowledgment of love, whatever it is. You feed off of that energy and it's just amazing to feel that."
There are personal connections between "Buena Vista" and Williams as well. He recalls listening to many of the songs featured in the production with his late mother on the radio in Puerto Rico.
"With my mom, she was an educator and the whole week was really rough," Williams says. "Sundays, however, was her day to wind down and really relax. And the way that she did that was just putting the music (on the radio)."
Williams reveals that his brother Hiram, who is also a musician, recently saw the performance and "couldn't stop crying."
"It just brought both of us back to a simpler time and we were never really understanding or knowing what was going to be ahead for us," Williams says. "To be here playing that same music in one of the biggest stages in the world, it seems as surreal as it feels familiar."
The music isn't Williams' only personal connection to the production. Miranda's grandfather and Williams grew up in the same town, Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. Miranda surprised Williams during a dress rehearsal for "Buena Vista" with childhood photos of the baseball star from when he was a 13-year-old Little League player.
"(Miranda) was showing everybody!" Williams recalls with a laugh. "I was like, 'Hey, what are you doing?'"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lin-Manuel Miranda helped this former Yankees legend make his Broadway debut
