Broadway Buzz- in the Heights
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Broadway Buzz- In The Heights PLAYHOUSESQUARE WELCOMES IN THE HEIGHTS PlayhouseSquare bids bienvenido (welcome) to IN THE HEIGHTS February 9 – 21, 2010 as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series. Nominated for 13 and winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical of 2008, IN THE HEIGHTS is, according to Jeremy McCarter of New York Magazine, "a groundbreaking 21st century musical. This extraordinary blend of old and new pushes the sound of Broadway even deeper into fresh territory. It is one of the most satisfying musicals in years.” IN THE HEIGHTS was also presented with 2 Outer Critics Circle awards, 2 Lucille Lortel awards, an OBIE award, 2 Drama Desk awards, a Grammy, a Theatre World award, a Clarence Derwent award and nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Have you ever been in the Javier Munoz (center) and Cast Washington Heights Read More... neighborhood of Manhattan? Yes No Buzz Extra is a publication of the Community Engagement & Education Department at PlayhouseSquare Vice President of Theatricals: Gina Vernaci Director of Community Engagement & Education: ITH NEWS from the Road Colleen Porter Upload your In The Heights Photos Director of Ticket Sales & Marketing: Become a Fan of ITH on Facebook Autumn Kiser Follow ITH on Twitter Editors: Linda Jackson, Cindi Szymanski Writer: Robin Pease http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/heights/[2/3/2010 11:51:49 AM] Broadway Buzz- In The Heights Photos: Joan Marcus Home PlayhouseSquare Welcomes In The Heights Washington Heights Download and read the printable version of the Buzz (535Kb in PDF format) here Washington Heights en espanol How Much Spanish Do You Know Young Frankenstein Chicago Talking with Rogelio Douglas, Jr. Your Questions Answered We welcome your feedback and suggestions for the Buzz Extra. Please email Enrich Your Experience: [email protected] Broadway Buzz Events Recommended Reading from Cleveland Public Library http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/heights/[2/3/2010 11:51:49 AM] Broadway Buzz- In The Heights PlayhouseSquare Welcomes IN THE HEIGHTS PlayhouseSquare bids bienvenido (welcome) to IN THE HEIGHTS February 9 – 21, 2010 as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series. Nominated for 13 and winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical of 2008, IN THE HEIGHTS is, according to Jeremy McCarter of New York Magazine, "a groundbreaking 21st century musical. This extraordinary blend of old and new pushes the sound of Broadway even deeper into fresh territory. It is one of the most satisfying musicals in years.” IN THE HEIGHTS was also presented with 2 Outer Critics Circle awards, 2 Lucille Lortel awards, an OBIE award, 2 Drama Desk awards, a Grammy, a Theatre World award, a Clarence Derwent award and Javier Munoz (center) and Cast nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. David Richardson of WOR Radio sings, “If you have any rhythm in your heart, you Have you ever been in the shouldn’t miss it.” Washington Heights neighborhood of “A delicious score, dynamite dancing and a good-hearted story fuse into exuberant Manhattan? entertainment. There’s simply no resisting,” succumbs Michael Sommers of The Star Ledger. Yes USA Today’s Elysa Gardener declares, “I dare you to resist the endearing characters." No Synopsis Charles Isherwood of The New York Times describes, “this musical is about chasing your dreams and finding your true home.” Right near the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City is a bodega, a store, where everyone in the area goes to get coffee, ITH NEWS from the Road supplies, or just talk with friends. It is a diverse neighborhood of Puerto Ricans, Cubans, African Americans, and Dominicans who share their hopes, fears, and dreams Upload your In The Heights Photos at the bodega. Meet the people who live IN THE HEIGHTS. Usnavi, the owner, dreams Become a Fan of ITH on Facebook of returning to the Dominican Republic. Vanessa hopes to move to a better Follow ITH on Twitter neighborhood, as she is often in the dark, since her mother does not pay the electric bill. Benny wants to own his own business. Nina is a struggling college student whose parents need to find the money for her tuition. Everything happens in Washington Heights as Abuela Claudia uses the bodega as her escuela, or school, to share the http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/heights/welcome.html[2/3/2010 11:52:21 AM] Broadway Buzz- In The Heights wisdom she learned while emigrating from Cuba so long ago. Everyone has a story as IN THE HEIGHTS is told to the beat of hip-hop, salsa, soul music and the merengue. Home Their stories become our stories as we all try to reach our dreams. PlayhouseSquare Welcomes Did you know… In The Heights Lin-Manuel Miranda conceived IN THE HEIGHTS while in his sophomore year at Wesleyan University. “My high school sweetheart was going abroad to study in the Dominican Republic,” Miranda said, “and I was very conflicted about it. We’d been Washington Heights together for about four years, and this was my first time on my own. I started writing IN THE HEIGHTS the day after she left, and finished it two weeks later. It was all about Washington Heights en espanol the angst I had over the relationship.” The show was a huge success at Wesleyan. How Much Spanish Do You Know Then, Wesleyan seniors Neil Stewart and John Mailer planned to start a theater company and bring IN THE HEIGHTS to New York. One week after graduation, Talking with Rogelio Douglas, Jr. Miranda met with them about transforming his college musical. Five plots later and sixty songs cut, the show opened off-Broadway in 2007 to critical raves. More rewrites and revisions brought the show to Broadway and the Tony Award for best musical of 2008. Your Questions Answered For more information on Lin-Manuel Miranda, click here. Enrich Your Experience: Broadway Buzz Events Recommended Reading from Cleveland Public Library http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/heights/welcome.html[2/3/2010 11:52:21 AM] Broadway Buzz- In The Heights WASHINGTON HEIGHTS According to legend, Native Americans sold Manhattan Island to the Dutch in the 1600s for approximately $24 worth of goods. Legend claims this happened in today's Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Immigrants have been living in the Heights ever since. Historical celebrities have been a part of Washington Heights since the Revolutionary War when George Washington took the house of British colonel Roger Morris for his headquarters. British-American Vice President Aaron Burr was married in the very same house. Frenchman John James Audubon, the naturalist, had a riverfront estate in the Heights. Early 20th century immigrants were Irish and Greek-Americans. During the 1930s and 1940s, African Americans and Jews Justina Machado and Janet Dacal fleeing Nazi Germany came to different areas of the Heights to live. Have you ever been in the Washington Heights Then in the 1950s, Puerto Ricans and Cubans discovered the Heights, with neighborhood of Dominicans following in the 1980s. The 1990s brought Russian Jews and Columbians Manhattan? to the Heights. The 2000s found Mexicans and Ecuadorians arriving in the Heights. Yes The show has many diverse characters that share their thoughts of immigration and their new home in America. No The Lyrics of IN THE HEIGHTS “Fresh off the boat in America Freezing in early December A crowded city in 1943 Learning the ropes in America ITH NEWS from the Road En espanol I remember Upload your In The Heights Photos Dancing with Mayor LaGuardia Become a Fan of ITH on Facebook All of society welcoming Mami and me! Ha!” Follow ITH on Twitter “I came from miles away My family came from miles away My father was a farmer, His father was a farmer, http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/heights/heights.html[2/3/2010 11:52:30 AM] Broadway Buzz- In The Heights But I told him, ‘Papi, I'm sorry, I'm going farther. Home I'm getting on a plane And I'm gonna change the world someday.’" PlayhouseSquare Welcomes In The Heights “Ay, Mama, so many stars in Cuba En Nueva York we can't see beyond our streetlights.” Washington Heights “My mom is Dominican-Cuban My dad is from Chile and P.R., Washington Heights en espanol Which means: I'm Chile-Domini-curican! How Much Spanish Do You Know But I always say I'm from Queens!” “When I was younger I'd imagine what would happen if my parents had stayed in Talking with Rogelio Douglas, Jr. Puerto Rico Who would I be if I had never seen Manhattan?” Your Questions Answered “We came to work and to live and we got a lot in common Enrich Your Experience: It reminds me that I came from miles away Broadway Buzz Events DR, PR, we are not stoppin' In the heights.” Recommended Reading from “From Puerto Rico to Santo Domingo Cleveland Public Library Wherever we go We rep our people and the beat...” “Where people come People go Let me show all of these people what I know There's no place like home! We're home!” “Y cuando yo me muera Entierrame en mi tierra! Del barrio.” “Alza la bandera La bandera Dominicana La bandera Puertoriquena La bandera Mejicana Adios, adios, adios We're home!” Diversity E Pluribus Unum is one of the mottos of America. It means “out of many, one.” America, and Washington Heights, is a place made up of people who themselves, or their ancestors, have come from all over the world. Famous Residents Who Have Made the Heights Their Home: African-American Musicians: Count Basie, and Duke Ellington; African-American Actors: Paul Robeson, Leslie Uggams, and Laurence Fishburne; Puerto Rican- Hungarian-American Comedian: Freddie Prinze; and Greek-American Opera Singer: Maria Callas.