In “Miss You Like Hell”, Janyce Caraballo plays Olivia, a complex, brainy teenager who starts out sullen and surly but blossoms in the course of this epic road trip musical.. Caraballo isn’t just a talented actor—she’s a teaching artist at the Chicago High School for the Arts and Silk Road Rising, a community-centered art-making and arts service organization rooted in Asian, Middle Eastern, and Muslim experiences. We asked her a few questions about her experience working on this production at TheatreSquared.

A lot of the reviews for this show mention that this isn’t like other musicals—it’s got such a fresh sound. What are your thoughts on the score?

Oh my gosh, the music is incredible. Every song is a hit. And it's really fun because they're all pretty different from one another as well. A lot of different genres. You're on a road trip, and what kind of music do you listen to while you're on the way? Every character brings their own flavor and style and genre of music along with their story. So it's a lot of fun. But it's a lot of hard work, because Olivia, in particular, her lyrics are all very poetic, and she loves using words—she’s a wordsmith. That’s definitely been difficult as far as getting it into my brain and body. But it just makes so much sense because each character sings the way that would expect them to when it comes to who they are and their personality.

Was it a big moment when you all heard yourself singing together in one of the first rehearsals?

Yes, definitely. It was so exciting. I remember the first time Cisca, who plays my Mom, and I sang together. We just turned to each other. It was such a big deal. It's great that everyone's so talented. Their voices are so incredible that I always feel lucky when I get to sit back and just hear everyone else singing because it's such a talented cast.

You and Francisca have to portray a relationship on stage that has been through so much, and that has so much going on underneath the surface, such a history— how easy or hard is it to create that with another actor in just the three weeks that you have for rehearsal?

It can be difficult. And I did have some anxiety coming in with that. This relationship is the heart of the story, and you want to make sure that you do it justice. But I think, pretty early on, Cisca and I realized that we were going to be just fine. We get along so well. We're constantly laughing. Yesterday in rehearsal, we were on hold and she and I were just laughing and talking about things and people were just waiting for us so that we can get back to work, because we were just in our own little world and bubble. So it's been really nice to kind of just immediately have that bond with her. It's difficult having the angry scenes with her—there's a lot of dialogue that kind of cuts you to the core and it punches you in the stomach. And I'm grateful to be performing that with an actor that I trust so much already.

The play delves into the immigration system in this country, how unfair it can be, how it can tear families apart. Considering that, what do you hope this play conveys to the audiences that come and see it?

I think this story does a great job of just introducing you to one of the situations that folks might be going through right now. It’s that thing that humans have—you never really think of a situation until it directly affects you. That's normal. But I think this show kind of brings to the forefront the unjust systems that have been in place for a very long time. Even people who are “trying to do it the right way” come out on the losing end, which is very difficult to swallow, but it's also the truth, and it's reality. But it's also so nice to see all of those people who are dealing with this struggle be full of so much life and love and depth. Their tragic circumstances are not who they are and it's not their only identity, and it's really nice to see Beatriz, in particular, be such a layered woman and have this relationship with her daughter, as she’s trying to establish her status in the states. It's just a part of who she is, but she kind of doesn't let that take her joy.

Janyce Caraballo: "Miss You Like Hell" portrays immigration struggle "full of so much life and love and depth"