Guillermo Reyes

"Hit Music," a play written and directed by School of Film, Dance and Theatre professor Guillermo Reyes, will be presented at the Nelson Fine Arts Center 131 as a free workshop Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. The play, which was sponsored by a seed grant from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, was first featured at Theater Works in Peoria in May 2016 under the invitation of the late Dan Schay, as part of the theater's new play development process.

The second presentation, at ASU, continues the development of the new play with a rewritten script and new songs and music. "Hit Music" narrates the story of a blended Italian-Latino family of singers in 1990s L.A. The "battle of wills" between Rudy Benedetti, the stubborn Italian-born father, and his two L.A.-bred sons culminates in a battle of musical styles. The play is both a comedic and poignant story about the passing of a generation and the coming into being of a new one.

"That's really the story of my life," Reyes says, "Though I certainly don't sing and my father was never Italian, but that's where the element of fable and invention comes in. Nonetheless, it mirrors certain aspects of my Chilean-American immigrant background."

The play includes the performances of ASU music and theatre alumni, ASU faculty and local actors.