On Sept. 23, Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02 spoke about the creation of the musical In The Heights during his time at Wesleyan. His talk, “When You’re Home: A Look Back at the Origins of In the Heights,” was sponsored by the Theater Department and Center for the Arts.
In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood — a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures. The musical is the winner of the 2008 Tony Awards for “Best Musical,” “Best Original Score” (Miranda ’02), “Best Choreography,” and “Best Orchestrations” (Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman ’02).Miranda sang a song from a musical he did at Westco Café, some melodies that were cut from the Wes version of In the Heights, and some new songs from his upcoming musical Hamilton at the Public Theater in New York City. He also talked about his theater experiences at Wesleyan and answered questions about writing musicals, the evolution of In the Heights from Wesleyan to off-Broadway to Broadway, acting and performing, composing songs for the Tony Awards, and how to keep the creative juices flowing.A Wesleyan production of In The Heights will be presented in the Center for the Arts Theater from Wednesday, Nov. 12 through Sunday, Nov. 16. The musical is directed by Associate Professor of Theater Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento, with music direction by Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Nadya Potemkina. The musical is a collaboration between the Music Department and Theater Department. (Photos by Jack Gorlin ’18)
Olivia Drake
James Sims
Editorial Staff
Ziba Kashef