Giovanni Ortega, director/playwright, recommends yet another Brian Quijada show, Where Did We Sit on the Bus. Ortega comments on the solo show’s impact on him as a solo artist and playwright:
This obra infuses the five elements of hip-hop incorporating spoken word, DJing with looping, as well as live instrumentation. A true semblance of the immigrant experience told through the eyes of a 1.5 [generation] immigrant named B navigating a world that sees him as not Latino and not American enough. A story that many of us deal with every day.”
Rosarito Rodríguez-González, teaching artist, actor, lyricist, playwright, wants to speak on Olivia O by Jessica Carmona and Diane Currie Sam, with music by Gil Yaron and Angela Ortiz. Rodríguez-González remarks, “Olivia O follows a teenage girl detained by ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] as she navigates the system with courage and hope. With beautiful, powerful songs, the musical has been showcased at SheDFW, Spark NYC, and the Toronto Fringe.”
Jessica Carmona, playwright , lyricist, librettist, actress, and composer, relates to South First by Antonio Del Valle, who is one of her classmates in the BMI Lehmen Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. She describes South First, which “addresses issues such as gentrification in Brooklyn and the resulting displacement of communities of color and impacts [on] family relationships.” She is also excited about Bayano, an Afro Panamanian Odyssey by Darrel Alejandro Holnes. Carmona proclaims:
I witnessed the magic of this show at Joe’s Pub in April 2025, and the music is still with me. It tells the story of Bayano, an African who fought the Spanish Colonists in Panama and freed over 1,500 slaves. It also tells of the internal battle he has when he is pushed to decide between his own freedom or continuing the fight for the freedom of his loved ones and others still stuck in slavery. He speaks with the God Yemaya throughout the play. There is powerful Afro Panamanian folkloric music, dance, and culture strongly represented in the show.”
Playwright and book writer Phanésia Pharel is also highlighting Bayano, calling it “a gorgeous piece that submerges us into the world of Panamanian dance drama…. It’s an epic Afro-Latino story of redemption.”
Composer, orchestrator, and music director Saul Nache recommends the new hip hop musical Como Correr by Nico Rainmont, a queer coming of age love story set amidst a high school’s political revolution in 2016 Florida. Nache says, “It’s a musical that fuses rap and pop music stylings into this monumental soundscape that keeps you talking about it well after!”
Meanwhile, another composer, arranger, orchestrator, and music director, Felipe Segovia Sanhueza, is uplifting Maiga Vidal‘s Café con Leche: A New Musical. Felipe affirms that Café con Leche is “a rom-com set in Los Angeles starring Alejandra, the closeted daughter of Chilean immigrants Rosa and Joaquín. It’s a comedy that’s not only funny and catchy, but also profound, well crafted, and intimately connected to its city in every detail.” Adding his opinion to the mix is composer/lyricist David Gomez, who says that Café con Leche “will charm anyone who encounters it. I’d give anything to see this lovely musical rom-com have a regional or NYC production.”
In return, writer Maiga Vidal wants to uplift the international musical, Talcahuano, el musical! Vidal says: “It’s a musical written by Chilean writing team Valeria Peña and Felipe Segovia Sanhueza. I saw the pro-shot of it in September 2023, and it was the first time I ever saw a musical written about Chile by Chileans. It was an extremely moving and resonant experience to hear our Chilean accent onstage, not to mention hearing them sing! The story reminded me deeply of my parents and their experience before moving to the [United States] from Chile.”
Actor and playwright Danny Borba is shouting the praises of Our Own Odyssey by Chris Rivera and Joe Montoya. Danny accounts that “It follows the journey of a queer homeless youth. The music is great, and the story is freaking fantastic!” Our Own Odyssey had a notable production in New York with FUERZAfest where Chris Rivera was awarded the Best Supporting Actor accolade.
Actor Oscar Emmanuel Fabela, who recently starred in South Coast Repertory’s production of Cinderella: A Salsa Fairytale by Deborah Wicks La Puma (composer) and Karen Zacarías (book and lyrics) wants to highlight the many TYA musicals of La Puma and Zacarìas. Although the musical was published in 2008, which puts it earlier than the other musicals on this list, recent updates, rewrites, and productions like Fabela’s have inspired us to include it in our contemporary list of recommendations. Fabelas affirms that it holds up in its 2026:
This bilingual version of Cinderella takes Cenicienta and flips the princess narrative on its head. Instead of longing for a glamorous ball in which the potential of meeting the prince means a life-enhancing opportunity, Cenicienta uses her identity and skills to reach her dreams. No validation from a prince needed.
