Overview
When a whip-smart, deeply imaginative teenager agrees to take a road trip with her free-spirited Latina mother, neither can imagine where it will take them. Chance encounters with a medley of characters along the way brings them closer to understanding what sets them apart—and what connects them forever. At the heart of the story is a mother-daughter relationship complicated and threatened by immigration policies. MISS YOU LIKE HELL reminds us that musicals have the power to explore the exposed territory where political becomes personal. Featuring compelling original songs that are every bit as diverse and eclectic as America, MISS YOU LIKE HELL is a new musical that exudes the joy, love and frustration of being a family in a changing country.
- “POWERFUL & COMPLEX. A FRESH TAKE on the American road story, filled with people and ideas we rarely get to see onstage.” – The New York Times
- “A timely political edge, an ethnically diverse cast, and a score by a singer-songwriter who knows how to rock.” – Variety
- “Two SERIOUSLY RICH roles for women, each with IMPORTANT THINGS WORTH SINGING ABOUT.” – The New York Times
Casting & Production
Casting
3 female and 3 male featured roles.
Opportunities for flexible casting in the ensemble.
OLIVIA: half-Latina, sixteen
BEATRIZ: Mexican-American, late thirties to early-forties
PEARL: African-American, sixteen
MO: Southern, in retirement
HIGGINS: also Southern, also in retirement
MANUEL: Peruvian, a day laborer, thirties to fifties
ENSEMBLE of singers who step into the story as:
A LAWYER
AN OFFICER
A LEGAL CLERK
A GUY AT A MOTEL DESK
AN ICE OFFICIAL
The ensemble roles can be any gender (character names and pronouns can be changed).
Orchestral Information
7 MUSICIANS
Keyboard-Conductor (Key 1, Accordion)
Guitar (Acoustic, Electric)
Violin
Viola
Cello
Bass (Synth Bass, Electric Bass, Uke Bass*)
Drums (Kit, Drum Pad, Percussion)
Percussion List: Djembe, Riq (North African tambourine), Mini timbale, Triangle on miller machine, Ching ring, Shakers (LP soft shake, LP black maraca, LP twist shaker red – loud, Schlagwerk “mezzo” shaker used for “Sundays”)
SPD-Sx and accompanying electronic bd pedal
Sticks, cymbal mallets, multi-sticks (stick side, mallet side), brushes.
*The original production used a uke bass, but you can substitute an upright.
Credits
MISS YOU LIKE HELL
Book & Lyrics by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Music & Lyrics by Erin McKeown
Media
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