From Chicago to Rent, the way that Broadway musicals are able to translate onto the big screen is almost always a gamble. When it was announced that the Grammy & Tony Award winning production In The Heights would be making its way to Hollywood (along with the music and lyrics penned by Lin Manuel Miranda) expectations were very high. With the release of the In The Heights trailer earlier today, those expectations look to have been met. The musical based upon a glorious and proud immigrant community is gritty, filled with color, & breathtaking.
With a setting in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood the musical tracks the lives of immigrants and the generations that follow them, which includes Usnavi (the role Miranda himself originated in the stage production) portrayed by Anthony Ramos, last seen in A Star Is Born. Usnavi owns the local bodega and dreams of winning big in the lottery and making it out of the barrio. Love comes along in the form of Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) and the quintessential steamy New York summer brings complications from characters from all parts of the neighborhood, as well as from Vanessa and Unsavi themselves.
The supporting cast showcases an all star roster of some of the most talented actors around, all staying true to the original story of proud immigrants and the communities that they have made for themselves. From Gregory Diaz as Sonny de la Vega, and Marc Anthony as Sonny’s father, while Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz plays salon worker Carla. In an inspired nod to Broadway history, Rent‘s original Mimi Marquez, Daphne Rubin-Vega, plays salon owner (and neighborhood gossip) Daniela. Orange Is the New Black‘s Dascha Polanco is Cuca, while Jimmy Smits plays Kevin Rosario. Miranda pays homage to the show that made him a star with a small role as as Piragüero — the owner of a small piragua stand, that tries competing with neighborhood favorite Mister Softee.
In The Heights Hits Theaters Summer 2020
Art Courtesy-In The Heights (Twitter)
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