Pauline Adamek
MUSE/IQUE’s 2025 season is themed “Make Some Noise: Music and Stories of American Defiance and Hope.”
MUSE/IQUE and Artistic and Music Director Rachael Worby (pictured above) continue their 2025 season with four performances of LIKE IT LIKE HARLEM: Salsa, Boogaloo, and the Making of a New Musical Playground in New York, Friday August 8 at 7:30 pm, Saturday August 9 at 7:30 pm and Sunday August 10, 2025 at 2:30 and 7:30 pm, at the Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center, presented with Center Theatre Group. Guest performers include vocalist Rogelio Douglas, Jr., vocalist/violinist Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Oscar Hernández, piano and concert consultant. See below for ticketing information.
When Puerto Ricans and Cubans arrived in New York City in the mid-20th century, they ushered in a cultural renaissance in the neighborhood that became popularly known as “Spanish Harlem,” but is also known to many simply as “El Barrio”—the neighborhood. The story of East Harlem is the story of how American music is made. It’s where mambo, salsa, and boogaloo converged to give rise to iconic hits like “I Like It Like That,” “Oye Cómo Va,” and “Boogaloo Blues,” and where artists found pride, passion, and possibility on every block.
In this performance, MUSE/IQUE celebrates the power of community to inspire bold, authentic expression, and they pay tribute to legendary artists like Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Pete Rodriguez, and more.
Reservations for the August 8-10, 2025 performances of LIKE IT LIKE HARLEM at the Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center are now open for members. For those new to MUSE/IQUE, please visit muse-ique.com to learn about attending MUSE/IQUE events and to explore their appealing membership plans.
More about the 2025 MUSE/IQUE Season:
MUSE/IQUE Artistic and Music Director Rachael Worby said about Make Some Noise which she curated,
“When artists and thinkers make loud choices and take bold stances, they teach us that nothing is impossible.”
The season continues with -FREE- Open House concerts of MADE IN MEMPHIS (September 12-14, Pasadena’s Memorial Park) about Stax, Soul and the black artists who started a sound revolution, and concludes with HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ETTA JAMES? – the guts and triumph of an American icon, (October 14-15, 19, Huntington and Skirball), followed by a final concert for their donors, STAND BY ME: Season After Party, featuring the hits of Leiber and Stoller in November, location and date to be announced.
MUSE/IQUE is in the midst of a two-year exploration of key musical moments in America—the first initiative of its kind in MUSE/IQUE history. In 2025, they expand on the themes that were introduced in 2024. This two-year season is proudly presented by LeeAnn and Ron Havner / JCS Family Foundation.
2025 CTG:FWD programming at the Mark Taper Forum is made possible through the generous support of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. Additional funding is provided by gifts to the Artistic Director Discretionary Fund.
LIKE IT LIKE HARLEM: Salsa, Boogaloo, and the Making of a New Musical Playground in New York
Rogelio Douglas, Jr., Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Oscar Hernández,
Led by Artistic and Music Director Rachael Worby,
Presented with Center Theatre Group
Friday August 8 at Mark Taper Forum @ 7:30 pm
Saturday August 9 at Mark Taper Forum @ 7:30 pm
Sunday August 10 at Mark Taper Forum @ 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm
135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Reserve your seats now at muse-ique.com
To learn more about membership and attendance, please visit muse-ique.com/membership
- MUSE/IQUE membership begins at $225 and MUSE/IQUE members receive complimentary admission to all MUSE/IQUE events.
- Admission for non-members starts with a trial membership of $100, which includes three consecutive performances.
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Members get free admission to 12 months of MUSE/IQUE programs, effective from your date of purchase.
New to MUSE/IQUE? Experience a show before joining membership through their trial membership, or single admission.
Artist Biographies:
Rogelio Douglas, Jr. is a proud first generation American, Brooklyn, New York native of Panamanian decent. He has made his mark as a triple threat entertainer navigating his way through Broadway, TV/Film, and the music industry. He recently came off tour as the MC for Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox, performing over 166 shows throughout the UK, Europe, Australia & New Zealand as well as receiving 4.8-million views on YouTube with the band. He’s the voice of The Royal Troubadour on Disney Junior Network’s “Mickey Mouse Fun House.”
In music, Rogelio has worked with David Foster, Diane Warren, Glen Ballard, Black Eyed Peas, and Klingande. He was chosen by the legendary Quincy Jones to headline a residency at Q’s Bar & Lounge at Palazzo Versace Dubai. During his 125 performances, he received rave reviews and won the Best Live Entertainment Award from both TimeOut and WhatsOn Dubaimagazines.
He has also appeared on “Chicago PD,” “Ray Donavan,” “Orange Is The New Black,” “Whiplash,” “Straight Outta Compton,” and “Superfast!”. He’s an original Broadway cast member of the GRAMMY® and Tony Award® Winning Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In The Heights, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and Riverdance The Show. He received a NAACP Award & 2 Ovation Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his work in The Ebony Repertory theater production of Five Guys Named Moe.
Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer brings storytelling to life as a multi-hyphenate artist spanning Broadway stages, recording studios, and film and television sets. An award-winning actress, singer, composer and producer, she seamlessly weaves together performance and creation across every medium.
Yvette originated the role of Fate in Broadway’s GRAMMY® and 8-time Tony Award®-winning musical Hadestown and starred as Satine in the First National Tour of Moulin Rouge. Her theatrical credits also include playing Vanessa in the first national tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights and Mrs. Wright in the world premiere of Real Women Have Curves at American Repertory Theatre. On screen, she recently starred in the feature films “Playing For Mozart” and “Replica,” and appeared as Ella on the TV series “9-1-1” opposite Angela Bassett. She portrayed the iconic role of Cha Cha DiGregorio in FOX’s “Grease: Live,” had guest roles on “Madam Secretary” and “Criminal Minds,” and was a series regular Kiki in the Emmy Award-winning “The Fresh Beat Band,” which earned her two Imagen Award nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series.
As a recording artist, violinist, and composer, Yvette has performed at prestigious venues including Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall, collaborating with artists like Jason Mraz, Engelbert Humperdinck, H.E.R., Gloria Estefan and Justin Bieber. She has written, produced, and orchestrated original music for numerous films including Dan Fogelman’s “Life Itself,” “Miss Arizona,” and “Replica.” Her work has also been featured across commercials and hit TV shows, and she produced the acclaimed “If The Fates Allow: A Hadestown Holiday Album.” A John Lennon Songwriting Contest winner, she has been signed to BMG Publishing and recently joined the Emmy Award-winning composing team at Matter Music.
Yvette serves as Executive Producer on 2025 Anna Nicole Smith biopic “Hurricanna” (starring Holly Hunter and Mark Duplass), Associate Producer on multiple feature films, and was a producer on the theatrical sensation Cambodian Rock Band. Having lost her grandmother to Alzheimer’s disease, she founded Creative Minds Care, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting brain health and advancing research toward a world without neurodegenerative diseases.
Four Time GRAMMY® Award Winner Oscar Hernández has long been considered one of the most gifted and prominent pianist/ arrangers on the contemporary Latin, Latin-jazz and salsa music scene. He has achieved legendary status for his prolific career spanning over 40 years.
Oscar’s career as a professional began in the 70’s performing and recording with such seminal artists as Ismael Miranda, Ray Barreto, Celia Cruz, Conjunto Libre, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez & Grupo Folklorico.
Oscar was responsible for charting the musical course of the Rubén Blades Band. “Seis Del Solar”. Increasingly in demand as a pianist, arranger and producer, the Bronx native has produced such artists as Rubén Blades, Paul Simon, Willie Colón “Carabali”, Daniel Ponce, Rafael Dejesus, Eddie Torres, Phil Hernandez, Steve Kroon, Juan Luis Guerra, etc.
Oscar Hernández is the leader of the world renowned Spanish Harlem Orchestra. With their seven CDs to date, Oscar and SHO, as they are commonly known, were nominated for a GRAMMY® on their first CD “Un Gran Dia En El Barrio,” won the GRAMMY® for their second CD release, “Across 110th Street” and were nominated for their third CD “United We Swing”, and then won yet another GRAMMY® with their fourth CD “Viva La Tradición,” and won their 3rd GRAMMY® with “Anniversary” in 2019. In addition to leading New York’s Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Oscar also has released two CDs as a solo artist, Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre, titled“ The Art of Latin Jazz” and “Love The Moment” on Origin Records.
About MUSE/IQUE:
MUSE/IQUE is a member-supported, nonprofit performing arts organization making radically engaging live music experiences accessible for all. Built on a tradition of community and collaboration, we create events that feature an eclectic mix of artists and artistic disciplines that take place at a variety of our city’s historic locales and cultural institutions. MUSE/IQUE creates immersive musical adventures with an artistic collective that consists of top musicians from the worlds of jazz, rock, blues, gospel, and more, along with today’s best singers, dancers, and thinkers. Together with an enthusiastic and growing audience base, these artists reimagine the possibilities for the live music experience. MUSE/IQUE presents six major public events each year as well as a wide range of education and community engagement programs.
Founder and Artistic & Music Director Rachael Worby seamlessly blends musical performances with researched curation, combining music, movement, and ideas from a diverse range of genres. Each performance awakens our collective curiosity and inspires new thinking and ideas by provoking reflection and dialogue, challenging convention, and encouraging our audiences to see and think differently. Our mission is to build empathy and expand imaginations, creating context and explaining connections between our music and the world.
In addition to its live public performances, MUSE/IQUE brings intimate, interactive events to a growing list of community partner organizations. Each on-site event gives participants a curated experience based on programmatic themes of our upcoming performances and features guest artists direct from the MUSE/IQUE stage. Led by MUSE/IQUE staff, these events explore self-expression, encourage self-confidence and engage imaginations through music.
Partners include Ability First, Academy for Creative Industries – Marshall Fundamental High School, Academy of Music for the Blind, Braille Institute, California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley, Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge, Five Acres, Hollywood Food Coalition, Jazz Hands for Autism, Learning Works Charter School, Light Bringer Project, Mindful Veteran Project, Music Heals Mind, Pasadena Senior Center, Performing Arts For All, Professional Child Development Associates, San Fernando Valley Youth Chorus, Sycamores, Thomas Jefferson High School, TJHS Alumni Association, UCLA Community Youth Programs, Union Station Homeless Services – Centennial Place, Union Station Homeless Services – Heritage Square South, Urban Voices Project, Villa Esperanza School and Services, WriteGirl, Young Musicians Foundation, Youth Moving On (A Hillsides Program).
