If you're a Latino wintered against your will in Omaha, you might well look for solace in the spicy music of your homeland. Dolores Prida and David Coffman's joyous musical revue swings into high gear as four guys named Jose, stranded in the wilds of Nebraska, find themselves at Burrito World, homesick and frozen. Jose Mexicano (Dan Pacheco), Jose Dominicano (Benjamin Perez), Jose Cubano (Gustavo Rex), and Jose Boricua (Alberto Stevans) start remembering songs of their homelands and discover the commonality of their experience. Even if, as it turns out, they were born in Brooklyn or New Jersey, they share the same rhythm and the same spark--and the same first name. They're also desirous of sharing, or splitting, the same woman, Maria (Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer), the lithe and lovely hottie roommate of their regular girl singer, also named Maria, who had better things to do with her time than croon about amor. The new Maria has given up on men, after being woefully dumped by her latest boyfriend. The only song she really wants to sing is "Piensa en Mi," or "Think of Me," a sad ballad of regret, which in no way fits into the band's program of Latin-American music, from Carmen Miranda and Desi Arnaz to Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan.
The guys are musically gorgeous, and Gonzalez-Nacer is a delight, vivacious and unfairly charming, the perfect cynosure of the men. Corny but sweet, an utterly alive medley of Latin-tinged songs, from the all-too-familiar "La Bamba," "Perfidia," and "Besame Mucho,"--sung amusingly in English and Spanish--to heart-rending ballads "Te Quiero Dijiste/Magic is the Moonlight," "Frenesi," and "Es Mentiroso," rocks the house as the audience is compelled to sway to the Latin rhythms.
Jules Aaron's direction, along with Ramon del Barrio's high-stepping choreography, keeps everything hopping on Tom Buderwitz's tropical set, well-lighted by Tom and Donna Ruzika, and cunningly costumed by Nadine Parkos. Music Director Darryl Archibald, Richard Martinez, and Dave Lotfi provide the lush accompaniment.