Quiara Alegría Hudes
Hudes in 2021
Hudes in 2021
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education
Years active2003–present
Notable worksIn the Heights
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for Drama
2012 Water by the Spoonful
Children2
Website
www.quiara.com

Quiara Alegría Hudes (born 1977) is an American playwright, producer, lyricist and essayist. She is best known for writing the book for the musical In the Heights (2007), and screenplay for its film adaptation. Hudes' first play in her Elliot Trilogy, Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue was a finalist for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She received the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Water by the Spoonful, her second play in that trilogy.

Early life

Hudes was born in 1977 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[1] to a Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother.[2] They raised her in West Philadelphia, where she began writing and composing music as a child.[3] She studied at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch of Settlement Music School, taking piano lessons with Dolly Krasnopolsky.[4] Hudes has said that, although she is of "Puerto Rican and Jewish blood", she was "raised by two Puerto Rican parents." Her birth parents separated and her step-father was a Puerto Rican entrepreneur.[5]

Hudes graduated from Philadelphia's Central High School. She studied music composition at Yale University, where she earned her BA degree in 1999.[6] She subsequently completed graduate work at Brown University, where she received an MFA in playwriting in 2004.[7] She is a resident writer at New Dramatists and a previous Page 73 Playwriting Fellow.

In 2012, Hudes was a visiting playwright at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She returned in 2014, serving as the Shapiro Distinguished Professor of Writing and Theater until 2017.[8]

Career

The original Off-Broadway production of In the Heights received the Lucille Lortel Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.[9] It was named Best Musical by New York magazine, Best of 2007 by The New York Times, and the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors HOLA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting.

In 2010, she was named a Fellow by United States Artists.[10] Hudes's first children's book, In My Neighborhood, was published by Arthur Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc, in 2010.

On October 27, 2011, Hudes was the first Latina woman to be inducted into Central High School's Alumni Hall of Fame. In October 2016, a new musical she wrote along with singer/songwriter Erin McKeown titled Miss You Like Hell opened at the La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Lear deBessonet and starring Daphne Rubin-Vega.[11]

Plays and musicals

Yemaya's Belly

Hudes' first play, Yemaya's Belly, received the 2003 Clauder Competition for New England Playwriting, the Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting, and the Kennedy Center/ACTF Latina Playwriting Award. It had productions at Miracle Theatre (2004),[12] and the Portland Stage Company (2005) and Signature Theatre (2005).[13][14]

Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue

Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2007.[15] The play premiered at Page 73 Productions at the Off-Broadway Culture Project in 2006,[16] and ran at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia in 2006.[17][18] The New York Times reviewer wrote that the play was a "rare and rewarding thing: a theater work that succeeds on every level, while creating something new."[16] It was planned as the first play in a trilogy.

26 Miles

Her play 26 Miles received its world premiere at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in March 2009, directed by Kent Gash.[19]

Barrio Grrrrl!

Her children's musical Barrio Grrrrl! appeared at The Kennedy Center in 2009.

In the Heights

Hudes collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on this Broadway musical; she wrote the book and he composed the music and lyrics. It won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical and was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[15] Hudes also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of the same title, which premiered in 2021.

Water by the Spoonful

In 2012, her play Water by the Spoonful, which returns to the characters in Elliot, won the Pulitzer Prize after its premiere at the Hartford Stage Company.[20][21] In this play Hudes attempts to bring two worlds together through technology and reality. Water by the Spoonful consists of multiple scenes that take place in an online chat room and in the real world with face-to-face interaction. As the play develops, Hudes brings the two worlds together by creating turning points in the play along with connecting characters from different worlds to each other in different ways.

The Happiest Song Plays Last

The Happiest Song Plays Last, the third in the Elliot trilogy, received its world premiere at the Goodman Theater in Chicago on April 13, 2013.[22][23] It was produced Off-Broadway at Second Stage in March 2014.[24] When the production moved to Second Stage Theatre, the production team included Ruben Santiago-Hudson as director, Michael Carnahan as set designer, Karen Perry as costume designer, Rui Rita as lighting designer, and Leon Rothenberg as sound designer.[25]

Lulu's Golden Shoes

Lulu's Golden Shoes was produced by Flashpoint Theater Company in Philadelphia in 2015.[26]

The Good Peaches

Originally performed by 56 orchestral musicians, three actors, and eight dancers, The Good Peaches is a "girl versus nature musical play."[27] It was performed in April 2016 at the Cleveland Play House.[28]

Daphne's Dive

Daphne’s Dive premiered Off-Broadway at the Signature Theater on May 16, 2016, directed by Thomas Kail and featuring Samira Wiley, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Vanessa Aspillaga and Carlos Gomez.[29]

Miss You Like Hell

Hudes wrote the book and Erin McKeown the music for the musical, Miss You Like Hell, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in fall of 2016. Called "An immigration musical for the new Trump era" by the LA Times,[30] the play is about a mother and daughter traveling across the country for seven days and addressing their fractured relationship.

Vivo

Hudes was the screenwriter for Lin-Manuel Miranda's animated musical movie Vivo,[31] released on Netflix on August 6, 2021.

Filmography

Year Title Writer Producer Notes
2021 In the Heights Yes Yes Based on the musical book by her and Lin-Manuel Miranda; also cameos in "Finale"
Vivo Yes No

See also

References

  1. ↑ Soloski, Alexis (November 28, 2012). "A Family's Story Spans a Trilogy, and Beyond". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  2. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (September 17, 2013), "26 Miles, Quiara Hudes' Mother-Daughter Road-Trip Tale, Gets Chicago Premiere Starting Oct. 16", Playbill.com: News: U.S./Canada, Playbill, Inc., archived from the original on September 21, 2010, retrieved December 15, 2016
  3. ↑ Pincus-Roth, Zachary. "ASK PLAYBILL.COM: Those Pulitzer Finalists." Archived December 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, April 20, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  4. ↑ Interview with Settlement alum and Pulitzer winner Quiara Hudes, September 20, 2012, retrieved December 5, 2013
  5. ↑ Borcherts, Julia (April 10, 2013). "Tale of two playwrights". RedEye Chicago. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ Jimenez, Larissa (January 28, 2020). "Quiara Alegría '99 discusses art and disruption". Yale Daily News. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  7. ↑ Saldana, Lois (March 16, 2005). "Three alum playwrights chat about life, work and Brown's MFA program". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Hudes Joins Faculty". News @ Wesleyan. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ In the Heights Archived 2015-10-03 at the Wayback Machine lortel.org. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Meet the USA Fellows". USA Fellows. United States Artists. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Know Before You Go: Miss You Like Hell". lajollaplayhouse.org. 2016. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  12. ↑ Jones, Kenneth. "Caribbean Island Boy Comes of Age in Quiara Alegria Hudes' Award-Winning 'Yemaya's Belly', at Portland Stage" playbill.com, March 2, 2005.
  13. ↑ Pressley, Nelson. "Signature's 'Belly': Not Quite Full"The Washington Post, November 16, 2005
  14. ↑ Alegría Hudes, Quiara. "Introduction", Yemaya's Belly, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 2007, ISBN 0822221950, p. 5
  15. 1 2 Cox, Gordon (April 16, 2012). "Hudes scores Pulitzer: Playwright wins for 'Water'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Hoban, Phoebe. "Theater Review. 3 Generations of Soldiers' Stories in a Melancholy Key", The New York Times, February 7, 2006
  17. ↑ " 'Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue' Listing" newdramatists.org. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  18. ↑ Jones, Kenneth. "Atlanta's Alliance Announces New Season, Kicking Off With 'Spelling Bee'" playbill.com, February 28, 2006.
  19. ↑ Sierra, Gabrielle (February 19, 2009). "Hudes Returns To Alliance Theater With 26 MILES, Opens 3/25". Atlanta.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  20. ↑ Gardley, Marcus (July–August 2012). "Music is her Muse: Quiara Alegría Hudes and her Path to the Pulitzer". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  21. ↑ "The Pulitzer Prizes | Biography". Pulitzer.org. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Goodman Theatre Premieres The Happiest Song Plays Last By Pulitzer Prize-Winner Quiara Alegría Hudes April 13 - May 12, A Commissioned Work With Jíbaro Music From Legendary Cuatro Player Nelson Gonzáles" (Press release). Goodman Theatre. March 22, 2013. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  23. ↑ Sullivan, Catey (March 22, 2013), "What Pulitzer Winner Quiara Alegria Hudes Loves About Chicago", Chicago Magazine: Arts & Culture, Chicago Magazine, retrieved November 1, 2013
  24. ↑ Gordon, David. "Review. 'The Happiest Song Plays Last'" theatermania.com, March 3, 2014
  25. ↑ Michael Gioia, "The Happiest Song Plays Last, Third in Pulitzer Winner Quiara Alegría Hudes' Trilogy, Begins Feb. 11 at Second Stage", Playbill, February 11, 2014.
  26. ↑ Shapiro, Howard. "Review: 'Lulu's Golden Shoes,' smothered in fantasy". Newsworks.org. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Plays & Musicals". Quiara Alegría Hudes. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  28. ↑ "The Good Peaches | Cleveland Play House | 216.241.6000". www.clevelandplayhouse.com. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  29. ↑ Stasio, Marilyn. "Off Broadway Review: ‘Daphne’s Dive’ by Pulitzer Winner Quiara Alegria Hudes", Variety, May 16, 2016
  30. ↑ McNulty, Charles (November 14, 2016). "'Miss You Like Hell,' an immigration musical for the new Trump era". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  31. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 14, 2016). "Sony Animation Sets Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Vivo' For 2020 Bow". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
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