Synopses & Reviews
"As ever, Hudess writing is poetic but wry, full of swagger and poetry. Theres live music, but oh, how the lines sing too." David Cote,
Time Out New York"Ms. Hudes draws all her characters with precision and understanding... this warm-blooded play underscores how the disorienting flux of life can be navigated with the help of carefully tended family ties." Charles Isherwood, New York Times
"Delightful... Hudes is a very accomplished storyteller, a playwright with an emergent, fulsome American narrative." Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
At the dawn of the Arab Spring in an ancient Jordinian town, an Iraq War veteran struggles to overcome the traumas of combat by taking on an entirely new and unexpected career: an action-film hero. At the same time, halfway around the world in a cozy North Philadelphia kitchen, his cousin takes on a heroic new role of her own: as the heart and soul of her crumbling community, providing hot meals and an open door for the needy.
The final installment in Hudess three-play cycle, which began with the Pulitzer Prize-finalist Elliot, A Soldiers Fugue and Pulitzer Prize-winner Water By the Spoonful, The Happiest Song Plays Last is about the search for redemption, humility and ones place in the world.
Quiara Alegría Hudes is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Water by the Spoonful, the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights and the Pulitzer Prize finalist Elliot, A Soldiers Fugue. Her other works include Barrio Grrrl!, a childrens musical; 26 Miles; Yemayas Belly and The Happiest Song Plays Last, the third piece in her acclaimed trilogy. Hudes is on the board of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, which produced her first play in the tenth grade. She now lives in New York with her husband and children.
Synopsis
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Water by the Spoonful.
Synopsis
"If you want evidence that American playwriting is in very good hands, you need look no further." Bloomberg News
"Hudes possesses a confident and arresting voice." The New York Times
"One of the most important playwrights of her generation." Atlanta Journal Constitution
"As ever, Hudess writing is poetic but wry, full of swagger and poetry. Theres live music, but oh, how the lines sing too." -Time Out New York
"The best of the [trilogy]... A beautifully written piece." -Theatre Mania
At the dawn of the Arab Spring in an ancient Jordanian town, an Iraq War veteran struggles to overcome the traumas of combat by taking on an entirely new and unexpected career: action film hero. A search for redemption, humility, and one's place in the world, this is the final installment in Quiara Alegría Hudes's The Elliot Trilogy, which began with Pulitzer Prize finalist Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue and Pulitzer Prize-winner Water by the Spoonful. Set to the joyful sounds of traditional Puerto Rican folk music, this poignant new play enjoyed its world premiere at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in 2013, and its New York premiere at Second Stage Theatre in 2014.
Quiara Alegría Hudes wrote the book for the Broadway musical In the Heights, which received the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Hudes is on the board of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, which produced her first play in the tenth grade. She lives in New York with her husband and two children.
About the Author
Quiara Alegría Hudes's plays include
Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue (Pulitzer Prize finalist);
Water by the Spoonful (Pulitzer Prize for Drama);
The Happiest Song Plays Last;
Yemaya's Belly (The Clauder Prize);
26 Miles and
Lulu's Golden Shoes. Her work for musical theater includes the book for
In the Heights (Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical, Pulitzer Prize finalist), book and lyrics for
Barrio Grrrl! and a new musical
Miss You Like Hell.
Hudes's work has been produced on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre and 37 Arts, and downtown at Page 73 Productions. Her work has been seen across the country with premieres at the Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage Company, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Alliance Theatre and Miracle Theatre Group. Hudes's work has been translated into many languages, with productions in Armenia, Germany, Brazil, England, Japan, the Philippines and many other countries.
Other honors include a United States Artists Fontanals Fellowship, a Joyce Award, the Aetna New Voices Fellowship at Hartford Stage, and the Roe Green Award; with residencies at the Sundance Institute Theatre, The Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and New Dramatists.
March 6, 2014 was named "Quiara Alegria Hudes Day" in the City of Philadelphia. Mayor Rahm Emanuel declared April 27, 2013 "Quiara Hudes Day" in Chicago.
Hudes studied musical composition at Yale University, earning a BA, and later received an MFA in playwriting from Brown University, where she studied with Paula Vogel.
She now lives in New York with her husband and children.