Randy Barceló Collection

Although best known for his set and costume designs, Randy Barceló was also a dancer, photographer, interior designer, and all around artist. Born in Havana on September 19, 1946, Barceló left Cuba through Operation Pedro Pan at the age of 14. He studied art at University of Puerto Rico and in 1965 moved to New York where he enrolled in the Lester Pollard Theatre Forum School of Design.

Barceló began his career as a dancer and choreographer. At the age of 24 he worked as a designer for the Broadway musical, Lenny. In 1972 he designed the costumes for Jesus Christ Superstar and was nominated for a Tony Award, the first Hispanic nominee for costume design. He went on to design costumes for several on and off Broadway plays and musicals, ballet and dance productions, and operas.

Randy Barceló’s art work, primarily abstract and figurative sketches and paintings, have been shown in several galleries and museums including the Cooper Hewitt Museum, Hudson River Museum and Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

In 1994, Barceló designed costumes for ¡Si Señor! ¡Es Mi Son!, choreographed for Ballet Hispanico by Alberto Alonso and Sonia Calero with music by Gloria Estefan. These were his final designs as he died of cancer on December 6th of that same year.

Randy Barceló’s Production Credits

Broadway

Ain’t Misbehavin’, 1978, 1988

A Broadway Musical, 1978

Dude, 1972

Jesus Christ Superstar, 1971

Lenny, 1971

The Leaf People, 1975 (costumes and make-up)

The Magic Show, 1974

Mayor, 1985 (sets and costumes)

The Night That Made America Famous, 1975

Senator Joe (never officially opened), 1989

Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Off-Broadway

Blood Wedding, INTAR Theatre (sets and costumes)

Caligula, La Mama Experimental Theatre Club

Cracks, Theatre De Lys, 1976

Lady Day, Chelsea Theatre Center

Mayor, Village Gate Theatre (sets and costumes)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, New York Shakespeare Festival, Delacorte Theatre, 1982

The Moondreamers, La Mama Experimental Theatre Club

“Phillip Morris Superband Series,” Beacon Theatre (set)

Rice and Beans, INTAR Theatre (sets and costumes)

Spookhouse, Playhouse 91, 1984

The Tempest, LaMama Experimental Theatre Club

Opera

L’Histoire du Soldat, Carnegie Hall (sets and costumes)

Les Troyen, Vienna State Opera

Lily, New York City Opera

Mass, Leonard Bernstein, Kennedy Center

Salome, New York City Opera

Ballet and Dance

Black, Brown & Beige, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, 1976

The Blues Ain’t, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, 1974

Crosswords, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre

La Dea delle Acque, Alvin Ailey for La Scala Opera Ballet, 1988

For “Bird” – With Love, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, 1984

Fuenteovejuna, Ballet Hispanico

Lovers, Jennifer Muller (sets and costumes)

Mondrian, Jennifer Muller (sets and costumes)

The Mooche, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, 1974

Opus McShann, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, 1988

Predicaments for Five, Jennifer Muller (sets and costumes)

¡Si Señor! ¡Es Mi Son!, Ballet Hispanico, 1994

Spell, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, 1981

The Street Dancer, Ballet Hispanico

Television

Ailey Celebrates Ellington, Alvin Ailey for CBS, 1975

Ain’t Misbehavin’, NBC, 1982

Duke Ellington: The Music Lives On, PBS, 1983

Film

Body Passion, 1987 (production designer)

The Cop and the Anthem

Cubanos (art direction and costumes)

Fat Chance (set and costumes for theater sequence)

Fatal Encounter, 1981

Secret Life of Plants (costumes for dance sequence)

Tainted, 1988 (art direction and costumes)

Los Dos Mundos de Angelita, 1984 (art direction and costumes)

Welcome to Miami (art direction and costumes)

When the Mountains Tremble, 1983 (production designer)