Pulitzer Prize-winning Water by the Spoonful playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes will write a Latin music-infused film, Life Is a Carnival, for Warner Bros., according to Variety.
In the Heights producers Scott Sanders and Mara Jacobs will again collaborate with Hudes following her Tony-nominated book for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical. Hudes also penned the screenplay for Jon M. Chu's upcoming movie adaptation of Heights.
“I was hungry to write a story about generations of Latinas that folded in the survival, struggle, and celebration my own elders modeled for me,” Hudes said in a statement. “The opportunity to tell such a tale with the rich traditions of salsa and Latin music, to grapple with and engage those delicious syncopations and complex sonorities—well, I couldn’t pass it up! To me, Latin music means party and protest. It means community and history. It means joy and self-determination. I’m excited to begin this new creative journey.”
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“We are delighted to collaborate with Quiara once again, especially on this original and colorful story which celebrates the vibrancy of Latin music as a key component of the narrative,” Sanders added. “Quiara is one of the greatest storytellers of our time, and we are thrilled to have the chance to bring her unique voice to these characters. The pent-up anticipation for the release of In the Heights demonstrates that the public is very eager to see more Latinx stories. We are grateful to our partners at Warner Bros. for sharing our vision.”
No word yet on a production or release timeline.
Hudes’ Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Sanders is currently developing a film adaptation of the musical The Color Purple, which he produced in 2005 and 2015; he and Jacobs are also producing a film musical for Universal penned by Legally Blonde's Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe.
