For musical fans across the country, In the Heights, a cinematic event where the streets are made of music and little dreams become big makes its debut on HBO GO.
Set in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights, In the Heights fuses Lin-Manuel Miranda’s kinetic music and lyrics with director Jon M. Chu’s lively and authentic eye for storytelling to capture a world very much of its place, but universal in its experience.
Chu directed the film from a screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Miranda, Hudes, Scott Sanders, Anthony Bregman, and Mara Jacobs produced the film, with David Nicksay and Kevin McCormick serving as executive producers.
In the Heights is a musical portrait of a community full of lively numbers as diverse as its cast. The story weaves together an ensemble of characters during a summer of seismic change in their lives, with much of the action taking place at one intersection central to the neighborhood.
The songs and dances cover a variety of styles—from hip-hop to Latin to pop and musical theater—and provides ample opportunity to explore the varied influences of the distinct Latin cultures that merge and continue to populate and represent the community of Washington Heights.
After a stint off-Broadway, In the Heights opened in the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway on March 9, 2008. It ran for nearly 1,200 performances, racked up 13 Tony nominations, and won four—Best Musical, Original Score, Choreography and Orchestrations.
The accolades did not end there, as the Original Cast Recording won the production a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and the Pulitzer Prize committee named the show a finalist for its accolade for drama.