When Pelayo AF arrived in New York, he had a dream: to make his way as an artist and reach Broadway. The city, as it usually does with those who arrive convinced that anything is possible here, had other plans. For ten years, the Asturian actor, singer and creator worked in the United Nations system. Meanwhile, his artistic vocation continued to wait its turn.
From that tension was born Death by 9 to 5, a musical comedy about a Spanish cabaret artist who arrives in New York dreaming of Broadway and ends up trapped in an office job. The story is quite autobiographical, although Pelayo allows himself to exaggerate it. After all, ten years in the United Nations goes a long way, but not necessarily to get the leading role that one imagined when packing one’s bags.
Pelayo estimates that five or six years passed before he realized he had put his dreams on hold. New York continued to be the city where he wanted to develop his artistic career, but staying there did not necessarily mean moving towards that goal.
“A lot of times you’re just here trying to survive, but you’re not really advancing what you really want to do,” he explains. The constant movement of the city can give the impression that you are progressing, even when you have been putting off what you came to do for years.
Professional stability did not resolve the contradiction either. From Spain, his family celebrated his achievements, while he knew that this career was not exactly what he wanted.
“You have your family back home bragging about you, talking about your achievements, commenting on how happy they are with everything you’ve achieved, but on the other hand you know that it’s not what you personally want,” he says.
The city also took it upon itself to adjust its economic expectations. During his first six months, Pelayo slept on the sofa in the living room of an apartment he shared with five Spanish women. And he discovered that a glass of wine that in Spain could cost one euro in New York reached 12 dollars. The city had a lot to offer. Enjoying it was another matter.
Those experiences ended up on stage converted into comedy, cabaret, drag and absurd situations. The exaggeration allows Pelayo to address real frustrations without turning his show into a two-hour complaint.
“I think it helps us present real problems from a point where people are not, so to speak, offended. It creates a distance that really helps us use it as criticism,” he explains.
The public recognizes these situations, especially those who know the precariousness of artistic work or the routine of living in New York. The day, for example, can begin long before arriving at the office: first there are the subway that does not work, the crowded carriages and the exhausting journey that no one counts as working hours.
The music amplifies that satire. The show includes four songs and is part of a project of nine original songs in Spanish and English that Pelayo is preparing to publish in early 2027. “Esa luna” is a bolero inspired by Federico García Lorca; “Two Strangers” uses cumbia to tell of an encounter in New York, while “Dreaming of Labor” mocks devotion to work. The song that gives the project its title moves between punk and rock to express the suffocation of routine.
Along the way, Pelayo has also changed his way of understanding artistic success. When he arrived, he dreamed of starring in movies and winning awards. Now he prefers not to depend on someone offering him the right role.
“Where I feel most satisfied artistically speaking is in self-creation, in self-production, in the creation of works that really reflect what I want to be as an artist,” he says.
Pelayo is part of Repertorio Español and created The Spanglish Affair, a bilingual cabaret celebrating immigrant, queer and Spanish-speaking artists. Death by 9 to 5 premiered at the 2026 CWP Evolution Festival, where it sold out, and then had a screening at Under St. Marks in New York.
The play will have new performances in November and December: November 8, at 7 pm, at the Gotham Festival, at UNDER St. Marks, in the East Village; on November 14, at 10 pm, as part of Sin Fronteras: A Bilingual Theater Festival, at The Tank in Manhattan; and on December 10, at 7 pm, within the “Celebration of Immigration” block of the International Human Rights Art Festival, at The Wild Project, in the East Village.
Pelayo is also preparing an album with the nine original songs from the project, scheduled for early 2027, and is looking for opportunities to take the show to other stages.
The paradox is that Pelayo came to New York to dedicate himself to entertainment and ended up spending years in an office. Now, at least, that experience helps him create his own scenarios. And if the nine-to-five routine threatens to consume your dreams, there’s always the possibility of turning it into a musical comedy.
