Plays in Process: A Ritchie Valens Musical

In 1958, Richard Steven Valenzuela, a teenager from the San Fernando Valley, went from obscurity to celebrity overnight. Within weeks of being discovered fronting his band at a high school dance party, he became rockstar and teen idol Ritchie Valens. And then on February 3, 1959, Valens and music icons Buddy Holly and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson tragically perished in a plane crash while on tour—later called “The Day the Music Died.”

Through Plays in Process, Seattle Rep will explore the creation of A Ritchie Valens Musical, which imagines a world where the plane landed without incident and Valens’ skyrocketing career would have continued unabated. Get a glimpse at the early creative process behind this new world premiere musical following the life of a pioneer in Latin rock music.