Raúl has been in London this week and last night he accompanied his godson, Iain Armitage to the closing night of Chess at the London Coliseum. 

Raul, who played Freddie in Chess at the Kennedy Center back in February was photographed backstage with star Cedric Neal and legendary lyricist, Sir Tim Rice. 

It has been announced today that Raúl is among the list of performers scheduled to appear at this years Miscast on March 26 at the MCC Theater.

Miscast is a concert in which performers sing tunes they would likely never have the chance to take on in their proper context. It is not yet known what Raúl will sing.

Other performers at the concert include, Grammy and Tony Award nominee Sara Bareilles; Tony Award winners Jayne Houdyshell and James Monroe Iglehart; Tony Award nominees, Robert Fairchild, and Keala Settle; plus Hamilton star and reigning "Dancing With the Stars" champion Jordan Fisher, The Band's Visit star Katrina Lenk, Once on This Island star Alex Newell, and the voice of Moana, Auli'I Cravalho.

Last time Raúl took part in Miscast was in 2014 when he did 'A Boy Like That' from West Side Story - a duet he performed with with Lin Manuel Miranda. Apart from a few exaggerated facial expressions, they played it totally straight, and it went from amusing to powerful pretty fast. You can see a video of that performance below.

Performance-only tickets are currently on sale to MCC Theater Patron Program members, with a subscriber pre-sale beginning January 26. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on January 30.

For additional information, please visit www.mcctheater.org/galamiscast.html

Earlier this week, (December 14th) Raúl took part in the Broadway Bares Soul series at The Sheen Centre. 

​He was interviewed by Fr Edward L. Beck, C.P., and spoke candidly about his formative years, focussing a lot on his relationship with his Grandmother - who he said practically raised him - and about his high school experience. He talked about being Cuban and the challenges that he and his family faced because of that. He touched on his spirituality, his eight year stint in Chicago and about the various stage shows that he had been in. He mentioned that he'd found his 'Rocky Horror Show' role difficult and touched on 'tick... tick... Boom!', 'Company' and 'Leap of Faith', as well as a few sentences each on 'Hannibal' and 'SVU'. 

He sang six songs: 

• ​O Holy Night - part in English, part in Spanish
• All I Ever Have to Be (Amy Grant)
• El Reloj
• How Glory Goes (Audra McDonald)
• ​Running to Stand Still (U2)
• Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

​Thanks to the wonderful community of Raúl fans we can bring you some photos from the event. You can view more in our dedicated Broadway Bares Soul gallery.

And a big shout-out to one fan who managed to sneak this recording of Raúl singing Running to Stand Still/Hallelujah. We are eternally grateful. 

We understand that the event was recorded and will be edited for broadcast/uploaded to The Sheen Centre's youtube channel early next year. We will let you know when a date is announced. 

The lucky attendees at last night's ASTEP Christmas Benefit Concert were treated to a surprise performance from Ra​​úl. He wasn't on the list of performing artist but has in the past performed if he's been in the audience. Last night he sang 'O Holy Night' in a mixture of English and Spanish. 

​Thanks to @griesejohanna and @grassysvu67 we can bring you some photos from the event...

We also have a video extract, courtesy of @mohinsdahlia

The event is held annually to benefit the Artist Striving to End Poverty - an organisation that connects performing and visual artists with underserved youth in the U.S. and around the world to awaken their imaginations, foster critical thinking, and help them break the cycle of poverty. 

​If you would like to make a donation you can do so through their website. 

The SVU cast attended the 27th Annual Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Ceremony last night, Oct 16. They were there to support NBC Chairman, Bob Greenblatt who was inducted into the hall of fame for recognition of his work with the network since he took charge in 2011.

Raúl is set to be interviewed at the 'Broadway Bares' Soul event at the Loreto Theater in New York City on December 4th, where he will give an interview and perform a couple od songs.

Tickets for the event are priced at $45 and are available here

Broadway stars bare their souls, literally, in these 90 minute interviews featuring revealing talk about their formative influences, their life trajectories, and how their careers have been shaped by their spiritual and social/political worldview. Guests will also be invited to perform two or three songs of their choice as part of the evening. The interviews will be conducted by Edward L. Beck, C.P., priest, author, playwright and CNN Faith and Religion commentator.

In an evening equally heartfelt and nostalgic, uncensored and hilarious, Raúl joined legend Patti LuPone in evoking cheers and tears from an enraptured audience on Sunday, September 24, 2017, as she shared some of her greatest hits and dished inside-theatre tales at Deconstructing Patti, An Evening of Broadway Songs and Stories with Patti LuPone and Seth Rudetsky.

Rudetsky led LuPone and the audience through an improvised “This is Your Life” of LuPone’s hits and high-belting songs. As the two of them reminisced on the trials and triumphs of Evita,  one-time “Che”, Raúl walked on stage surprising the audience. LuPone and Raúl then worked their way through “High Flying Adored” and “Rainbow High.” Raúl later returned for an Evita encore with LuPone and British actor Nic Gibney, who played Magaldi on the U.K. tour of Evita. The trio ripped through a show-stopping version of “Eva and Magaldi” before LuPone concluded with “Buenos Aires.”

The event, which was hosted by Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre, raised $280,911 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret, a retrospective of songs and scenes from stage shows that have been censored or challenged at various times and places across the U.S., will be performed September 27 by a cast of Broadway stars including Raúl Esparza (Company), Zainab Jah (Eclipsed), Daniel Jenkins (Oslo, Billy Elliot), and Lisa Kron (book and lyrics for Fun Home).

The concert, which will be held at 9:30 PM at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre in Manhattan, was organized by the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund of the Dramatists Guild to “raise awareness about issues of censorship and free expression in the theatre.” Also appearing at the event will be writer-actors Andrea Frierson (Me & Ella, Once on this Island) and Christine Toy Johnson (The Americans, Madame Secretary).

Banned Together will feature selections from Cabaret, Chicago, Almost, Maine, Rent and Angels in America, among other notable works that have stirred controversy. The show will have a script by John Weidman (Assassins, Pacific Overtures), will be directed by Ari Edelson (Building The Wall, 24 Hour Plays), and will be produced by Patti Anne Miller. Click here to order tickets, which cost $10.

Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret is scheduled to be performed in separate productions in 16 cities across the U.S. as a part of Banned Books Week (September 24–30), the annual celebration of the freedom to read.

The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization created by the Dramatists Guild to “advocate for free expression in the dramatic arts and a vibrant public domain for all, and to educate the public about the industry standards surrounding theatrical production and about the protections afforded dramatists under copyright law.”