Born in East LA
In 1993 native Angelino Danny Bolero began trading coastlines while making his Broadway debut as Naphtali, one of Joseph's eleven brothers in the Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (cast recording). In 2009,
Danny returned to Broadway when he joined the company of Lin Manuel Miranda's IN THE HEIGHTS. During the Broadway run, Danny auditioned and landed the principal role of Kevin Rosario for the 1st National tour of IN THE HEIGHTS, which he later reprised on Broadway opposite the great Priscilla Lopez.
In early 2018, Danny made his Public Theater debut in a new musical by Quiara Alegria Hudes and Erin Mckeown, MISS YOU LIKE HELL (cast recording), originating the role of Manuel. Two-time Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega as Beatriz, an undocumented immigrant on the verge of deportation. Beatrice is a flawed Mom to troubled 16-year-old Olivia; Mother and daughter estranged for years. They embark on a road trip that crosses state lines. Together they meet Americans of different backgrounds, shared dreams, and complicated truths—a powerful show with vast hearts and fierce humor.
As luck would have it, it was at this time that the tech-savvy casting and film director, Elaine Del Valle, had been casting an animated children's television series from Fred Rogers Productions created and executive produced by former Sesame Street actress Sonia Manzano and animated by Canadian animation studio Pipeline Studios. Bolero auditioned and was cast as the voice of Abuelo in the new PBS award-winning animated children's series Alma's Way, now in its second season.
Then in 2021, Danny received an artist's grant from the City of New York to start work on a one-man cabaret show based on the life of one of his idol, Desi Arnaz, THEY CALL ME CUBAN PETE, the music and genius of DESI ARNAZ which had its debut at New York's Don't Tell Mama cabaret venue. After three sold-out houses, Danny was honored with the MAC award and the prestigious BISTRO AWARD for his work on THEY CALL ME CUBAN PETE. Danny plans to continue developing the show, hoping to get it produced on Broadway,
Tagged as the first immigration musical, Danny plays Manuel, a widowed tamales seller. Manuel has the touch of a poet, a great listener, and a connoisseur of life's simple pleasures. "The beautiful "Tamales," sung by Danny Bolero's Manuel, as he recounts his life with his late wife seen through their preparation of the title dish, is a little gem that could warrant a musical of its own. Hudes' sensual lyrics and McKeown's unintrusive score transported me to being five years old in my great-grandmother's kitchen." Jose Solis, stagebuddy.com
In late 2019, Danny got an audition to try out for a Neil Simon revival. His first audition led to a callback which eventually led to him getting the part in a show that was to be directed by Tony Award winner John Benjamin Hickey, an actor whose work Danny has admired for a long time. However, it wasn't until early 2020 that he learned the identity of the show's two main stars, Mathew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. Well, it doesn't get more exciting than that. But, on the eve of his first preview for Broadway's Plaza Suite, Broadway shut down; Danny Boléro found himself quarantined, unemployed, and, like everyone else, at home, watching the number of Covid-19 fatalities multiply.
Things got real on hearing that friend and colleague Felipe Gorostiza, a director, actor, and producer, had lost his battle with the virus. Feeling helpless, Danny turned to music. Frustration turned to motivation as he listened to the opening number from Jason Robert Brown's Songs For A New World.
The song "The New World" is a moment of decision, the transition point from old to new, when the cast realizes things will never be the same. Boléro decided that the message needed to be shared. He reached out to fellow In The Heights cast members, asking them to join him in a new Latinized, bilingual version of the song. Musical director and composer Jaime Lozano quickly joined the team, and along with the help of tech-savvy casting and film director Elaine Del Valle, a new bilingual rendition was arranged that stayed true to the beautiful, intricate harmonies of the original piece while adding hip-swaying Latinization. The cast of five singers joining Boléro included Andréa Burns; who had performed in Brown's 1995 New York City debut; Natalie Toro; Genny Lis Padilla and Cedric Leiba Jr.
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