Xiomara Laugart is set to portray the Queen of Salsa in the Off-Broadway musical "Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz." 

Laugart, a former vocalist for the New York funk band Yerba Buena, told AP she's been a lifelong fan of Cruz, whom she met after attending one of her shows in Italy in the early '90s.

The musical, directed by Jaime Azpilicueta and co-starring Modesto Lacen, is scheduled to open September 12 at the New World Stages of Manhattan theater. The production will pack in 30 songs spanning the life of Cuban-born Cruz who died in 2003.