Great Performances: In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams

Airs Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 1 p.m. on KPBS TV

This program follows the cast and creative team, led by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (center), of the Tony Award-winning "In The Heights" as they embark on the production of an original musical.

Credit: Joan Marcus

Above: This program follows the cast and creative team, led by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (center), of the Tony Award-winning "In The Heights" as they embark on the production of an original musical.

Friday, May 22, 2009

The cast of the Tony Award-winning musical "In The Heights" perform on stage.

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Credit: Joan Marcus

Above: The cast of the Tony Award-winning musical "In The Heights" perform on stage.

In a journey reminiscent of the unexpected zeitgeist success of "Hair," "A Chorus Line" and "Rent," the story behind the success of "In The Heights" is so organic to New York City that no one expected it to happen — until it did.

Event: SOLD OUT: 'In The Heights,' The Musical At The San Diego Civic Theatre

  • San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Avenue, San Diego
  • Wednesday, July 28, 2010
  • 7 p.m.
  • Age Requirement: All ages
  • Cost: $250

Full Event Information

Beginning at a small off-Broadway theater, a group of talented young creators, led by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda, produced an original musical that some have called a modern day "West Side Story" — a Latin and hip-hop-infused musical odyssey telling the story of a neighborhood and the first-generation Americans who call it home. And yet, many in the show’s audiences have nothing with which to compare it, as it represents the first musical that they’ve journeyed below 125th Street to see.

Opening on Broadway in spring 2008, the musical went on to win five Tony Awards — including Best New Musical. This program follows the cast and creative team as they embark on the greatest adventure of their young careers.

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Video

Video Excerpt: In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams

Above: Making it in New York City is tough. Few get the chance to live out their dreams, and the cast and crew of "In The Heights" know this all too well. This young, diverse group of relatively unknown artists and performers have dreamed of making it on Broadway, but are well aware that a new original musical set outside a bodega in the Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights is a highly risky proposition. It took eight years in all, but they succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, winning four Tony Awards along the way, including Best Musical and Best Score for a Musical. "In The Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams" chronicles the personal stories of composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast in the months leading up to opening night.

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