The Happiest Song Plays Last: Nelson Gonzalez joins creative team

Grammy Award-nominated musician Nelson González has joined the creative team of Second Stage Theatre's upcoming Off-Broadway premiere production of Quiara Alegria Hudes' The Happiest Song Plays Last, opening at the Second Stage Theatre on 03 Mar 2014, following previews from 11 Feb 2014, and running through to 23 Mar 2014.

Nelson González, who is distinguished for his mastery of the Cuban Tres guitar, will oversee the production's musical elements and will lead a live band during performances.

Since the 1970s González has recorded and toured with all the major tops Latin Bands and artists, including Típica 73, Israel "Cachao" López, Los Kimbos, Fania All-Stars, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Eddie Palmieri, among others. He has been featured prominently on numerous Grammy Award-winning albums, and has performed on national television with Gloria Estefan, Paul Simon, Marc Anthony and many more.

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.

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.

Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, 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).

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 13 Apr - 12 May 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.