Raúl Esparza sings at the Knight Concert Hall

Raúl Esparza has come a long way since making his professional debut in the 1989 premiere of Luis Santeiro’s Mixed Blessings at the Coconut Grove Playhouse. The son of Cuban immigrants grew up in Miami, then forged a starring Broadway career in musicals and plays. Soon, he’ll open as a charismatic con artist-preacher in Leap of Faith, a role that earned him an Ovation Award after the show’s Los Angeles tryout. Based on the 1992 Steve Martin movie, the new musical by Oscar-winner Alan Menken (music), Glenn Slater (lyrics) and Warren Leight (book) starts performances April 3 at Broadway’s St. James Theatre. But first Esparza returns for a working visit to his hometown. Having appeared at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Babalú and headlined the Arsht’s fifth anniversary gala, the dynamic singer-actor is bringing a new version of his acclaimed Lincoln Center concerts to the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall on Saturday.

Will this concert be like the one you did in New York a year ago?

I’ve added music for the Miami concert. At Lincoln Center, they wanted me to do the American songbook. I did half Cuban, half American music. Some were songs I listened to at home, from albums my mom or grandma would play. I also wanted to sing the Broadway or pop songs that shaped me, the things that got me to Broadway, the things I listened to as a teen.

So what will you sing?

 I want to sing a Gloria and Emilio Estefan song, something by Celia Cruz, something by Benny Moré. The Broadway stuff [from his performances in Cabaret, Taboo and Company] is not always an easy fit out of context. I want to do something from Tick, Tick, Boom [the pre-Rent show by Jonathan Larson, which Esparza did Off-Broadway]. It will be half-and-half, English and Spanish.

Where are you as a performer at this point in your life?

 I’m 41 now. I’m starting to think a lot about where I come from. I have such gratitude, and you wonder what [you’ll] leave behind. My work is ephemeral…[but] if I can make a contribution, I hope it’s on the stage. What do you think the chances are for “Leap of Faith”? It’s Alan’s best score since Little Shop of Horrors.” It has country, rock, gospel, all beautifully melding inside of it. After our first reading, people stood up and were cheering and crying. There is something really powerful at the core of this: A very bad man is redeemed and saved.

This story was originally published February 8, 2012 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Raúl Esparza sings at the Knight Concert Hall."