In 2008, the musical In The Heights was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won Best New Musical, Choreography, Orchestrations, and Score. It was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and it introduced the world at large to the diverse and impressive talents of its writer, composer, lyricist, and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The writer, composer, actor worked with Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents on the 2009 Broadway revival of West Side Story - specifically swapping out English lyrics for Spanish in portions of songs sung by the Puerto Rican characters; he performed in the City Center Encores presentation of Merrily We Roll Along in 2012; and he co-wrote the music and lyrics for Bring it On: The Musical - which was nominated for a Tony Award for Best New Musical this past Broadway season.
The founder of the performance group Freestyle Love Supreme - Lin has also acted on TV and in film appearing on Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and House, and in The Odd Life of Timothy Green. He stars in the upcoming film, 200 Cartas.
Lin’s latest stage project is entitled The Hamilton Mixtape - a hip-hop musical about the life of US Founding Father and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. New York Stage and Film and Vassar College will present two readings of The Hamilton Mixtape this Saturday, July 27th as part of their Powerhouse season.
In what is a testament to the popularity of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s work - both readings are sold out and even the wait-list is closed. Still, we were fortunate to grab a few minutes with Lin just before rehearsals began for the readings at Vassar.
