Among the big winners at last night’s 78th Tony Awards was Buena Vista Social Club, a musical co-produced by Montgomery County native Doug Fellman and award-winning producer and philanthropist Thomas Perakos.
Fellman, an attorney and partner at Hogan Lovells, grew up in Wheaton and Rockville and graduated from Magruder High School. After earning his bachelor’s degree from John’s Hopkins University and law degree from Cornell Law School, he returned to the DC area and joined the firm, where he has practiced criminal law for 37 years.
Inspired by true events, Buena Vista Social Club tells the story of a group of young musicians whose success is cut short by the Cuban revolution in the 1950s and who reunite forty years later to create a Grammy and Billboard award-winning album. Buena Vista Social Club won four awards out of a total 10 nominations last night, and a special award:
- Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Natalie Venetia Belcon)
- Best Choreography (Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck)
- Best Orchestrations (Marco Paguia)
- Best Sound Design (Jonathan Deans); and,
- Special Tony Award for the band of Buena Vista Social Club
According to an interview in National Law Journal, Fellman became active in the theater world ten years ago, first by attending plays, then by becoming involved with Broadway charities.
“Initially, I got involved by just going to shows and enjoying what New York theater had to offer. And then began to get involved with some of the charities in the Broadway community, and then began to think a little bit about what else I could do on Broadway. I certainly don’t have any performing talent, but I have a good head for business, and I’ve got good judgment about what is commercial and what types of shows might have commercial appeal. I began to think about getting involved on the business side, and so that led to an education process and a lot of networking and talking to people.” Fellman told NLJ.
As a producer, Fellman focuses on the business side of Broadway, including show capitalization, marketing, ticket sales and business agreements. Feldman said Hogan Lovells has been supportive of his theatrical pursuits, which he juggles along with his full-time attorney work. The firm invited a number of clients and friends to the show in April, where they were treated to a private audience talk-back with some of the performers.
Buena Vista Social Club is now playing a The Schoenfeld Theatre, 236 West 45th St., New York, NY. For show information, visit
