Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue by Quiara Algeria Hudes

Quiara Alegría Hudes is a poetic playwright. She has a way of capturing the beauty of the language even when the situations her characters are faced with are not happy. I just finished her play "Yemaya's Belly" and will have a review on that soon. First up is "Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue".

A fugue is a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts. This play is very much that. The play follows three generations of soldiers. It is absolute beauty. The play is fourteen scenes which are very short and make up the different aspects of the fugue.

We are introduced to Elliot. He is 18 and fighting in the Iraq war. He believes in what he is doing. The other characters in the play are his grandfather, father, and mother and they help narrate his story. His story intertwines with that of his family as their experiences in war are the same as his. The scenes layered and at times chaotic. The four characters create beautiful music without ever singing a note. They come together to tell their mutual stories and it is beautiful.

A prelude is an introductory piece of music, most commonly an orchestral opening to an act of an opera, the first movement of a suite, or a piece preceding a fugue. There are preludes within the fugue. In these moments we truly learn who the characters are. The main means of doing this is through the letters they write home. Grandpa, Pop, and Elliot all experience the same things in the war. They don't understand everything. They realize fighting in a war isn't everything they thought it would be. They try to fight the negative feelings taking them over. It is a lifelong struggle.

"Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue" is a play I would love to see live. I am also looking forward to reading more of Hudes' plays.