The statuesque Luba Mason commands any room she’s in, just recently at Broadway by the Year where she performed “Come Rain or Come Shine”, she made the Town Hall feel as intimate as a smoky piano bar. With her smooth voice, sensual movements and larger than life personality she’s captivated audiences onstage since she made her Broadway debut, but lately she’s been concentrating on her music career through Mixtura, a unique style that combines Latin beats, jazz, pop and show tunes. On April 9, she will present her newest Mixtura show at 54 Below, and on the eve of what is sure to be a night to remember, we had the chance to talk to her about her vibrant career, her love of New York, and becoming a Broadway ambassador to bring musical theatre all over the world.

What have you prepared for your show at 54 Below?

I actually call the show “An Evening with Luba Mason featuring Mixtura”, as in Mixtura is a musical format that I have trademarked, it’s like a musical presentation, it’s not necessarily the music itself, but how you perform the music. It could be a complete show, it could be an album, it could be a musical...for example I just saw Hamilton down at The Public and that show has Mixtura music in it, because it’s hip-hop, pop and showtunes...a mix of musical currents which is the definition of Mixtura. My show at 54 Below will include pop, jazz, folk, showtunes, opera...it could be in any language, and the songs themselves could be hybrids of different genres. If someone were to ask me what kind of music do I sing, I say “I sing Mixtura”. The show covers the things that have influenced me since I was young...

You grew up in Astoria, in New York, so would you say Mixtura epitomizes what being a New Yorker is all about?

I think so, yes absolutely, New York is such a melting pot of so many different cultures. I’m first generation American, my parents are from Slovakia, so I grew up listening to Eastern European folk music, but the first thing I did when I was 5 was that I took up the classical piano, so I have classical influences as well. I also have done a lot of Broadway, so I’ve got that element, I’m married to a Latin singer so he’s also influenced me with his beats, which led me to compose a Brazilian jazz album...so yeah, being in New York I am so influenced by a lot of different factors that it definitely has a lot to do with it.

You were trained as a classical musician, so as a child did you try to make different arrangements of pop songs you liked?

I did listen to a lot of pop radio, so that’s where my Barbra Streisand influence came from as well for instance, as well as the James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters...those were the days when you could buy piano sheet music with the popular songs of the day, so I would sing all those songs.

Having On the Twentieth Century back on Broadway has made people talk about Cy Coleman and Betty Comden & Adolph Green again. Can you share some memories of working with them in The Will Rogers Follies? Also doing the concert version of On the Town?

I did the concert version of On the Town at Avery Fisher Hall, but Betty and Adolph were not involved in this concert version, so that was basically the musical selections and I was Miss Turnstiles. The Will Rogers Follies was with Cy, Betty and Adolph, and I remember Betty and Adolph were very funny, they were hysterical, just watching them work together. Tommy Tune was our director and many times he wouldn’t like the lyrics they were writing, so he would just put them on the spot and ask them to change the lyrics, and the two of them would go around running to the back of the audience and came up with new lyrics for us. They were so charming. I loved when Cy would take over from the rehearsal pianist, and he would play during the rehearsals and worked with us. I was one of the Ziegfeld Follies girls in that show, and I fit the bill because I was very tall and also was a very strong singer, which was my forte among the girls, so I felt very kin to Cy when he worked with us girls, because he always looked to me to pull everyone along and challenged me musically. He gave me a wonderful, very high coloratura, kind of a solo in one the songs, which was quite fun. Whenever you work with greats like these, it brings you to a whole other level.

It’s also a show in need of a revival don’t you think?

I’m surprised that they haven’t revived it. It was a beautiful show visually, which was also part of Tommy Tune’s gift, he has an eye for the bigger picture of a show and he loves to bring some new inventive stuff. He’s not much for revivals, he likes to create from scratch, bringing in something new to the theatre, which is what I love about him. Visually you didn’t just have sixteen tall, glamorous follies, you also had a fabulous story centered on Will Rogers...it was such a great format.

You also were featured in The Capeman, which was unique for a Broadway show in how almost everyone in the cast was Hispanic and it also told the story of a Hispanic character. Do you think historically Broadway has been more open about telling stories of minorities in the USA?

Wow, I haven’t really thought about that, again, I’m bringing up Hamilton, it seems I’m plugging them a lot because I loved the show, and Lin-Manuel [Miranda] is a dear friend of ours, but yeah Broadway is definitely helping to push the racial diversity and stories. I also think cable television has helped quite a bit, but Broadway has a good share in this.

I’m asking because having grown up in Central America you realize there is not very much theatre in general, so now that you spend a lot of your time in Panama, have you become interested in perhaps encouraging Broadway productions on tour to come down there?

You know what, I would love to do that, and it’s something that I see myself doing in the near future. I have definitely had a hand in doing this in the past, for example I’ve worked with a gentleman called Bruce Quinn down in Panama and I always call him “the Tommy Tune of Panama”, because on his own he has tried to keep the theatre alive down there. My husband  was Minister of Tourism there for five years so I spent a lot of time there and I worked with Bruce quite a bit, doing workshops, master classes. They also wanted to bring Chicago down there and I had just finished doing it on Broadway with Brooke Shields, so I was very familiar with the legal matters and the people involved with the show in NYC, because they couldn’t even get the rights to do the show in Panama! So I made the phone calls and hooked up Bruce with the NY people, and it took a lot to convince them that they were going to do the show justice, I think because they don’t have a reputation for putting on great shows just yet, people were hesitant to give them the rights. I definitely see myself becoming more involved in becoming a theatre ambassador down there.

Also, Broadway for people outside NY is represented by the movies, and I know you’ve played Fastrada onstage, would you be interested in playing the part in the movie version of Pippin for instance, or any other characters you’ve done onstage?

Oh absolutely! If anybody reads this, have them call my agent ASAP! I would love to. You’re right, I think when people see the movie versions it helps Broadway quite a bit, and Broadway is thriving, even despite the ticket prices getting so high!

Exactly, I came to New York as a teenager and I came to see Chicago because I’d seen the movie version.

Wow! I think that Broadway is one of the best things NYC has got going on, you don’t have Broadway anywhere else. It’s quite a wonderful attraction.

Your husband, Ruben Blades, is also a terrific screen actor, I love his part in The Counselor from a few years ago. Would you also be interested in doing more films?

Yes, I’d love to do more movies and television! It’s hard when you have a base in theatre for so many years. I did spend over twelve years in Los Angeles, after I did Jekyll and Hide on Broadway, and unfortunately your theatre credits do not transfer very well to film and television, unless you run into a casting director who is a theatre fan. There are a few, but the majority aren’t necessarily, but here and there you see very few theatre people crossing over. It’s not an easy cross to make.

When will we see you onstage next?

You’re just taking words right out of my mouth (laughs) I am dying to be back on Broadway again! Being in Los Angeles I kinda lost the momentum I had in NY, and it’s hard to get back into the loop of things. Casting directors remember me, but I have to catch up with all of my peers who were here while I was gone. I just finished doing an Off-Broadway show called Pretty Filthy, a musical about the porn industry, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman and book by Bess Wohl, Steve Cosson directed it and it was produced by The Civilians, a great company and we worked with a great producer who is trying to get the musical to make its way to Broadway. We got rave reviews across the board, there wasn’t a bad review in there, it was a funny, smart show. I also continue to audition for Broadway. I’m also involved in a Harold Arlen workshop. I also wanted to mention my musical director Felipe Fournier whos’ on vibes, I don’t have a piano in my band, so I feel the 54 Below show has a great sound, and doing these musical shows helps keep my instrument, my voice, sharp and intact. It’s another direction to go in when you’re not onstage.

You’ve mastered reinvention, what kind of advice would you offer to up and coming performers who want to have a long career?

I always say number one, just having the talent is not enough, you need to have the passion and the drive. I would put even more emphasis on the latter, there is just so much competition out there and the business is not easy, you really need to get used to a lot of rejection, and that’s where the passion really sustains you. Again, you don’t wait around for the phone to ring, if you’re passionate about it, you find other ways to fulfill the passion, create your own projects. There’s a lot of talent out there, but especially now with reality shows and the Kardashians and all that (laughs) you see that you don’t need to be talented to be famous. A lot of young people get into the business because they want the glamour of being famous, but in my opinion that’s not a true artist. Quality sustains and the right people recognize quality.

Don't miss An Evening with Luba Mason featuring Mixtura on April 9 at 54 Below. For tickets and more visit their official website.