Scan barcode
A review by asilrenrut
The Happiest Song Plays Last by Quiara Alegría Hudes
3.0
Read the last of the Hudes trilogy (the second play, Water by the Spoonful, won the Pulitzer and was being performed a few years back in Philadelphia.
This play still feels fresh and contemporary, with the added bonus of being set in Philadelphia, with neighborhoods appearing there. Hudes does interesting work bringing together people from radically different backgrounds--a Puerto Rican college professor and her cousin, Elliot (a vet from the Iraq War and now an actor in a movie about the Iraq War), Elliot's Iraqui-American movie co-star (and now wife) .... the play ends as the title suggests. Someone dies unjustly beforehand.
Water by the Spoonful had all of these elements but crackled with addiction, technology, and transcontinental wandering (both human and ghostly). It did the job better, I'll say, but that's like saying your pointer finger is the best on your hand.
Looking forward to reading the first of the trilogy.
This play still feels fresh and contemporary, with the added bonus of being set in Philadelphia, with neighborhoods appearing there. Hudes does interesting work bringing together people from radically different backgrounds--a Puerto Rican college professor and her cousin, Elliot (a vet from the Iraq War and now an actor in a movie about the Iraq War), Elliot's Iraqui-American movie co-star (and now wife) .... the play ends as the title suggests. Someone dies unjustly beforehand.
Water by the Spoonful had all of these elements but crackled with addiction, technology, and transcontinental wandering (both human and ghostly). It did the job better, I'll say, but that's like saying your pointer finger is the best on your hand.
Looking forward to reading the first of the trilogy.