In the Heights
Encyclopedia
In the Heights is a musical
with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes
. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City
Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights
.
After productions in Connecticut
(2005) and Off-Broadway
(2007), the show opened in a Broadway theatre
production in March 2008. This production was nominated for thirteen Tony Award
s, winning four: Best Musical
, Best Original Score
, Best Choreography
(Andy Blankenbuehler
), and Best Orchestrations
(Alex Lacamoire
and Bill Sherman). It was also a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
.
's student theater company The Second Stage, Miranda worked on adding "freestyle rap ... bodegas, and salsa numbers." It played from April 20, 1999 to April 22, 1999. After seeing the play, two Wesleyan seniors, John Buffalo Mailer
and Thomas Kail
approached Miranda and asked if the play could be expanded to be on Broadway. In 2002, Miranda and Mailer worked with director Tommy Kail and wrote five separate drafts of In the Heights.
in Waterford, CT in 2005.
37 Arts Theater, running from February 8, 2007 through July 15, 2007. Directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler
and music direction by Alex Lacamoire
, it was produced by Jill Furman
, Kevin McCollum
, Jeffrey Seller and Sander Jacobs. The off-Broadway production was nominated for nine Drama Desk Awards, winning two.
, starting in previews
on February 14, 2008, with an official opening on March 9, 2008 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
. The Broadway production was again directed and choreographed by Kail and Blankenbuehler, with most of the off-Broadway principals repeating their roles. The creative team included set design by Anna Louizos
, costume design by Paul Tazewell
, lighting design by Howell Binkley
, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, arrangements and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire
and Bill Sherman, and music coordination by Michael Keller.
The producers announced on January 8, 2009 that the show had recouped its $10 million investment after 10 months. The cast recording
was released on June 3, 2008, by Ghostlight Records and won the 51st Annual Grammy Award
for Best Musical Show Album, beating the recordings of The Little Mermaid
, Young Frankenstein
, and the revivals of Gypsy and South Pacific
. The Broadway production celebrated its 1000th performance on August 2, 2010.
The Broadway production played its final performance on January 9, 2011 after 29 previews and 1,185 regular performances, making it the 79th longest running show in Broadway history. The final cast starred Lin-Manuel Miranda, Arielle Jacobs
, Marcy Harriell
, Shaun Taylor-Corbett
, Olga Merediz
, Andréa Burns
, and Priscilla Lopez
.
, Florida
. The musical ran in San Juan, Puerto Rico
in November 2010, the first time an Equity tour has played in the city. Puerto Rico is the "ancestral home of its librettist Quiara Alegría Hudes and its star and Tony-winning songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda." Miranda will play this engagement. The national tour closed on April 3, 2011 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
in Miami, Florida
. At the time of its closing, the tour starred Joseph Morales as Usnavi.
.
In the Heights will return to Manila in March 2012.
national tour, starting on October 17, 2011, according to casting notices. Venues and cast members have yet to be announced, but rehearsals will begin September 12, 2011; the tour is scheduled to run until June 2012.
In the shadows, a young man sprays graffiti onto the awning of a bodega, but his artistic reverie is interrupted when the store owner, Usnavi, enters and chases him away ("In the Heights"). Usnavi opens his bodega and supplies everyone with their morning coffee and papers. We meet the major characters and neighbors as they pass by his bodega. As the morning rush subsides, Nina Rosario enters, home at last from her freshman year at Stanford. In a moment alone, Nina reveals that she struggled at college ("Breathe").
Meanwhile, Nina's parents seek an emergency loan from the bank to keep their struggling taxi dispatch afloat. They leave Benny, a young employee, in charge of the dispatch for the first time ("Benny's Dispatch"). At the hair salon across the street, Vanessa has financial troubles of her own. Vanessa dreams of escaping to a studio in the West Village, but doesn't have enough money to do so ("It Won't Be Long Now"). When she stops by Usnavi's bodega, Sonny asks Vanessa out for Usnavi, and she accepts.
When her parents return, Nina becomes nervous and reveals to them that she lost her academic scholarship and dropped out of Stanford. Her father, Kevin, is devastated that he cannot provide tuition without the scholarship ("Inútil"). Nina seeks comfort from her friend Vanessa, but the salon owner, Daniela, sits her down for a makeover and gossip session ("No Me Diga"). Daniela decides to tease Vanessa by telling her that Usnavi slept with one of the neighborhood skanks, just to see how Vanessa would react. Vanessa reacts in a way that shows that she likes Usnavi, but does not truly recognize it.
After Usnavi discovers he sold a winning lottery ticket worth $96,000, everyone on the block dreams of how they would each spend the small fortune ("96,000"). Later, Abuela Claudia reflects on her childhood journey from Cuba to New York in 1943, remembering her mother saying "patience and faith" along the journey ("Paciencia y Fe"). She reveals that she holds the winning lottery ticket.
Nina and Benny find themselves alone on the street. Nina admits that she felt like an outsider at Stanford, and Benny says that being the only African-American in a Latino-run business can be intimidating. The two take a tour of the neighborhood landmarks around which they grew up ("When You're Home").
At a dinner party, Kevin announces that he has sold Rosario's Car Service to pay for Nina's tuition. His news is met with anger. Nina follows Benny to a dance club, apologizing, but he is furious at Kevin's decision, which has put him out of a job. Vanessa and Usnavi enter the club and begin to dance ("The Club"). Tensions rise on the dance floor because Vanessa and Usnavi are attempting to make each other jealous.
Suddenly, the power goes out throughout the city ("Blackout"). Chaos ensues, and Usnavi loses Vanessa in the darkness, while Sonny and Graffiti Pete are at the bodega protecting it from vandals and trying to distract them with fireworks. Abuela Claudia reveals to Usnavi that she won the lottery. With fireworks exploding in the sky, Nina and Benny find each other and kiss.
Act Two
The next morning, Benny and Nina are on his fire escape after spending the night together. Nina teaches Benny Spanish. ("Sunrise") Down on the street, Usnavi's bodega has been looted. Abuela Claudia convinces Usnavi they should use her lottery winnings to relocate to the Dominican Republic. Usnavi agrees to be rid of his corner store and pursue his dream ("Hundreds of Stories").
Nina's parents have been searching for her all night, and when they learn that she has been with Benny, Kevin is furious. Kevin vows that Benny will never be a part of the Rosario family because he is not Latino. The family is at a breaking point when Camila instructs them to get it together before it is too late ("Enough").
It is high noon and the neighbors are frustrated by the extreme heat and continuing power outage. They muster enough energy for one last celebration before the bodega, the salon, and the dispatch shut their doors forever ("Carnaval Del Barrio"). People, led by Daniela, start to dance and sing. The celebration continues onto another block when a noticeably upset Nina comes out and stops Usnavi from dancing, pulling him into Abuela's house. Kevin makes an announcement over the taxi radios that Abuela Claudia has died ("Atención"). The neighbors reunite on the sidewalk, this time to hold a vigil in honor of the block's matriarch ("Alabanza"). Usnavi and Nina look through boxes of Abuela Claudia's keepsakes—old lottery tickets and photos from the block's history ("Everything I Know"). As Nina discovers photographs from her own high school graduation, she decides to accept her father's sacrifice and return to Stanford.
Across the street, as Daniela closes her salon forever, she reveals one last bit of juicy news ("No Me Diga (Reprise)"). She will co-sign on Vanessa's dream apartment in the West Village, thanks to a little convincing from Usnavi. Vanessa brings Usnavi a bottle of champagne to celebrate and asks him to stay, getting in an argument with him in the process, and she kisses him ("Champagne"). However, Usnavi's mind is still set on the Dominican Republic. Benny worries about his relationship with Nina. They stand together as the sun sets ("When the Sun Goes Down").
The next morning, Usnavi wakes up early to begin closing up shop. He sees the businesses around him: Daniela's salon is closed, and the Rosario's Car Service sign is gone. In just a few weeks, he will be gone, too, and the block will be completely changed. Sonny, however, is not content to leave without a trace. He commissions a graffiti mural of Abuela Claudia on the bodega's grate, and Graffiti Pete has stayed up all night completing the portrait. Sonny rolls down the bodega grate, revealing the memorial. Usnavi is stunned that they completed this all in one night, and he realizes that this block is his true home ("Finale"). He tells Sonny to tell the block that he has decided to stay, and promises himself that he's "stepping to Vanessa, [he's] getting a second date." He has found home.
Act II
† Designates number not included on original cast recording
said that "when this musical erupts in one of its expressions of collective joy, the energy it gives off could light up the George Washington Bridge for a year or two." Heather Bing of The Cleveland Leader wrote, "Although I was sometimes struggling to keep up with the hip-hop and Spanish-infused lyrics, the exciting set and choreography paired with excellent acting held my interest in the storyline." David Rooney's Variety
review said, "That depth of feeling, together with the wit of Miranda's lyrics, the playful dexterity of his rhymes, his dynamic score and a bunch of truly winning performances, make the show an uncalculated charmer."
Hudes' book received mixed reviews. Charles McNulty's The Los Angeles Times review mentioned that "the downside to In the Heights is the book...which is overstuffed and oversimplified." The New York Posts Clive Barnes also gave negative comments about the book, saying that "Hudes' work is droopily sentimental and untruthful." Joe Dziemianowicz of the NY Daily News also disliked the book, but added that "what it lacks in story and believability it makes up for in a vibrant rap- and salsa-flavored score, spirited dances and great-looking design."
announced that they planned to adapt the musical as a feature film for release in 2011. Kenny Ortega
was set to direct the film, which was slated to begin filming in summer 2011. However, the project was canceled in March 2011, when Universal opted not to produce the In the Heights film.
aired an episode entitled "In The Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams." It documents the journey taken by the cast and crew to bring the show to Broadway and to later win a Tony Award. Producer Andrew Fried
and Director Paul Bozymowski captured footage of the cast and creative team for over two years, from Off-Broadway through to their Tony Award win for Best Musical. The special previewed at the Paley Center for Media in New York on May 4, 2009.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Quiara Alegría Hudes
Quiara Alegría Hudes is an American playwright and author best known for writing the book for the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights.-Personal life:...
. The story explores three days in the characters' lives in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
.
After productions in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
(2005) and Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
(2007), the show opened in a Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production in March 2008. This production was nominated for thirteen Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s, winning four: Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack...
, Best Original Score
Tony Award for Best Original Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics...
, Best Choreography
Tony Award for Best Choreography
-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
(Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...
), and Best Orchestrations
Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
-1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King...
(Alex Lacamoire
Alex Lacamoire
Alex Lacamoire is an American music director and orchestrator, who has worked on many shows both on and off Broadway.Lacamoire was born in Los Angeles, California, and began to play piano at age three. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida when he was 9...
and Bill Sherman). It was also a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
.
Background
Miranda wrote the earliest draft of In the Heights in 1999, his sophomore year of college. After the show was accepted by Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
's student theater company The Second Stage, Miranda worked on adding "freestyle rap ... bodegas, and salsa numbers." It played from April 20, 1999 to April 22, 1999. After seeing the play, two Wesleyan seniors, John Buffalo Mailer
John Buffalo Mailer
John Buffalo Mailer is an American author, playwright, actor, producer, and journalist.-Life and career:Mailer was born in Brooklyn, the youngest child of novelist Norman Mailer and author Norris Church Mailer. Mailer is a graduate of Wesleyan University. He has written several screenplays and...
and Thomas Kail
Thomas Kail
Thomas Kail is an American film and theatre director, known for directing the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of the musical In the Heights.- Person life :...
approached Miranda and asked if the play could be expanded to be on Broadway. In 2002, Miranda and Mailer worked with director Tommy Kail and wrote five separate drafts of In the Heights.
Connecticut (2005)
A new version of In the Heights was presented at the National Music Theatre Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater CenterEugene O'Neill Theater Center
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...
in Waterford, CT in 2005.
Off-Broadway (2007)
It then opened at the off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
37 Arts Theater, running from February 8, 2007 through July 15, 2007. Directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler
Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...
and music direction by Alex Lacamoire
Alex Lacamoire
Alex Lacamoire is an American music director and orchestrator, who has worked on many shows both on and off Broadway.Lacamoire was born in Los Angeles, California, and began to play piano at age three. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida when he was 9...
, it was produced by Jill Furman
Jill Furman
Jill Furman–Willis is an American theatrical producer. Furman's father is producer Roy Furman. She married Richard Willis on May 4, 2008 at the Central Synagogue in New York City.- Career :...
, Kevin McCollum
Kevin McCollum
Kevin McCollum is one of the leading producers on Broadway. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1984....
, Jeffrey Seller and Sander Jacobs. The off-Broadway production was nominated for nine Drama Desk Awards, winning two.
Broadway (2008-2011)
The musical premiered on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, starting in previews
Preview (theatre)
Previews are a set of public performances of a theatrical presentation that precede its official opening. The purpose of previews is to allow the director and crew to identify problems and opportunities for improvement that weren't found during rehearsals and to make adjustments before critics are...
on February 14, 2008, with an official opening on March 9, 2008 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre, is a Broadway theater in New York City, built by Irwin Chanin in 1925. When it was first opened, it was called Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. Chanin almost immediately leased it to the Shuberts, who bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street...
. The Broadway production was again directed and choreographed by Kail and Blankenbuehler, with most of the off-Broadway principals repeating their roles. The creative team included set design by Anna Louizos
Anna Louizos
Anna Louizos is an American scenic designer and art director. She is best known for her Tony Award-nominated sets for the musicals In the Heights and High Fidelity, as well as the London, Broadway, Las Vegas, and touring productions of Avenue Q...
, costume design by Paul Tazewell
Paul Tazewell
Paul Tazewell is a costume designer for the theatre, dance, and opera. He has received three Tony Award nominations for costume design, the Helen Hayes Awards Resident Design for Outstanding Costume Design in 1993, two Lucille Lortel Award nominations, and the Theater Development Fund's Irene...
, lighting design by Howell Binkley
Howell Binkley
Howell Binkley is a professional lighting designer in New York City. He received the 2006 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a musical for Jersey Boys....
, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, arrangements and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire
Alex Lacamoire
Alex Lacamoire is an American music director and orchestrator, who has worked on many shows both on and off Broadway.Lacamoire was born in Los Angeles, California, and began to play piano at age three. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida when he was 9...
and Bill Sherman, and music coordination by Michael Keller.
The producers announced on January 8, 2009 that the show had recouped its $10 million investment after 10 months. The cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
was released on June 3, 2008, by Ghostlight Records and won the 51st Annual Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Musical Show Album, beating the recordings of The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (musical)
The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
, Young Frankenstein
Young Frankenstein (musical)
Young Frankenstein, officially known as The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein, is a musical with a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan and music and lyrics by Brooks. It is based on the 1974 comedy film of the same name written by Brooks and Gene Wilder and directed by Brooks, who has...
, and the revivals of Gypsy and South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
. The Broadway production celebrated its 1000th performance on August 2, 2010.
The Broadway production played its final performance on January 9, 2011 after 29 previews and 1,185 regular performances, making it the 79th longest running show in Broadway history. The final cast starred Lin-Manuel Miranda, Arielle Jacobs
Arielle Jacobs
Arielle Jacobs is a Filipino-American actress, mostly seen on stage in musicals.- Biography :Jacobs was born in San Francisco, with a Filipino mother and an American father. She later moved to Half Moon Bay, California, and then to New York...
, Marcy Harriell
Marcy Harriell
Marcy Harriell is an American musical theater and television actress.Harriell starred as Maria in a 1996 tour of the Broadway musical West Side Story and replaced Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi in the Broadway production of Rent. She made her Broadway debut on April 4, 1997...
, Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Shaun Michael Taylor-Corbett is an American actor, and is the son of choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett. Shaun is of Native American descent and has three sisters: Hunter, Conner, and Maddison. He also has a dog named Jazzbeau and four cats named Princess, Buster, Bambie, and Skooter. He is 5'7"...
, Olga Merediz
Olga Merediz
Olga Merediz is an American Broadway, TV, and film actress. Merediz is probably best known for originating the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights...
, Andréa Burns
Andrea Burns
Andréa Burns in Miami Beach, Florida, She is an American actress, singer and songwriter, primarily featured in theatre, recordings and television. She is married to Director Performer Peter Flynn, whom she met while touring in West Side Story...
, and Priscilla Lopez
Priscilla Lopez
Priscilla Lopez is an American singer, dancer, and actress.-Early life:Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York to Francisco Lopez, a hotel banquet foreman and Laura , who were moved to New York from their native Puerto Rico...
.
US Tour (2009-2011)
The first national tour of In the Heights began on October 27, 2009 in TampaTâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The musical ran in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
in November 2010, the first time an Equity tour has played in the city. Puerto Rico is the "ancestral home of its librettist Quiara Alegría Hudes and its star and Tony-winning songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda." Miranda will play this engagement. The national tour closed on April 3, 2011 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, commonly called The Arsht Center, is Florida's largest performing arts center and is located on Biscayne Boulevard in the Omni neighborhood of Downtown, Miami, Florida, United States...
in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. At the time of its closing, the tour starred Joseph Morales as Usnavi.
Cabaret Cares concert (2011)
On January 5, 2011, past and present cast members of In the Heights performed a Cabaret Cares concert at the Laurie Beechman Theatre to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDSBroadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the theatre community’s response to the AIDS crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the theatre community, on Broadway, Off-Broadway and across the country, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States...
.
Manila, Philippines (2011)
The international premiere opened in Manila, Philippines, on September 2, 2011, and played a limited engagement until September 18, 2011. The new production was directed by Bobby Garcia and starred Nyoy Volante as Usnavi.In the Heights will return to Manila in March 2012.
Non-Equity Tour (2011-2012)
In The Heights will begin a new, non-Equity United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
national tour, starting on October 17, 2011, according to casting notices. Venues and cast members have yet to be announced, but rehearsals will begin September 12, 2011; the tour is scheduled to run until June 2012.
Characters
- Usnavi, the owner of a bodega in Washington Heights. He was named after one of the first sights his parents saw when they arrived in America, a US Navy ship. He dreams of going to the Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, his parents' homeland. Abuela Claudia, the neighborhood matriarch, practically raised him. He is in love with Vanessa. - Nina Rosario is the daughter of Kevin and Camila. She is the first to go to college (Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
), and everyone in the barrio admires her. However, she returns home from school for the summer with difficult news to tell her parents. - "Abuela" Claudia is the elder and matriarch of the barrio who knows everybody and is like a grandmother to all (“abuela” means “grandmother” in Spanish). She is the one who looked after Usnavi when his parents died.
- Vanessa is Usnavi's love interest who works at Daniela's salon. She dreams of getting out of the barrio and getting an apartment downtown.
- Benny works at Kevin's dispatch. The only non-Spanish-speaking member of the community, he falls in love with Nina. He dreams of opening his own business, "Benny's Car Service."
- Sonny is Usnavi's sassy, lazy, yet ambitious younger cousin who works in the bodega.
- Daniela is the outrageous owner of the salon where the neighborhood girls gossip.
- Carla works at Daniela's salon along with Vanessa.
- Kevin Rosario is Nina's father, wants to make sure his family has everything they want. He is overprotective of Nina and owns Rosario's Car Service.
- Camila Rosario is Nina's mother, who wants what is best for Nina.
- The Piragua Guy ("Piragüero") is the owner of a small piraguaPiragua (food)A piragua is a Puerto Rican shaved ice dessert, shaped like a pyramid, consisting of shaved ice and covered with fruit flavored syrup which are sold by vendors, known as piragüeros, in small colorful pushcarts...
stand that competes with Mister SofteeMister SofteeMister Softee is a United States-based ice cream truck franchisor popular in the Northeast. It was founded by William and James Conway in 1956 in Philadelphia. It is one of the largest franchisors of soft ice cream in the United States. It has about 350 franchisees operating 600 trucks in 15...
. - Graffiti Pete is a graffitiGraffitiGraffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist and friend of Sonny. Usnavi believes he is a trouble-making vandal, but Pete is really a good-hearted artist.
Synopsis
Act OneIn the shadows, a young man sprays graffiti onto the awning of a bodega, but his artistic reverie is interrupted when the store owner, Usnavi, enters and chases him away ("In the Heights"). Usnavi opens his bodega and supplies everyone with their morning coffee and papers. We meet the major characters and neighbors as they pass by his bodega. As the morning rush subsides, Nina Rosario enters, home at last from her freshman year at Stanford. In a moment alone, Nina reveals that she struggled at college ("Breathe").
Meanwhile, Nina's parents seek an emergency loan from the bank to keep their struggling taxi dispatch afloat. They leave Benny, a young employee, in charge of the dispatch for the first time ("Benny's Dispatch"). At the hair salon across the street, Vanessa has financial troubles of her own. Vanessa dreams of escaping to a studio in the West Village, but doesn't have enough money to do so ("It Won't Be Long Now"). When she stops by Usnavi's bodega, Sonny asks Vanessa out for Usnavi, and she accepts.
When her parents return, Nina becomes nervous and reveals to them that she lost her academic scholarship and dropped out of Stanford. Her father, Kevin, is devastated that he cannot provide tuition without the scholarship ("Inútil"). Nina seeks comfort from her friend Vanessa, but the salon owner, Daniela, sits her down for a makeover and gossip session ("No Me Diga"). Daniela decides to tease Vanessa by telling her that Usnavi slept with one of the neighborhood skanks, just to see how Vanessa would react. Vanessa reacts in a way that shows that she likes Usnavi, but does not truly recognize it.
After Usnavi discovers he sold a winning lottery ticket worth $96,000, everyone on the block dreams of how they would each spend the small fortune ("96,000"). Later, Abuela Claudia reflects on her childhood journey from Cuba to New York in 1943, remembering her mother saying "patience and faith" along the journey ("Paciencia y Fe"). She reveals that she holds the winning lottery ticket.
Nina and Benny find themselves alone on the street. Nina admits that she felt like an outsider at Stanford, and Benny says that being the only African-American in a Latino-run business can be intimidating. The two take a tour of the neighborhood landmarks around which they grew up ("When You're Home").
At a dinner party, Kevin announces that he has sold Rosario's Car Service to pay for Nina's tuition. His news is met with anger. Nina follows Benny to a dance club, apologizing, but he is furious at Kevin's decision, which has put him out of a job. Vanessa and Usnavi enter the club and begin to dance ("The Club"). Tensions rise on the dance floor because Vanessa and Usnavi are attempting to make each other jealous.
Suddenly, the power goes out throughout the city ("Blackout"). Chaos ensues, and Usnavi loses Vanessa in the darkness, while Sonny and Graffiti Pete are at the bodega protecting it from vandals and trying to distract them with fireworks. Abuela Claudia reveals to Usnavi that she won the lottery. With fireworks exploding in the sky, Nina and Benny find each other and kiss.
Act Two
The next morning, Benny and Nina are on his fire escape after spending the night together. Nina teaches Benny Spanish. ("Sunrise") Down on the street, Usnavi's bodega has been looted. Abuela Claudia convinces Usnavi they should use her lottery winnings to relocate to the Dominican Republic. Usnavi agrees to be rid of his corner store and pursue his dream ("Hundreds of Stories").
Nina's parents have been searching for her all night, and when they learn that she has been with Benny, Kevin is furious. Kevin vows that Benny will never be a part of the Rosario family because he is not Latino. The family is at a breaking point when Camila instructs them to get it together before it is too late ("Enough").
It is high noon and the neighbors are frustrated by the extreme heat and continuing power outage. They muster enough energy for one last celebration before the bodega, the salon, and the dispatch shut their doors forever ("Carnaval Del Barrio"). People, led by Daniela, start to dance and sing. The celebration continues onto another block when a noticeably upset Nina comes out and stops Usnavi from dancing, pulling him into Abuela's house. Kevin makes an announcement over the taxi radios that Abuela Claudia has died ("Atención"). The neighbors reunite on the sidewalk, this time to hold a vigil in honor of the block's matriarch ("Alabanza"). Usnavi and Nina look through boxes of Abuela Claudia's keepsakes—old lottery tickets and photos from the block's history ("Everything I Know"). As Nina discovers photographs from her own high school graduation, she decides to accept her father's sacrifice and return to Stanford.
Across the street, as Daniela closes her salon forever, she reveals one last bit of juicy news ("No Me Diga (Reprise)"). She will co-sign on Vanessa's dream apartment in the West Village, thanks to a little convincing from Usnavi. Vanessa brings Usnavi a bottle of champagne to celebrate and asks him to stay, getting in an argument with him in the process, and she kisses him ("Champagne"). However, Usnavi's mind is still set on the Dominican Republic. Benny worries about his relationship with Nina. They stand together as the sun sets ("When the Sun Goes Down").
The next morning, Usnavi wakes up early to begin closing up shop. He sees the businesses around him: Daniela's salon is closed, and the Rosario's Car Service sign is gone. In just a few weeks, he will be gone, too, and the block will be completely changed. Sonny, however, is not content to leave without a trace. He commissions a graffiti mural of Abuela Claudia on the bodega's grate, and Graffiti Pete has stayed up all night completing the portrait. Sonny rolls down the bodega grate, revealing the memorial. Usnavi is stunned that they completed this all in one night, and he realizes that this block is his true home ("Finale"). He tells Sonny to tell the block that he has decided to stay, and promises himself that he's "stepping to Vanessa, [he's] getting a second date." He has found home.
Musical numbers
Act I- "In the Heights" — Usnavi and Company
- "Breathe" (Respira) — Nina and Company
- "Benny's Dispatch" — Benny and Nina
- "It Won't Be Long Now" — Vanessa, Usnavi, and Sonny
- "Inútil" (Useless) — Kevin
- "No Me Diga" — Daniela, Carla, Vanessa, and Nina
- "96,000" — Usnavi, Benny, Sonny, Vanessa, Daniela, Carla, and Company
- "Paciencia y Fe" (Patience and Faith) — Abuela Claudia, and Company
- "When You're Home" — Nina, Benny, and Company
- "Piragua" — Piragua Guy
- "Siempre (Always)" — Bolero Singer and Camila †
- "The Club" — Company
- "Blackout" — Company
Act II
- "Sunrise" (Al Amanecer) — Nina, Benny, and Company
- "Hundreds of Stories" — Abuela Claudia and Usnavi
- "Enough" — Camila
- "Carnaval del Barrio" — Daniela and Company
- "Atención" — Kevin
- "Alabanza" — Usnavi, Nina, and Company
- "Everything I Know" — Nina
- "No Me Diga (Reprise)" — Carla, Nina, Vanessa, and Daniela †
- "Piragua (RepriseRepriseReprise is a fundamental device in the history of art. In literature, a reprise consists of the rewriting of another work; in music, a reprise is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the...
)" — Piragua Guy - "Champagne" — Vanessa and Usnavi
- "When the Sun Goes Down" — Nina and Benny
- "Finale" — Usnavi and Company
† Designates number not included on original cast recording
Casts
| Character | Opening Broadway Cast | Closing Broadway Cast | Notable Broadway cast replacement(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seth Stewart | |||
| Lin-Manuel Miranda | Corbin Bleu Corbin Bleu Reivers , known professionally as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor, model, dancer, producer, and singer-songwriter. He performed in the High School Musical film series, the Discovery Kids drama series Flight 29 Down, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!... |
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| Olga Merediz Olga Merediz Olga Merediz is an American Broadway, TV, and film actress. Merediz is probably best known for originating the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights... |
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Janet Dacal Janet Dacal is a Cuban-American actress, singer, and performer in musical theatre. She received the Drama Desk Award for her performance in the Broadway musical In the Heights.- Early life :... |
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| Andréa Burns Andrea Burns Andréa Burns in Miami Beach, Florida, She is an American actress, singer and songwriter, primarily featured in theatre, recordings and television. She is married to Director Performer Peter Flynn, whom she met while touring in West Side Story... |
Justina Machado Justina Machado is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Vanessa Diaz in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under.-Early life:... Bianca Marroquín Bianca Marroquin is a Mexican musical theatre and television actress known as the first Latina to play in a starring role on Broadway and one of the youngest actresses to play Roxie Hart in a Broadway production of Chicago.... |
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Carlos Gómez (actor) Carlos Gomez is an American actor.-Biography:Carlos was born in New York, the son of Cora Gomez. He is a versatile character actor who has starred in both film and the small screen since the late 1980s. His first part in a film came in the form of a dancer looking to make it big in "Dance to Win "... |
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| Priscilla Lopez Priscilla Lopez Priscilla Lopez is an American singer, dancer, and actress.-Early life:Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York to Francisco Lopez, a hotel banquet foreman and Laura , who were moved to New York from their native Puerto Rico... |
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Robin de Jesús Robin de Jesús is an American film and theater actor of Puerto Rican descent. He is perhaps best known for playing the role of Sonny in the 2008 Broadway musical In the Heights, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.In 2010, he joined the revival cast... |
Shaun Taylor-Corbett Shaun Michael Taylor-Corbett is an American actor, and is the son of choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett. Shaun is of Native American descent and has three sisters: Hunter, Conner, and Maddison. He also has a dog named Jazzbeau and four cats named Princess, Buster, Bambie, and Skooter. He is 5'7"... |
David Del Rio David Del Rio is an American actor best known for starring on the Nickelodeon series The Troop. He graduated from New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida in 2006, and afterward graduated from the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, School of Film and Television.He recently departed... |
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| Christopher Jackson | |||
Karen Olivo Karen Olivo is a stage and television actress, who is known for originating the role of Vanessa in the Tony Award–winning musical In the Heights both on and off Broadway. She won her Tony Award for her performance as Anita in the revival of West Side Story... |
Marcy Harriell Marcy Harriell is an American musical theater and television actress.Harriell starred as Maria in a 1996 tour of the Broadway musical West Side Story and replaced Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi in the Broadway production of Rent. She made her Broadway debut on April 4, 1997... |
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Mandy Gonzalez Mandy Gonzalez is an American actress and singer, who most recently finished a 10-month run as Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked.-Early life and education:... |
Arielle Jacobs Arielle Jacobs is a Filipino-American actress, mostly seen on stage in musicals.- Biography :Jacobs was born in San Francisco, with a Filipino mother and an American father. She later moved to Half Moon Bay, California, and then to New York... |
Jordin Sparks Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history... |
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Original Off-Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Clarence Derwent Award | Lin-Manuel Miranda | ||
| Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
Outstanding Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since. Before the 21st Drama Desk Awards, acting awards were given without making distinctions between roles in straight dramas as opposed to musicals, nor were there... |
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| Outstanding Ensemble Performance Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category... |
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| Outstanding Director of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
Thomas Kail Thomas Kail Thomas Kail is an American film and theatre director, known for directing the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of the musical In the Heights.- Person life :... |
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| Outstanding Choreography Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography -1970s:* 1970: Ron Field – Applause** No nominees* 1971: Michael Bennett – Follies and Donald Saddler – No, No, Nanette** No nominees* 1972: Patricia Birch – Grease and Jean Erdman – Two Gentlemen of Verona... |
Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:... |
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| Outstanding Music Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Lin-Manuel Miranda | |||
| Outstanding Lyrics Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
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| Outstanding Orchestrations Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Alex Lacamoire Alex Lacamoire Alex Lacamoire is an American music director and orchestrator, who has worked on many shows both on and off Broadway.Lacamoire was born in Los Angeles, California, and began to play piano at age three. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida when he was 9... and Bill Sherman |
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| Outstanding Set Design Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee composed of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Anna Louizos Anna Louizos Anna Louizos is an American scenic designer and art director. She is best known for her Tony Award-nominated sets for the musicals In the Heights and High Fidelity, as well as the London, Broadway, Las Vegas, and touring productions of Avenue Q... |
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| Outstanding Sound Design Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Sound Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors. It honors the sound designers of productions staged on Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and for legitimate not-for-profit theaters, all... |
Acme Sound Partners | |||
| Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Musical | |||
| Outstanding Choreographer | Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:... |
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| Outstanding Scenic Design | Anna Louizos Anna Louizos Anna Louizos is an American scenic designer and art director. She is best known for her Tony Award-nominated sets for the musicals In the Heights and High Fidelity, as well as the London, Broadway, Las Vegas, and touring productions of Avenue Q... |
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| Obie Award Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City... |
Music and Choreography | Lin-Manuel Miranda | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets... |
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | |||
| Outstanding New Score | Lin-Manuel Miranda | |||
| Outstanding Director of a Musical | Thomas Kail Thomas Kail Thomas Kail is an American film and theatre director, known for directing the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of the musical In the Heights.- Person life :... |
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| Outstanding Choreography | Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:... |
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| Theatre World Award Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:... |
Lin-Manuel Miranda | |||
Original Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Broadway.com Audience Award | Favourite Breakthrough Performance | Lin-Manuel Miranda | |
| Favourite New Broadway Song | "In the Heights" | |||
| Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... |
Best Musical Show Album Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award was given only to the album producer, and to the composer and lyricist who wrote at least 51% of the music which had not been recorded previously.... |
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| Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Musical Tony Award for Best Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack... |
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| Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligible... |
Quiara Alegría Hudes Quiara Alegría Hudes Quiara Alegría Hudes is an American playwright and author best known for writing the book for the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights.-Personal life:... |
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| Best Original Score Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics... |
Lin-Manuel Miranda | |||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947... |
Robin de Jesús Robin de Jesús Robin de Jesús is an American film and theater actor of Puerto Rican descent. He is perhaps best known for playing the role of Sonny in the 2008 Broadway musical In the Heights, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.In 2010, he joined the revival cast... |
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| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976.... |
Olga Merediz Olga Merediz Olga Merediz is an American Broadway, TV, and film actress. Merediz is probably best known for originating the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights... |
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| Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions... |
Thomas Kail Thomas Kail Thomas Kail is an American film and theatre director, known for directing the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of the musical In the Heights.- Person life :... |
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| Best Choreography Tony Award for Best Choreography -1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls... |
Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:... |
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| Best Orchestrations Tony Award for Best Orchestrations -1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King... |
Alex Lacamoire Alex Lacamoire Alex Lacamoire is an American music director and orchestrator, who has worked on many shows both on and off Broadway.Lacamoire was born in Los Angeles, California, and began to play piano at age three. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida when he was 9... and Bill Sherman |
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| Best Scenic Design | Anna Louizos Anna Louizos Anna Louizos is an American scenic designer and art director. She is best known for her Tony Award-nominated sets for the musicals In the Heights and High Fidelity, as well as the London, Broadway, Las Vegas, and touring productions of Avenue Q... |
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| Best Costume Design Tony Award for Best Costume Design These are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals... |
Paul Tazewell Paul Tazewell Paul Tazewell is a costume designer for the theatre, dance, and opera. He has received three Tony Award nominations for costume design, the Helen Hayes Awards Resident Design for Outstanding Costume Design in 1993, two Lucille Lortel Award nominations, and the Theater Development Fund's Irene... |
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| Best Lighting Design Tony Award for Best Lighting Design This is a list of the winners of the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a play or musical, first presented in 1970. In 2005 the category was divided with each genre represented separately.-1970s:* 1970: Jo Mielziner – Child's Play... |
Howell Binkley Howell Binkley Howell Binkley is a professional lighting designer in New York City. He received the 2006 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a musical for Jersey Boys.... |
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| Best Sound Design Tony Award for Best Sound Design The first Tony Award for "Best Sound Design of a Play" and "Best Sound Design of a Musical" was given in the 2007-2008 season.-2000s:*2008: Mic Pool – The 39 Steps**Simon Baker – Boeing-Boeing**Adam Cork – Macbeth... |
Acme Sound Partners | |||
| 2009 | Pulitzer Prize Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City... |
Pulitzer Prize for Drama Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year... |
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Reception
The reviews for the show were positive to mixed (the median grade of 9 major reviews was "B+"). Charles Isherwood's review in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said that "when this musical erupts in one of its expressions of collective joy, the energy it gives off could light up the George Washington Bridge for a year or two." Heather Bing of The Cleveland Leader wrote, "Although I was sometimes struggling to keep up with the hip-hop and Spanish-infused lyrics, the exciting set and choreography paired with excellent acting held my interest in the storyline." David Rooney's Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
review said, "That depth of feeling, together with the wit of Miranda's lyrics, the playful dexterity of his rhymes, his dynamic score and a bunch of truly winning performances, make the show an uncalculated charmer."
Hudes' book received mixed reviews. Charles McNulty's The Los Angeles Times review mentioned that "the downside to In the Heights is the book...which is overstuffed and oversimplified." The New York Posts Clive Barnes also gave negative comments about the book, saying that "Hudes' work is droopily sentimental and untruthful." Joe Dziemianowicz of the NY Daily News also disliked the book, but added that "what it lacks in story and believability it makes up for in a vibrant rap- and salsa-flavored score, spirited dances and great-looking design."
Film adaptation
On November 7, 2008, Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
announced that they planned to adapt the musical as a feature film for release in 2011. Kenny Ortega
Kenny Ortega
Kenneth John "Kenny" Ortega is an American producer, director, and choreographer. He is known for directing the High School Musical trilogy and Michael Jackson's This Is It concert tour.-Life and career:...
was set to direct the film, which was slated to begin filming in summer 2011. However, the project was canceled in March 2011, when Universal opted not to produce the In the Heights film.
Television
On May 27, 2009, PBS Great PerformancesGreat Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
aired an episode entitled "In The Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams." It documents the journey taken by the cast and crew to bring the show to Broadway and to later win a Tony Award. Producer Andrew Fried
Andrew Fried
Andrew Fried is an American television producer and film producer.Fried attended the Long Beach High School in New York. He has produced such television shows as Iconoclasts, Britney: For the Record and the Great Performances special, In The Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams.-External links:...
and Director Paul Bozymowski captured footage of the cast and creative team for over two years, from Off-Broadway through to their Tony Award win for Best Musical. The special previewed at the Paley Center for Media in New York on May 4, 2009.