By Melissa Griegel…

Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography

The second annual Ignite Concert Festival is a month-long series of performances at Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Avenue) showcasing works-in-progress. Run by Prospect Musicals, the festival provides a forum for both artists and audiences to connect and for people in the industry to get a glimpse of new work. The festival this year began March 5, 2026 and is running through March 30th.

Jaime Lozano

Theater Pizzazz was there to hear new musicals currently being developed by Mexican-born, award-winning, multi-hyphenated musical theater artist and storyteller Jaime Lozano. Lozano, along with guest artists and musicians culled from what he calls “The Familia”, presented songs from three new musicals in the works. Featured vocalists included his wife Florencia Cuenca (Real Women Have Curves), Mayelah Barrera  (Much Ado About Nothing), and James Olivas  Evita (The Jamie Lloyd Co., West End).

Mayelah Barrera

Lozano, with his usual sense of humor, told personal stories and explained the background of the musicals he is working on, all while introducing the singers, leading his band of talented musicians, and playing the guitar and the Mexica vihuela, a small, deep-bodied rhythm guitar mostly used by mariachi groups. The band was composed of Yahir Montes (bass, guitar), Hugo Moreno (trumpet, percussion), Rubén Coca (drums), and Saúl Cosme (guitar). Christine Viega is the venue stage manager. 

Yahir Montes
Hugo Moreno
Rubén Coca
Rubén Coca and Hugo Moreno
Saúl Cosme

The evening began with three numbers from Frida, the Musical, a musical about the life of famed painter Frida Kahlo with music by Jaime Lozano, lyrics by Neena Beber, and book by Georgina Escobar. Barrera, with her deep sultry voice, started us off with “Wings”, singing about Frida’s inner struggles as well as her physical ailments: “All of my life, I’ve been trying to matter…roses depend on their thorns; I’ll lie in this sick bed until I am reborn.” Lozano introduced the next song, a brand-new one called “I’ll Always be Here” written for the character of Frida’s sister Cristina, with “This next song will be sung by my favorite storyteller in the world, my wife, Florencia Cuenca” Possibly my favorite song of the evening was “So That I Can Live”, a song written in the voice of Frida’s famous painter husband Diego Rivera. Sung by the charismatic and handsome James Olivas, we could imagine Diego Rivera pouring out his love to his “little dove” as she lay dying. This was followed by a beautiful duet for “Let Me Stare” with Cuenca and Olivas. 

Florenica Cuenca and James Olivas

The next featured musical was Desaparecidas (The Missing Ones) with songs and lyrics by Lozano and Cuenca, with a book by Georgina Escobar. Lozano and Cuenca both came from strong matriarchal families and like to celebrate the strength of women.  Desaparecidas focuses on the difficulties of women in Mexico living in patriarchal society, sometimes filled with a dangerous machismo and how sometimes women from the borderlands go missing. Here the show moved into songs sung in Spanish, beginning with “Hola Bebé” a lullaby sung with a lot of emotion by Cuenca who is a mother. Barrera danced beautifully while singing “La Cumbia Violeta”, a song with a great beat and a strong trumpet part. This segment ended with Cuenca showing off her vocal chops with a strong and moving rendition of “Hoy Voy a Cantar”. The audience really enjoyed these last two numbers and clapped along.

Mayelah Barerra and Florencia Cuenca

The last musical to be featured was Roja: A Nuevo Musical with book, music, and lyrics by Lozano and Tommy Newman. The show, with a nod to Little Red Riding Hood and Into the Woods, fuses traditional Mexican folk music and Mestizo folklore to tell the story of a girl during the Mexican Revolution who meets a magical coyote and embarks on a journey to try to see complete the coyote’s tasks so she can be reunited with her deceased father.  For “Esto Es Un Milagro”, a duet by Olivas and Barrera, Lozano played the vihuela. Olivas’s personality came out as he smirked mischievously as the coyote and howled. “The Last Offering”, featuring Barrera singing and dancing, had a long musical interlude with all musicians having solo parts. As mother and daughter, Cuenca and Barrera sang about love and loss with “Canción de Estrellas”, singing “All I can see is a thousand stars in his eyes.” A perfect ending to the show was “Te Veré Otra Vez” featuring Barrera, with Lozano and Montes singing along. This is a beautiful song with both Spanish and English lyrics. 

Florencia Cuenca and James Olivias

Many of these songs can be heard on Lozano’s latest album Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 3. Released by Concord Theatricals Recordings, you can stream or download the album by clicking here: Songs by an Immigrant Vol. 3. The new album features award-winning Latin artists and Broadway stars and composers, including Grammy and Latin Grammy winner Tony Succar, Grammy-winning music producer TROOKO (Jeff Peñalva), multi-Grammy Award winner and National Medal of Arts artist-saxophonist Paquito D’ Rivera, Latin Grammy winner Jair Alcalá and his band El Plan, Tony, Grammy, Emmy, and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), Tony Award nominee Lorna Courtney (& Juliet), Aline Mayagoitia (Real Women Have Curves, Jennifer Lopez’ Kiss of the Spider Woman) and most of the Broadway stars who performed at the concert.

James Olivas

Among many other honors, Lozano is the 2022 recipient of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious Jonathan Larson Grant. Florencia Cuenca, who recently became the first Mexican immigrant to co-originate a lead on Broadway in Real Women Have Curves. Lozano’s group is appropriately named The Familia instead of La Familia, as Lozano and Cuenca have made a name for themselves doing “Spanglish” versions of Broadway shows and songs, and many of Lozano’s songs include both Spanish and English lyrics.

Jamie Lozano

There are still several upcoming shows in the festival: 

The Familia

Prospect Musicals will be holding their gala and Muse awards on May 4th, 2026 at  the Edison Ballroom. This year’s recipients are Ken Davenport, LaChanze, Lindsay Mendez, Ryan Scott Oliver, and Jose Antonio Vargas. Tickets can be purchased here: Prospect Gala and Muse Awards Tickets