VIDEO: Quiara Alegría Hudes Explains How She Took the Story of IN THE HEIGHTS from Stage to Screen!

It won't be long now! In the Heights hits the big screen in a matter of hours, and when it does, the world will get to celebrate the joy of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first big musical. But Broadway fans remember that long before the film, In the Heights took the New York theatre scene by storm. Quiara Alegría Hudes was a part of that original team as the musical's book writer, and she returned this time to adapt the screenplay.

"I am deeply proud of the film. I love all of the joy and exuberance in it," she explained. "I love all of the different takes on what a strong woman looks like and the different models of those paths that we walk. I love how intergenerational it is... we even added a new generation below Sonny of the 'true' youngins. Even down to body diversity- when we were selecting dancers, I was like, 'I want to see elders dance in this movie, because that is a reflection of how we dance in the community! I want to see large and small bodies dance because that's who we are!' And now it's here and I'm so proud that we made those decisions."

How did she and fellow screenwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda approach changes for the big screen? "It feels very natural in musicals to go from scene to song. That convention can be a little awkward and bumpy on screen because screen captures a reality..." she explained. "[We tried to] create a convention where that felt alive an exciting as opposed to an awkward onramp on the highway. This is why we made Usnavi a storyteller, and why he's telling this story at the beginning, because then we know that he's taking creative license and we're seeing the story through his lenses."

You can catch In the Heights in theatres and on HBO Max starting June 10. Until then, catch up with Hudes and hear more behind-the-scenes stories with BroadwayWorld's exclusive interview below!