ELLE speaks with In the Heights creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and cast members from the hotly anticipated musical, in theaters and streaming on HBO Max on June 11, who share what the original musical meant to them and why this is the movie we all need right now. “I think in a year where we’ve all been locked down and reminded about what is important, to put out a film where we are able to celebrate community and togetherness is something that feels really relevant,” Miranda says. “Sometimes I shiver when I think about previous versions of this film that were possible, because I feel like every detour, every setback, and every challenge this film has faced over the 10-plus years it’s taken to make it to the screen—it’s only made the movie better. It clarified for us what we wanted out of a big-screen adaptation of In the Heights.”
For one of the stars, Anthony Ramos, the Latinx representation of the original show helped him find his place on Broadway: “I didn’t know where I fit in on Broadway. I’m Latino, I’m from the hood in Brooklyn; people don’t even speak like me on Broadway. I ain’t gonna fit in on South Pacific. Who’s giving me a lead role on Broadway? [In the Heights] was like a beacon of hope for me. “I hope kids around the world, in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, all these places where they’ve never seen this before, can watch this movie and be like, ‘D**n, hold up. Maybe I can do that.’ Because I know that’s what [it] did for me.”
STORY LINK:https://www.elle.com/in-the-heights-2021