In the Heights to have Broadway run in 2007 - 2008 season

Producers Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Jill Furman have announced that the off-Broadway production of In the Heights, a new musical playing at 37 Arts Theatre, will move to Broadway during the 2007-2008 season at a theatre to be announced. The show will play its final performance Off-Broadway on 15 Jul 2007.

With music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes, In the Heights is directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays the role of Usnavi in the Off-Broadway run, will also play the role on Broadway. Further casting for the Broadway show has still to be announced.

The musical opened Off-Broadway to mainly positive reviews : "Light and sweet are actually just the words to describe this amiable show, which boasts an infectious, bouncy Latin-pop score... and a stage full of energized, energetic performers you can�t take your eyes off and won�t want to." (New York Times); "With "In the Heights," musical theater welcomes a dynamic new talent in Lin-Manuel Miranda." (Variety); "This exuberant work .... bursts with a vitality and freshness that overcome its occasionally rough-hewn elements."; (New York Post).

The show's off-Broadway director Thomas Kail, who like the show's composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda is a Wesleyan alumni, will also helm the Broadway production. This continues the relationship between Kail and Miranda who have worked on shaping the musical since it was first presented as an undergraduate production at Wesleyan University.

The musical will undergo further re-writes before opening on Broadway. Producer Jill Furman said "Lin-Manuel Miranda's creation and his performance are exceptional. Bringing In the Heights to Broadway will allow it to further evolve. It's a rare opportunity to take a show that's playing successfully, put it back into rehearsal and give it new birth. The entire team is thrilled."

The Off-Broadway production features Andrea Burns, Janet Dacal, Robin de Jesus, Mandy Gonzalez, John Herrera, Christopher Jackson, Priscilla Lopez, Olga Merediz, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo. Ensemble: Rosie Fiedelman, Asmeret Ghebremichael, Joshua Henry, Nina Lafarga, Doreen Montalvo, Javier Munoz, Eliseo Roman, Luis Salgado, Seth Stewart, Rickey Tripp, Michael Balderrama and Stephanie Klemons.

When the show closes off-Broadway on 15 Jul 2007 it will have played 33 previews and 181 regular performances.

About the Off-Broadway closure, producer Kevin McCollum said "Since Lin-Manuel Miranda both stars in In the Heights and is the composer and lyricist, we have elected to close the show so our full creative team will have the time to do the work that now needs to be done."