IN THE HEIGHTS

IN THE HEIGHTS In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving an ensemble cast of characters in the largely Dominican-American neighbourhood of Washington Heights in New York City.After productions in Connecticut (2005) and Off-Broadway (2007), the show opened in a Broadway theatre production in March 2008. This production was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler), and Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman). It was also nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.Miranda wrote the earliest draft of In the Heights in 1999, his sophomore year of college. After the show was accepted by Wesleyan University's student theatre company Second Stage, Miranda worked on adding "freestyle rap ... bodegas, and salsa numbers." It played from April 20, 1999 to April 22, 1999. After seeing the play, two Wesleyan seniors, John Buffalo Mailer and Thomas Kail approached Miranda and asked if the play could be expanded to be on Broadway. In 2002, Miranda and Mailer worked with director Tommy Kail and wrote five separate drafts of In the Heights.ON BROADWAY (2008-2011)The musical premiered on Broadway, starting in previews on February 14, 2008, with an official opening on March 9, 2008 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The Broadway production was again directed and choreographed by Kail and Blankenbuehler, with most of the off-Broadway principals reprising their roles. The creative team included set design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, arrangements and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman, and music coordination by Michael Keller.The producers announced on January 8, 2009 that the show had recouped its $10 million investment after 10 months. The cast recording was released on June 3, 2008, by Ghostlight Records and won the 51st Annual Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, beating the recordings of The Little Mermaid, Young Frankenstein, and the revivals of Gypsy and South Pacific. The Broadway production celebrated its 1000th performance on August 2, 2010.The Broadway production played its final performance on January 9, 2011 after 29 previews and 1,184 regular performances, making it the 81st longest running show in Broadway history. The final cast starred Lin-Manuel Miranda, Arielle Jacobs, Marcy Harriell, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Olga Merediz, Andréa Burns, and Priscilla Lopez.

PLAY SYNOPSIS In the Heights centres on a variety of characters living in the neighbourhood of Washington Heights, on the northern tip of Manhattan. At the centre of the show is Usnavi, a bodega owner who looks after the aging Cuban lady next door, pines for the gorgeous girl working in the neighbouring beauty salon and dreams of winning the lottery and escaping to the shores of his native Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, Nina, a childhood friend of Usnavi’s, has returned to the neighbourhood from her first year at college with surprising news for her parents, who have spent their life savings on building a better life for their daughter. Ultimately, Usnavi and the residents of the close-knit neighbourhood get a dose of what it means to be home.

What is In the Heights Like?This high-energy show features lovable characters, a contemporary Latin-flavored score and Tony-winning hip-hop dance moves. But it’s also very sweet and sentimental, wearing its heart on its sleeve. You may even get a little misty-eyed by the end.

In the Heights is a raucous, but sweet, Independence-Day-in-the-life of New York’s far upper west side neighborhood, Washington Heights. This is not the barrio of gangs and drugs, but the home of American-dreaming immigrants and their children from diverse Hispanic backgrounds. It is a knowing love letter – in salsa and hip-hop – from its creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, to an often overlooked section of the city.

The plot is a soap opera, or better yet, a telenovela told in two-and-a-half hours. Nina is the neighbourhood success story, the daughter of industrious, no-nonsense parents who own a gypsy cab service; she’s back home after a bad first year at Stanford. Will she return to college, or will she settle back in with her boyfriend, the non-Hispanic Benny? Nina’s parents are happy to employ him, but they are unhappy to think of him joining their family.Beauty shop owner Daniela is being gentrified out of her shop by rising rents and is relocating to the Bronx, but Vanessa, who works for her, has big plans for herself and dreams of moving to a trendier neighbourhood farther south.At the centre of it stands Usnavi, the young owner of a run-down bodega, selling coffee and lotto tickets, at least whenever a power outage hasn’t shut his store down or the local graffiti artist marked it up. Usnavi dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic with his abuela Claudia, who raised him, but he also dreams of getting the beautiful Vanessa to notice him.And then there’s that $96,000 lottery ticket Usnavi realizes he has sold to someone in the neighbourhood . . .

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At the crack of dawn, on the hottest day of summer, Usnavi chases away a graffiti artist from his tiny bodega in Washington Heights, opens the store, and introduces the major characters ("In the Heights"). Last to appear is Nina Rosario, back at last from her freshman year at Stanford University. Alone, Nina ponders her struggles at college and readies herself to give her parents some bad news ("Breathe").Meanwhile, Nina's parents, Kevin and Camila, seek an emergency loan to keep their struggling taxi dispatch afloat, temporarily leaving Benny, a young employee and friend of Nina's, in charge ("Benny's Dispatch"). Meanwhile, at the hair salon across the street, Vanessa, Usnavi's potential love interest, dreams of escaping to a studio apartment in the West Village, remaining optimistic despite her own financial insecurity ("It Won't Be Long Now"). When Vanessa stops by Usnavi's bodega, Usnavi's younger cousin Sonny asks her out to a romantic evening on Usnavi's behalf, and she accepts.When Nina's parents return, she reveals how she lost her academic scholarship and dropped out of Stanford. Nina's father, Kevin, is devastated that he cannot provide for his daughter ("Inútil"). Nina seeks comfort from Vanessa, but the salon owner and local gossip, Daniela, sits Nina down for a makeover, coercing Vanessa into admitting that she cares about Usnavi's sexual decisions; Nina then reveals to the salon that she has dropped out ("No Me Diga").After Usnavi discovers that he sold a winning lottery ticket worth $96,000, everyone on the block dreams of how they would each spend the small fortune ("96,000"). Later, Abuela Claudia—the beloved neighbourhood matriarch who "practically raised" Usnavi as a young orphan—reflects on her childhood journey from Cuba to New York in 1943, showing the audience that she secretly holds the winning lottery ticket ("Paciencia y Fé").Nina and Benny take a tour of the neighbourhood and reminisce, gradually sharing romantic feelings ("When You're Home"). At a dinner party, Kevin announces that he has sold the family car service to pay for Nina's tuition. Vanessa and Usnavi enter a dance club for their date, followed by a furious Benny, who is now out of work, and an apologetic Nina; tensions rise on the dance floor because Vanessa and Usnavi are attempting to make each other jealous, while Benny drunkenly hits a man dancing with Nina ("The Club"). The entire club breaks out into a huge fight when, suddenly, the power goes out throughout the city, probably due to the intense summer heat. The neighbourhood erupts into chaos and Usnavi, Vanessa, Nina and Benny all look for each other in the darkness. Meanwhile, Sonny and his mischievous friend from the opening of the show, Graffiti Pete, attempt to distract the bodega from any potential looters by setting off fireworks; at the same time, Abuela Claudia reveals to Usnavi that she won the lottery, while Nina and Benny find each other, argue, and then kiss ("Blackout).

Act 1

Act 2Benny and Nina have spent the night together and, the next morning, Nina teaches Benny some Spanish phrases, while he shares his stress over what Kevin will think of their new relationship ("Sunrise"). Down on the street, Usnavi's bodega has been looted. Abuela Claudia convinces Usnavi they should use her lottery winnings to move to Usnavi's homeland: the Dominican Republic. Usnavi agrees to pursue this lifelong dream at last ("Hundreds of Stories").Nina's parents have been searching for her all night, and when they learn that she has been with Benny, Kevin is furious. Kevin vows that Benny will never be a part of the Rosario family because he is not Latino, but Camila ends the family fight ("Enough"). It is high noon and all are frustrated by the extreme heat and continuing power outage. The locals, led by Daniela, muster enough energy for a last celebration before the bodega, salon, and dispatch shut their doors forever. Usnavi publicly announces that Abuela Claudia won the lottery, and he and she will soon leave for the Dominican Republic; the neighborhood celebrates, though Vanessa is heartbroken ("Carnaval del Barrio"). Kevin makes a sudden announcement over the taxi radios: Abuela Claudia has suddenly died ("Atención"). The neighbourhood holds a vigil for Claudia, while Usnavi, attributing her death to a "combination of the stress and the heat," makes an impromptu eulogy ("Alabanza"). Usnavi and Nina rummage through boxes of Claudia's keepsakes ("Everything I Know"). As Nina discovers photographs from her own high school graduation, she decides to accept her father's sacrifice and return to Stanford.Across the street, as Daniela closes her salon, she reveals one last bit of juicy news: she will co-sign on Vanessa's dream apartment in the West Village, thanks to a little convincing from Usnavi ("No Me Diga" – Reprise). Vanessa brings a bottle of champagne to thank Usnavi and, though she flirts with him, he is so flustered by Claudia's death that he is unable to appreciate Vanessa's attempts; Vanessa finally kisses him and leaves ("Champagne"). Meanwhile, Benny worries about his relationship with Nina, since her decision to go back west, and they stand together while the sun sets, uncertain of their future ("When the Sun Goes Down").The next morning, Usnavi wakes up early to begin closing up shop. In just a few weeks, Usnavi imagines that the block will be completely changed. Sonny, however, has commissioned Graffiti Pete to paint a mural of Abuela Claudia on the bodega's grate. Sonny now rolls down the bodega grate in front of Usnavi, revealing the memorial. Usnavi is stunned that they completed this all in one night; he tells Sonny to spread the news that he has changed his mind to stay, promises to pursue Vanessa, and realizes that this block is his true home ("Finale").

Contextual understanding Geographical: In the Heights is set in Washington Heights which is a New York City neighbourhood of over 150,000 inhabitants, in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the British forces. Washington Heights is bordered by Harlem to the south, along 155th street, Inwood to the north along Hillside Avenue, the Hudson River to the west and the Harlem River and Coogan's Bluff to the east.

SocialLower working class neighbourhood of Washington heights in the late 90s Through the 1980’s and 1990’s, a veritable crack cocaine epidemic was making the streets dangerous to residents and passersby, so dangerous that Washington Heights had to create an additional police precinct in 1994. So, how did an area once characterized by the estates of the wealthy become the heart of New York City’s crack cocaine problem and an area largely avoided by tourists?In the 1960s, the assassination of Rafael Trujillo, the ruler of the Dominican Republic for a harsh thirty-one years, and the election of Joaquin Balaguer, a repressive president that limited Dominican freedom for twelve years, left the Dominican Republic in shambles. The political upheaval and resulting economic problems forced thousands from the Dominican Republic to seek the greener pastures of the United States. Though some of these Dominican immigrants found a home in Florida or New Jersey, the majority headed to New York City, where the inexpensive and safer New Law tenements found in Washington Heights allowed them to maintain a relatively comfortable and affordable lifestyle.Unfortunately for this neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, the Dominican immigrants that now called Washington Heights home were willing to take up any lucrative occupation they could find. With easy access to the other four boroughs and even easier access to New Jersey and Upstate New York, Washington Heights became the breeding ground for wholesale drug trafficking, specifically of crack cocaine. Sharing a language and an interest in money, Colombian suppliers began associating with the Dominican drug dealers of Washington Heights; the pair quickly took the lion’s share of drug trade. The 34th Precinct, the sole police department of the area, was stretched too thin to adequately manage the issue. The drug problem got out of hand, and the Dominican drug dealers made a killing off of wholesale drug trafficking, often literally.

Character Analysis Usnavi is the narrator of the play's exposition and a major character throughout; he is the owner of a small bodega in Washington Heights. He was named after one of the first sights his parents saw when they arrived in America: a US Navy ship. He dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic, the place he was born but too young to remember. Abuela Claudia, the neighbourhood matriarch, "practically raised" him when his parents both died during his early childhood. He is in love with Vanessa. "Abuela" Claudia is the loving matriarch of the barrio who knows everybody and is like a grandmother to all ("abuela" means "grandmother" in Spanish). She is the one who looked after Usnavi when his parents died. She and her mother moved from Cuba to New York in 1943 while she was a child. She worked as a maid for several years but never earned the money for her and her mother to travel home. Vanessa is Usnavi's love interest who works at Daniela's salon. She is stunningly beautiful and catches the eye of every guy in the Heights, however she takes interest in Usnavi. She lives with an alcoholic mother and dreams of getting out of the barrio and getting an apartment downtown, but cannot yet afford it. Nina Rosario is the first in her family to go to college (Stanford University), and everyone in the barrio admires her as the "one who made it out." However, she returns home from school for the summer to reluctantly tell her parents that she has become overburdened and dropped out. She is the typical "good girl" and always got along with her parents. Now, though, she loses patience constantly over her father's overprotectiveness and his refusal to accept Benny. Benny works at the dispatch of Nina's father, Kevin. Perhaps the only character in the play who does not speak Spanish and is not Hispanic, he falls in love with Nina. He dreams of opening his own business. Sonny is Usnavi's sassy, superficially lazy, yet ambitious younger cousin who works with Usnavi in the bodega. He is typically the jokester of the barrio, but he also has an intelligent and thoughtful side that yearns for social justice.Daniela is the outrageously dramatic owner of the salon where the neighbourhood girls come to gossip. She is very bold and loud and loves to banter. Carla works at Daniela's salon along with Vanessa, and is Daniela's close friend; young and pretty, but a little slow to get the others' jokes and innuendos, she is of Chilean, Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican descent. Kevin Rosario is Nina's overprotective father, who, coming from a long line of farmers, has worked hard to resist following in his own father's footsteps. He now owns his own taxi cab service: Rosario's. Camila Rosario is Nina's strong-willed mother, who wants what is best for Nina. She is typically tolerant of Kevin's control issues, but in the course of the show, reveals her real feelings. The Piragua Guy (Piragüero) is the owner of a small piragua stand that competes with Mister Softee. Graffiti Pete is a graffiti artist and friend of Sonny. Usnavi believes he is a trouble-making vandal, until Pete reveals his amazing skills as an artist.

Initial Ideas

Because in the heights is clearly situated in a city it could be an idea to have a back drop as a wall with graffiti spray painted on, or create stencils, in order to make it look more ‘street’

Yet again because in the heights is set in a city it could be an idea to use projection, and project a city back drop on to the screen behind the performers.

I could make stalls in which the people in the play work, similar to a market and create props and posters.