By Brianna Holcomb

arts and entertanment editor

Quiara Alegria Hudes is no stranger to the world of music and literature. She is the author of the Tony Award-winning book for the Broadway musical “In the Heights” and recently wrote “The Elliot Trilogy,” which are three plays that follow a coming-of-age story of a young man.

Hudes’s personality is very charismatic and her personality is reflected in her writing. At the start of the show she read an excerpt from her play, “In the Heights.” Hudes changes into her character when she is reading her work. Her characters are relatable and entertaining to the reader.

During the “Great Writers Great Readings” series, she introduced us to her new musical, tentatively titled, “Miss You like Hell.” Along with having the pleasure of hearing about her most recent and upcoming project, this was the first time a musical performance was included in a “Great Writers Great Readings” series.

Her newest project is about a young girl and her relationship with her mother. The story focuses on their road trip that takes place from Philadelphia to California. The girl’s mother wants to spend her last week in America before she may get deported as well as ask her daughter to testify for her during the deportation hearing. The story is based off of her play “26 Miles.”

Quiara Hudes entertained the audience with five songs from this new play, accompanied by her collaborator Erin McKeown. Each song they sang captured the characters dilemma and, of course, was very entertaining to listen to. The songs told the stories and adventures that took place during this musical. To add a musical performance to this series made the story come alive.

She also gave the audience a behind-the-scenes peek at the creative process of making a musical. “It’s like doing a crossword puzzle where one thing fits and you have to come at it for the rest of those things to fit,” McKeown told the audience in reference to writing the songs.

During the performance it was evident that a lot of time and work went into making these songs fit perfectly for the story line and the characters. Hudes takes care to make sure her music covers all aspects and dimensions of her characters.

As Hudes and McKeown continue to work on this new project, it is clear to see that the end result will be another enjoyable piece.