Before “Hamilton,” there was “In the Heights.”
It was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway musical. And now it’s his first work to get a movie adaptation.
The first trailer for the new film was released Thursday. The movie will hit theaters June 26.
The story, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes, tells the tale of a bodega owner and other characters as they face the growing gentrification of their Hispanic-American neighborhood — Washington Heights in New York.
The film stars Anthony Ramos in the lead role. Also in the cast are Leslie Grace, Corey Hawkins, Melissa Barrera, Jimmy Smits, Olga Merediz amd Marc Anthony. Miranda, who played the main character on Broadway, will appear in the movie as Piragüero.
“It’s the story of a block that was disappearing,” Ramos’ character tells kids in the trailer’s opening moments. “Un barrio called Washington Heights. The streets were made of music.”
And then the music starts.
In 2008, the musical picked up four Tony awards (out of its 13 nominations), including for best musical in 2008. It was also nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
The project began in 1999, while Miranda was a sophomore at Wesleyan University, as an 80-minute one-act show.
