On February 15, 2009, Lin-Manuel Miranda made his final appearance in his Tony Award winning Broadway show In The Heights, and fans of the show worldwide gave a sad and sorry heave of breath as they thought that they would never hear the words of this magical musical be rapped onstage by their creator.
In late May however, it was announced that with a special engagement through the Pantages theatre, Lin-Manuel Miranda will be reprising his role as Usnavi for the Southern California premiere of In The Heights, which will raise its curtain on June 22nd at the Pantages theatre.
It was also recently announced that due to the sudden surge of ticket sales since this announcement, an extra two weeks of In The Heights has been pegged to the Pantages's schedule. Tickets for these two weeks just became available to the public on June 6th .
In The Heights follows the stories of the people, young and old, who live in New York's Washington Heights. It won a slew of Tony awards when it premiered in 2008, including best musical.
"To be honest, I've been itching to play with the tour cast since we began their rehearsals last fall," said Miranda. "It has been a joy to watch Kyle Beltran and the rest of this company make this show their own, and to win over audiences all over the country. I'm excited to play at the gorgeous Pantages Theatre, which I had the privilege of visiting two weeks ago. I can't think of a better way to prepare myself for the demands of playing Usnavi in the movie version of Heights. Most of all, I can't wait to get back on that stage, in Usnavi's shoes."
Yes, you read correctly. An In The Heights movie is currently in production, starring Miranda, but this engagement will not be one to miss. Also, an insider tip, Miranda will not be performing the Sunday Matinee 6/27, the Thursday Matinee 7/1, the Sunday Matinee 7/11, the Sunday Matinee 7/18 and the Sunday Matinee 7/25, so keep that in mind when purchasing your tickets.
James Bean