‘The View’ Cohost Ana Navarro Makes Surprise Broadway Debut

In January, cast members from Buena Vista Social Club surprised Ana Navarro on The View with a birthday serenade and an invitation to make her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning musical. And now we know Navarro accepted that invitation, since she made surprise cameos in the show on Friday.

“That certainly was not on my bingo card,” the View cohost told People on Saturday, March 7. “I was reflecting on it last night, and I just thought, ‘My God, I can’t believe a little refugee girl from Nicaragua was just on Broadway.’”

Navarro, who admitted to having her stomach “in such knots” before she hit the stage at New York City’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, played a bartender during the musical’s “La Negra Tomasa” number on Friday and then returned to portray an affluent citizen of 1950s-era Havana later in the show, according to People.

 

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“Now I’m so sad it’s over because it was so exciting and exhilarating and just filled my heart with joy,” she said on Saturday. “To see all those people in the audience was very, very special. And there were a few people there who took Nicaraguan flags and waited for me at the end. Then, when I came out of the stage door, there was, what, 100 people waiting for me to sign playbills? That was the most surreal experience of my life. I mean, I’ve done some pretty crazy, extraordinary things, but this is right up there.”

Navarro said on The View she had seen Buena Vista Social Club — which tells the story of the titular Cuban musical ensemble and the making of their hit 1997 album — four times. And she told People she grew up with the songs the Buena Vista Social Club performed, as did her parents. Plus, she loved the time-travel aspect of the Broadway show.

“Oh my God — getting into costume and into the period piece was so fun,” she said. “Nylons with seams in the back, the shoes with little buttons on the sides, the fascinator hat with feathers. And the hairstyle! The French chignon with the waves in the front. It was crazy. It was like I was back in time!”

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Navarro said she got a lot of love from the cast and crew on Friday — and from the audience, which included The View executive producer Brian Teta and cohost Whoopi Goldberg.

“It meant the world to me, and to the cast, to have her there,” Navarro said of Goldberg’s support. “She told me to enjoy it, to enjoy the moment, to be myself and to have fun.”

And Navarro quipped, “I was on for 11 minutes. And I think I’m going to have to go lay down for 11 hours now.”