Music & Lyrics by Gloria Estefan and Emily Estefan Nine-time Grammy Award® winner Gloria Estefan — whose music has sold over 100 million records worldwide — has shaped generations through song. Now, she joins her daughter and acclaimed singer-songwriter Emily Estefan, to co-write the music and lyrics for Basura, a powerful and bold new musical inspired by the true story of Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra, where young artists turn scrap material into instruments and music into possibilities. This world premiere musical continues Estefan’s global legacy — proving that music can rise from anywhere and change everything. What do you do when the world gives you nothing? You build something beautiful. In a community against all odds, an inspired music teacher starts an orchestra for the students, but they have no instruments. Empty paint cans, a fork, and a bent license plate become a violin, an oil drum transforms into a colorful cello, and the newly formed orchestra hits every note to the beat of something bigger. When the students' instruments become symbols of possibility, the sound is heard around the world. Basura is directed by the Broadway stage visionary Michael Greif (Rent, Dear Evan Hansen), and written by National Latino Playwriting Award-winner Karen Zacarías (Native Gardens, Destiny of Desire). Grammy Award® and Tony Award® winner Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton, In the Heights) is the musical supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger. Patricia Delgado (Buena Vista Social Club) will choreograph, and Ken Cerniglia (Hadestown, Newsies) rounds out the team as dramaturg. Based on the award-winning documentary film Landfill Harmonic, the new musical carries the sound of Paraguay’s Recycled Orchestra farther than anyone could have ever imagined. Basura is an unforgettable journey of rhythm, resilience, and extraordinary music — a radiant, heart-swelling reminder that even in the most unlikely places, you can build something beautiful.
Book by Karen Zacarías
Directed by Michael Greif
Choreography by Patricia Delgado
Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements by Alex Lacamoire
Music Direction by Cynthia Meng
Dramaturgy by Ken Cerniglia
Ages: Best enjoyed by audiences 8 and up.
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Underground Rep (1/31/26-7/5/26)
Duel Reality (2/5/26-3/1/26)
Fires, Ohio (2/25/26-3/22/26)
Rhythm & Thread (2/28/26-4/26/26)
BASURA (5/30/26-7/12/26)
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The Alliance Theatre is Atlanta’s national theater, expanding hearts and minds onstage and off. Founded in 1968, the Alliance Theatre is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. Under the leadership of Susan V. Booth, the Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, the Alliance Theatre received the Regional Theatre Tony Award® in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education and community engagement.
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