IN THE HEIGHTS to Kick Off National Tour October 2009 in Tampa

The producers of IN THE HEIGHTS, winner of four 2008 Tony© Awards and the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, announced it's national tour will begin this fall in Tampa, FL at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. The tour is scheduled to begin performances on October 27, 2009. Other cities in which the show is scheduled to appear include Atlanta, Minneapolis, Hartford, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Houston, Austin, Tempe, San Diego and Costa Mesa. For additional tour dates and information visit: www.intheheightsthemusical.com/tour.html

IN THE HEIGHTS tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan's Washington Heights - a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It's a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

In addition to winning the 2008 Tony© Award for Best Musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show's creator, won the Tony for Best Music and Lyrics, Andy Blankenbuehler won for Best Choreography, and Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman won for Best Orchestrations. The original cast recording won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, and Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a feature film based on the smash hit musical.

IN THE HEIGHTS opened on Broadway to wide critical acclaim March 9, 2008. The Washington Post said IN THE HEIGHTS is "PURE BROADWAY. AN EVENING OF OLD-STYLE, INNOCENT PLEASURE" and Ben Brantley of The New York Times enthused IN THE HEIGHTS is "AN EXUBERANT, ANIMATED SHRINE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY TIES AND BEING FAITHFUL TO WHERE YOU COME FROM." IN THE HEIGHTS continues to play at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 West 46th Street).

With a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award nominee Quiara Alegría Hudes and conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda, IN THE HEIGHTS is directed by Joseph A. Callaway Award-winner and Tony Award nominee Thomas Kail. Alex Lacamoire serves as the show's music director. The music arrangements are by Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman. IN THE HEIGHTS also features Tony nominated scenic design (Anna Louizos), costumes (Paul Tazewell) lighting (Howell Binkley) and sound (Acme Sound Partners).

IN THE HEIGHTS is produced by Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Jill Furman, Sander Jacobs, Robyn Goodman/Walt Grossman, Peter Fine and Sonny Everett/Mike Skipper with associate producers Ruth Hendel and Harold Newman.

www.intheheightsthemusical.com

Photo Credit: Pablo Pimienta