Until his “Hamilton” changed all the rules of what a hit musical could be, Lin-Manuel Miranda had a notable hit with “In the Heights.” The show ran on Broadway for three years, winning Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. It also won a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.
“In the Heights” has deep Connecticut connections. Miranda worked on the show while he was an undergraduate at Wesleyan University in Middletown in the early ‘00s. It was Wesleyan connections that led Miranda to meet director Thomas Kail, who helmed a 2005 workshop of “In the Heights” at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford. At that point the show had added Quiara Alegria Hudes as its book writer; Hudes later wrote the play “Water by the Spoonful,” which premiered at Hartford Stage and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The national tour of “In the Heights” played The Bushnell in 2010 and the Shubert in 2012. A film version has been in the works for a decade now; the movie rights were regained just last month by Miranda and Hudes, during the dissolution of The Weinstein Company.
The fast-paced, heavily populated and hip-hop driven “In the Heights” is based on Miranda’s own experiences as a young man growing up in the racially diverse New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights.
Several small theater companies, and numerous high schools, have performed “In the Heights” in recent years. The latest production, at Playhouse on Park June 13 through July 29, is directed and choreographed by two of that theater’s co-founders, Sean Harris and Darlene Zoller. The show stars Niko Touros as Usnavi, Amy Jo Phillips as Abuela Claudia, Stephanie Pope as Camila, JL Rey as Kevin Rosario, Analise Rios as Nina, Leyland Patrick as Benny, Sophia Introna as Vanessa, Nick Palazzo as Sonny, Paul Edme as Graffiti Pete, Sandra Marante as Daniela, Hartt School grad Paige Buade as Carla, and Willie Marte as Piraguero, with Olivia Ryan, Gabrielle Baker, Jon Rodriguez, Isiah Bostic, Maya Cuevas, Jahlil M. Burke and John Smith making up the ensemble.
Playhouse on Park is at 244 Park Road, West Hartford. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., with an added Tuesday matinee June 26 at 2 p.m. TIckets are $30-$40, $25-$35 for students and seniors and $17.50 for the preview performance.
