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
. The score features hip-hop, salsa, merengue
and soul music.
The musical's 2008 Broadway
production
was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards
and won the Tony Award for Best Musical
at the 62nd Tony
Awards.
Productions
Miranda
created the musical at Wesleyan University
and later presented a new version at the National
Music Theatre Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
in Waterford,
CT
. It then received a production at the
off-Broadway 37 Arts Theater opening on
February 8, 2007. Directed by Thomas Kail, with choreography by
Andy Blankenbuehler and music direction by
Alex Lacamoire, the cast featured
Priscilla Lopez, Christopher Jackson, Mandy
Gonzalez, Olga Merediz,
Karen Olivo,
Andréa Burns,
Robin de Jesús and
Lin-Manuel Miranda. It was
produced by Jill Furman,
Kevin
McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Sander Jacobs, (McCollum and
Seller produced the hit musicals
Rent and
Avenue Q). The
off-Broadway production was nominated for nine
Drama Desk Awards, winning two,
and closed on July 15, 2007.
The
Broadway production
began 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. It has received
favorable reviews praising its modern score, young cast,
choreography and set. The show was nominated for thirteen
Tony Awards, including Best Musical, book and
score, as well as for direction and choreography. Of those thirteen
nominations, it won four awards, including best musical, original
score, choreography and orchestration.
The producers announced on January 8, 2009 that the show had
recouped its $10 million investment after 10 months. The Broadway
cast recording was released on June
3, 2008 by
Ghostlight Records and
won the 51st Annual
Grammy Award for
Best Musical Show Album, besting the recordings of The Little
Mermaid, Young Frankenstein and the revivals of Gypsy and South
Pacific.
The first
national tour of In the Heights was announced on April 16, 2009, to
begin on October 27, 2009 in Tampa
, Florida
.
Characters
- Usnavi, the owner of a bodega in Washington
Heights. He was named after the first boat his parents saw when
they arrived in America which actually said "U.S. Navy."
He dreams
of going to the Dominican Republic
, his parents homeland. That dream was almost
a reality until he realizes that the barrio is his true home.
Abuela Claudia, the neighborhood matriarch, practically raised him.
He is in love with Vanessa.
- Nina, the daughter of Kevin and Camila.
She is the
first to go to college (Stanford University
), and everyone in the neighborhood admires
her. However, she dropped out of college, unable to get her
work done because she had to work two jobs to pay for school. Her
relationship with Benny becomes close.
- Abuela Claudia, the elder of the neighborhood,
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. She passes away towards the end of the
play.
- Vanessa works at Daniela's salon. She dreams
of getting out of the barrio and getting an apartment downtown. Her
mother "drinks away her money" so Vanessa cannot afford an
apartment.
- Benny, works at Kevin's dispatch. The only
African-American in the community, he falls in love with Nina. He
dreams of opening his own business, "Benny's Car Service."
- Sonny, Usnavi's sassy, lazy, yet ambitious
younger cousin who works in the bodega.
- Daniela, the outrageous owner of the salon
where the neighborhood girls gossip.
- Carla works at Daniela's salon along with
Vanessa.
- Kevin, 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, Nina's mother, who wants what's best
for Nina. She dreams of owning a restaurant.
- Piragua Guy ("Piragüero"),
the owner of a small piragua stand
that competes with Mister Softee.
- Graffiti Pete, Sonny's friend. Usnavi thinks
he is a vandal, but he is actually a good-hearted artist. Toward
the end of the play, he paints a mural of Abuela Claudia that
convinces Usnavi to stay in America.
Synopsis
Act One
In the pre-dawn darkness, alarm clock radios ring from scattered
windows announcing a record-breaking heat wave today, July 3.
The sun
rises, revealing the silhouette of the George
Washington Bridge
above the apartment buildings.
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 neighbors with their morning
coffee and papers. We meet Abuela Claudia, who raised Usnavi, and
Sonny, his young cousin who helps with the store. Everyone's
stories and dreams pass through this modest store front: his friend
Benny wants a promotion, the ladies who work at the salon want some
gossip, and Vanessa, Usnavi's love interest, wants an apartment in
a different part of town. Usnavi has a dream of his own: to one day
return to the island of his roots, the Dominican Republic.
As the morning rush subsides Nina Rosario enters, home at last from
her freshman year at Stanford. Usnavi is proud of her, and Abuela
Claudia invites the neighborhood star inside for a visit. But 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") Nina enters looking for her parents but finds
Benny showing off his skills on the microphone.
At the hair salon across the street Vanessa has financial troubles
of her own. Her mother drank away the money for the bills, and now
their electricity is shut off. Vanessa dreams of escaping to a
studio in the West Village; at the moment her only respite is a
stop by Usnavi's bodega. ("It Won't Be Long Now") Sonny asks
Vanessa out for Usnavi and she accepts.
Nina is helping Benny on the dispatch when her parents return. She
becomes nervous and reveals to her parents 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. Daniela
laments that this is her last day on the block. Due to a rent
increase, the salon is relocating to the Bronx. ("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. Daniela then teases Nina about
Benny, who has a crush on her, saying he has a "big taxi". When
talking to Nina about her getting out and going to college, Nina
reveals she dropped out, shocking the girls.The best "bochinche" of
the day is yet to come: someone bought a winning lottery ticket
from Usnavi's bodega. Everyone on the block dreams of how they'd
spend the small fortune. ("96,000") Abuela Claudia emerges amid the
hubbub to feed the pigeons. She reflects on her childhood journey
from Cuba to New York in 1943, remembering what her mother would
say, "Patience and faith" along the journey. ("Paciencia y Fe") She
reveals that she holds the winning lottery ticket.
As the sun begins to set, 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 they grew up with. ("When You're Home") The
stores close up for the evening as a piragua guy continues selling
flavored ice. ("Piragua")
At the Rosario household, Camila, Nina's mother, has been cooking
up a storm. Neighbors are enjoying the music and company when Kevin
enters late, but with an announcement. 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. Vanessa and Usnavi enter the club and begin to
dance. ("The Club") Tensions rise on the dance floor when,
suddenly, the power goes out. ("Blackout") Vanessa and Usnavi are
separated in the darkness. With fireworks exploding in the sky,
Nina and Benny find each other in the chaos and kiss.
Act Two
The next morning, Benny and Nina are on his fire escape after
spending the night together. ("Sunrise") Down on the street,
Usnavi's bodega has been looted. His awning is ripped and his
register gone. Abuela Claudia convinces Usnavi they should use her
lottery winnings to relocate to the Dominican Republic. Usnavi
agrees to get 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's too late. ("Enough")
It's 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. Vanessa, angered by the heat and
the events at the blackout last night, comes out and starts
complaining about the heat and how "you can't even go to a club
with a friend". Daniela, exasperated at the fact that Vanessa does
not know how Usnavi feels about her, finally tells her not to
"pretend that Usnavi is her friend" because everyone else knows
that he loves her. Usnavi announces to the crowd that Abuela won
the lottery. The celebration continues onto another block when a
noticeably upset Nina comes out and stops Usnavi from dancing,
pulls him into Abuela's house. Kevin makes an announcement over the
taxi radios: 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. Her parents
agree to sell the business, even if it means Kevin must return to
being a mechanic.
Across the street, as Daniela closes her salon forever, she reveals
one last bit of juicy news ("No Me Diga (Reprise)"). She will
cosign 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. She tells him all the reasons why he
should not go, and finally kisses him, telling him that she is not
mad, it is just too late. She leaves the store. Usnavi's mind is
still set on the Dominican Republic. ("Champagne") Sonny laments
that this is the end of an era.
Benny returns his uniform and car keys to Kevin. He will start
planning his own business now. But he worries about his
relationship with Nina: can they survive a long-distance
relationship without the blessing of her father? Nina and Benny
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. The
Rosario's Car Service sign is gone, showing evidence of the
previous Irish car service and Jewish bakery. In just a few weeks
he'll be gone too, and the block will be completely changed. But
Sonny's not content to leave without a trace. He has commissioned 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
realizes that this block is where his roots are, this "island" is
where he will stay. He is home. ("Finale")
Musical numbers
- Act I
- "In the Heights" — Usnavi, Company
- "Breathe" (Respira) — Nina, Company
- "Benny's Dispatch" — Benny, Nina
- "It Won't Be Long Now" — Vanessa, Usnavi, Sonny
- "Inútil" (Useless) — Kevin
- "No Me Diga" — Daniela, Carla, Vanessa, Nina
- "96,000" — Usnavi, Benny, Sonny, Vanessa, Daniela, Carla,
Company
- "Paciencia y Fe" (Patience and Faith) — Abuela Claudia,
Company
- "When You're Home" — Nina, Benny, Company
- "Piragua" — Piragua Guy
- "The Club" — Company
- "Blackout/Fireworks" — Company
- Act II
- "Sunrise" (Al Amanecer) — Nina, Benny, Company
- "Hundreds of Stories" — Abuela Claudia, Usnavi
- "Enough" — Camila
- "Carnaval del Barrio" — Daniela, Company
- "Atención" — Kevin
- "Alabanza" — Usnavi, Nina, Company
- "Everything I Know" — Nina
- "Piragua (Reprise)" — Piragua Guy
- "Champagne" — Vanessa, Usnavi
- "When the Sun Goes Down" — Nina, Benny
- "Finale" — Usnavi, Company
Cast and characters
Original Broadway Cast
Ensemble:Tony Chiroldes, Rosie Lani Fiedelman, Joshua Henry, Afra
Hines, Nina Lafarga, Doreen Montalvo, Javier Muñoz, Krysta
Rodriguez, Eliseo Roman, Luis Salgado, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Rickey
Tripp, Michael Balderrama, Blanca Camacho, Rogelio Douglas Jr.,
Stephanie Klemons.
- Broadway cast replacements
- Marcy Harriell replaced Karen Olivo as Vanessa on November 18,
2008.
- Rick Negron replaced Carlos Gomez as Kevin on December 19,
2008.
- Javier Muñoz replaced Lin-Manuel
Miranda as Usnavi on February 17, 2009.
- Justina Machado covered Andréa Burns as Daniela from June 29, 2009
until August 25, 2009.
- Will Wingfield replaced Seth Stewart as Graffiti Pete on August
25, 2009.
- Courtney Reed replaced Janet Dacal as Carla on September 29,
2009.
Film adaptation
On November 7, 2008,
Universal
Pictures announced that they plan to adapt the musical as a
feature film for release in 2010.
Television
On May 27, 2009, PBS
Great
Performances 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
and take the world by storm.
First National Tour
The first national tour of
In The Heights began in Tampa,
FL on October 27, 2009. Tour stops include: Atlanta, GA; St. Louis,
MO; Columbus, OH; Minneapolis, MN; Appleton, WI; Chicago, IL;
Hartford, CT; Boston, MA; Buffalo, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Cleveland,
OH; Baltimore, MD; Orlando, FL; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Naples, FL;
Houston, TX; Austin, TX; Denver, CO; Tempe, AZ, Los Angeles, CA;
San Diego, CA; and Costa Mesa, CA. Additional tour dates will be
announced soon.
Awards and nominations
- 2007 Outer Critics Circle
Awards
- Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical
(winner)
- Outstanding Choreography – Andy Blankenbuehler
(winner)
- Outstanding Director of a Musical – Thomas Kail (nominee)
- Outstanding New Score – Lin-Manuel Miranda (nominee)
- 2007 Lucille Lortel Awards
- Outstanding Musical (winner)
- Outstanding Choreographer – Andy Blankenbuehler
(winner)
- Outstanding Scenic Design – Anna Louizos (nominee)
- 2007 Drama Desk Awards
- Outstanding Ensemble Performance (winner)
- Outstanding Choreography – Andy Blankenbuehler
(winner)
- Outstanding Musical (nominee)
- Outstanding Director of a Musical – Thomas Kail (nominee)
- Outstanding Music – Lin-Manuel Miranda (nominee)
- Outstanding Lyrics – Lin-Manuel Miranda (nominee)
- Outstanding Orchestrations – Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman
(nominee)
- Outstanding Set Design of a Musical – Anna Louizos
(nominee)
- Outstanding Sound Design – Acme Sound Partners (nominee)
- 2008 Tony Award
- Best Musical (winner)
- Best Book of a Musical – Quiara Alegría Hudes (nominee)
- Best Original Score (Music or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre –
Lin-Manuel Miranda (winner)
- Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical – Lin-Manuel
Miranda (nominee)
- Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Robin De
Jesús (nominee)
- Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Olga
Merediz (nominee)
- Best Scenic Design of a Musical – Anna Louizos (nominee)
- Best Costume Design of a Musical – Paul Tazewell (nominee)
- Best Lighting Design of a Musical – Howell Binkley
(nominee)
- Best Sound Design of a Musical – Acme Sound Partners
(nominee)
- Best Direction of a Musical – Thomas Kail (nominee)
- Best Choreography – Andy Blankenbuehler
(winner)
- Best Orchestrations – Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman
(winner)
References
- Retrieved on April 4, 2007.
- Playbill News: In the Heights Will Play Broadway's
Richard Rodgers Starting February 2008
- List of 2008 Tony Award nominations
- Jones, Kenneth. "In the Heights Is in the "Hits" Category; Producers
Recoup Investment",playbill.com, January 8, 2009
- Jones, Kenneth. "'In the Heights' Tour Will Launch in Tampa, FL, in
October",playbill.com, April 16, 2009
- Gans, Andrew. "Universal Plans Silver-Screen Adaptation of In the
Heights'", playbill.com, November 7, 2008
External links
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