26 Miles

written by Quiara Alegría Hudes

directed by Norma Medina

“Cancel the Amber Alert!” “A joyful new comedy…”
—The Denver Post

In this hilarious and sweet coming of age tale, a vivacious Cuban mother reunites with her lonely, half-Jewish teenage daughter after eight years of estrangement. They embark on an impromptu cross-country road trip where they finally unpack the tension of different cultural identities and resentments as they discover a commonality they never knew they had.

Supported in part by LULAC

September 15 — October 2

Temple of Music and Art, Cabaret Theater
330 S. Scott Avenue

Quiara Alegría Hudes

writer

award-winning author of plays, musicals, screenplays and other literary works, combines an intellectual curiosity with a humanistic vision to tell new American stories.  Her musical theater work includes Broadway’s Tony Award-winning Best Musical, In the Heights (Tony Nomination for her book, Pulitzer Prize finalist, Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award) and the children’s musical Barrio Grrrl! (book and lyrics, Helen Hayes nomination for Theater for Young Audiences).  Her plays include A Soldier’s Fugue (Pulitzer Prize finalist), 26 Miles, Yemaya’s Belly (The Clauder Prize), and Water By the Spoonful.  Hudes was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she receive a Resolution from the City Award. Originally trained as a musician, her writing is strongly influenced by Western Classical, Afro-Cuban, and jazz.  Her first play was produced in the tenth grade by Philadelphia Young Playwrights, where she now serves as board member and mentor.  She received a B.A. in music composition from Yale and an M.F.A. in playwriting from Brown.  She is a resident writer at New Dramatists and the Joyce Fellow at the Goodman Theatre.

 

Norma Medina

Director

Tucson native, has been acting for 20 years and a member of AEA since 1993. Medina has been fortunate to work with theater companies such as: Borderlands Theater, Invisible Theater of Tucson, Mixed Blood Theatre of Minneapolis, The Detroit Institute of Art and Arizona Theatre Company; including performances in Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Providence. Norma directed Las Nuevas Tamaleras, Alicia Mena (International Tour); Loyalties, Timekeeper, Radio Days Plays, Playtime, Empty Basket, Unearthing the Tramp, Blue Streak, The Pillowman and Ruined. Medina worked with Guillermo Gomez-Pena in the formation of the performance art group, La Pocha Nostra and is a collaborative performer in The Temple of Confessions and Borderama. As a vocalist Medina was a featured singer for Tucson Pops Symphony’s, Music Under the Stars series with jazz musician Sherry Hoffman, and for the album Brazilian Jazz by Sherry Hoffman. Norma received her B.A. from Prescott College in Theater Arts and her MFA in directing at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City.

Yolanda Corrales

Beatriz

began her training at the Sangre de Cristo Art Center in Pueblo, Colorado.  Her focus was ballet, jazz and modern dance; however, she has gained exposure to a variety of cultural dances, music, and traditions that have heavily influence her career. Yolanda’s academic career was enriched by her flute playing, art, theatrical productions, photography, cultural and history studies. While attending Metropolitan State College in Colorado, she was offered an opportunity to dance as a principal with the Ballet Folklorico de Colorado.  Eighteen years later, she still dances, achieving such accomplishments as Co-Founder and Director of the Academia de Arte Folklorica; Dance Director/Teacher for Porterville Unified School District in California; & Instructor/Performer of Ballroom Dancesport.

Roberto Garcia

Manuel

returns to the Borderlands stage after a long hiatus. With Borderlands’ Garcia has appeared in: King of the Kosher Grocers, The Granny/La Nona, and Latins Anonymous.  He has also performed in and with other local/regional companies: Curanderas, The Invisible Theatre; One Crazy Dar, or the Marriage of Figaro, Arizona Theatre Company; Cinzano/Smirnova’s Birthday, Tucson Arts Theater and a.k.a. Theater; and Candide, Equus, and As You Like it, with The Cincinnati Playhouse in the park. Roberto received his B.F.A in theatre from the University of Arizona, and attended the Graduate Theatre program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.  Angela, Rosa y Alexa–love you!

Kristen Islas

Olivia

a Tucson native, recently received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona.  Kristen has performed in various opera productions including: Redwoods Opera Workshop in Mendocino, CA and Crittenden Opera Studio in Boston, MA; with the University of Arizona Opera, La Suor infermiera in Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini; with Southern Arizona Opera, Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible, an Opera by Robert Ward.  Kristen recently became a part of the Stories that Soar cast.  This is her first production with Borderlands and she is thrilled to work with such talented artists! She is very grateful for her loving and supportive family and friends!

Cliff Madison

Aaron

was born in Mesa, Az and grew up in Casa Grande and Tucson. He attended Sabino High School where he was a choir boy (in behavior and singing) and then Pima College. At Pima he was in a number of shows which included The Suicide, K2, and Cloud 9.  He was last seen as Matt Friedman in Talley’s Folly for Winding Road Theatre, Michael in Dancing at Lughnasa, Jane in The Mystery of Irma Vep and Inspector Thomas in The Unexpected Guest at Live Theatre Workshop.

Norma Medina

Director

Tucson native, has been acting for 20 years and a member of AEA since 1993.  Medina has worked with several theater companies such as: Borderlands Theater, Invisible Theater of Tucson, Mixed Blood Theatre of Minneapolis, The Detroit Institute of Art and Arizona Theatre Company – including performances in Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Providence.  Norma directed Las Nuevas Tamaleras, Alicia Mena (International Tour); Loyalties, Timekeeper, Radio Days Plays, Playtime, Empty Basket, Unearthing the Tramp, Blue Streak, The Pillowman and Ruined.  She worked with Guillermo Gomez-Pena in the formation of the performance art group, La Pocha Nostra and received her B.A. from Prescott College in Theater Arts and her MFA in directing at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City.