Hay Analysis – A Memoir of a Playwright

An analysis of your horse’s hay can provide valuable insight into its nutrients. A sample from each bale of hay is taken to a laboratory for examination, with results presented as percentages – however understanding all its abbreviations can be challenging!

This collection will add depth and diversity to the John Hay Library collection as well as Brown University’s commitment to diversity in special collections. Included are handwritten drafts, play scripts, notebooks and correspondence from prominent individuals in American theater.

Professional Career

Rivera has written over fifty plays in her professional career and had them produced by many major theater companies across the United States and Puerto Rico, such as Obie Award-winning Marisol about an academic Puerto Rican woman trying to find equilibrium amid chaos.

Rivera is also an accomplished salsa singer, having won various prestigious talent showcases. Her debut album, Empezando a Vivir, earned her the moniker of “El Bebe de la Salsa.” Many of her songs such as Amores Como El Nuestro, Dime Esa Nina y Cuenta conmigo became staples across Puerto Rico, Latin America, and the US.

Rivera has experience acting both on stage and screen; she has also written multiple screenplays and books.

Achievement and Honors

In 2002, Rivera received the Kennedy Center Honor as the inaugural Hispanic recipient. She won two Tony Awards from seven nominations, playing West Side Story, Chicago, and Bye Bye Birdie musicals on Broadway. Additionally, Rivera is a two-time Lo Nuestro Award and five Juventud Award recipient; her papers have also been acquired by Brown University Library to allow scholars and artists access to her thinking, aesthetics, and creative process as one of today’s Latinx playwrights.

Personal Life

As Rivera recounts her incredible life to an American journalist, the lines between truth and exaggeration can become unclear. Yet this book remains captivating reading as it provides a look into Mexico’s revolutionary times both artistic and political.

She adopted both of her parent’s maiden names to show respect, and as an ambitious self-made woman puts passion into everything she does while believing deeply in caring for others. With Jonathan’s dedication, Riverside Hay has grown from scratch over time into an established business for both him and his family.

Brown University’s John Hay Library recently acquired an archive of personal and professional documents from award-winning playwright Jose Rivera, including handwritten drafts, notebooks, correspondence and other materials that give scholars insight into Rivera’s artistic process.