Anthony Chisholm, Dariush Kashani, Tony Plana, Armando Riesco, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Annapurna Sriram Set for The Happiest Song Plays Last at Second Stage Theatre

Anthony Chisholm

Second Stage Theatre (2ST) is presenting the Off-Broadway production of Quiara Alegria Hudes’ The Happiest Song Plays Last, helmed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, at the Tony Kiser Theatre, 305 W 43rd St in New York. Preview performances begin on February 11, 2014 and continue through March 23, 2014. Opening night is set for March 3, 2014. Click here for tickets and more information.

The Happiest Song Plays Last is the third in Quiara Alegria Hudes’ Elliot trilogy of plays that began with Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, a play about a young Marine coming to terms with his time in Iraq and his father’s and grandfather’s service in Vietnam and Korea. The second play in the trilogy, the 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Water by the Spoonful, received its New York premiere at Second Stage Theatre in 2013, and continues the story of Elliot, who returns home to Philadelphia from Iraq haunted by demons from the past. The cast for

The Happiest Song Plays Last features Tony Award-nominee Anthony Chisholm (Radio Golf), Dariush Kashani who last appeared Off-Broadway in Homebody/Kabul, Tony Plana, who starred as “Ignacio Suarez” in the TV sitcom “Ugly Betty,” Armando Riesco who earlier this year starred in 2ST’s Off-Broadway production of Water by the Spoonful, Tony Award-nominee Elizabeth Rodriguez (Motherf*cker with the Hat) and Annapurna Sriram (Shar). In The Happiest Song Plays Last, cousins Elliot (Armando Riesco) and Yaz (Elizabeth Rodriguez), having long searched for their place in the community, discover the joy in coming home again and the comfort of family, both by blood and by love. While Elliot gets a lucky break in the film business, Yaz takes on the role of familial and neighborhood matriarch, nourishing those that pass through her door.

Armando Riesco once again returns to the role of ‘Elliot,’ which he first performed in Second Stage’s production of Water by the Spoonful, the second play in Hudes’ trilogy, a role which he also performed in the world premiere of The Happiest Song Plays Last which played at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre from April 13 – May 12, 2013. The creative team for The Happiest Song Plays Last includes set design by Mike Carnahan, costumes by Karen Perry, lighting by Rui Rita and sound design by Leon Rothenberg.

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Lia Chang. Photo by Brianne Michelle Photography

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia recently starred as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington, Roscoe Orman, Lorey Hayes, Marcus Naylor and Phynjuar.