The Lake Worth Playhouse Celebrates Hispanic Culture with IN THE HEIGHTS, Now thru 7/28

The Lake Worth Playhouse celebrates Hispanic culture with In The Heights, a musical that is sure to have everyone singing and dancing with contemporary dance including salsa, jazz and freestyle hip hop.

From The Director:

"I am truly excited by In the Heights, to be working with co-director Ricky Nahas and the talent we have brought together on this stage. This show is going to be electrifying! It is truly an honor to be celebrating the summer with this unique Hispanic show that reaches across all audiences to create a memorable experience for everyone across all generations." - Jodie Dixon-Mears, Co-Director & Lake Worth Playhouse Artistic Director

Synopsis:

In The Heights, a musical celebration, tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood - 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.

History:

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 neighborhood 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 theater company The 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.

Schedule:

Preview Night is Thursday, July 11 at 8:00 p.m. ($23 & $27). Opening Night is tonight, July 12 at 8:00 p.m. ($28 & $32 - includes Opening Night Elegance). Evening and Matinee Performances will run July 13 - July 28 at 8pm and 2pm. ($26 & $30). Dinner & Show Night is July 11 and includes a 6:00 p.m. pre-show dinner at Paradiso, an upscale Italian restaurant in downtown Lake Worth, prior to the 8:00 p.m. performance. The all-inclusive dinner/show package price is $55 and includes a three-course meal and premium seats for the preview performance.

Tickets can be purchased through the Lake Worth Playhouse Box Office at 561-586-6410 or online at lakeworthplayhouse.org.

Lake Worth Playhouse is located at 713 Lake Ave in Downtown Lake Worth. Valet Parking is available for $5. Street and lot parking is also available.

Lake Worth Playhouse is a non-profit community theatre with a diverse array of offerings, including award-winning dramas, comedies, musicals, area premieres, Broadway favorites, children's shows, ballets and operas on film, live concerts, improv comedy and alternative programming. In addition to its main stage theatrical fare, The Playhouse presents year-round independent and foreign films in the Stonzek Theatre, an intimate black-box style theatre equipped with a large viewing screen and high-definition projection. The Playhouse is proud to offer a variety of educational programs for adults and children, as well as community outreach initiatives that bring cultural programs into the neighborhoods of underserved youth and also make theatre available free of charge for disadvantaged citizens in the community.

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