Artist:Lin-Manuel Miranda f/Christopher Jackson, Robin de Jesus and company
Song:96,000
Album:In the Heights: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Today Lin-Manuel Miranda is a world famous composer. But it all started when his first musical In the Heights debuted on Broadway in 2009. That's when I first heard of him. Since then the show Hamilton made him famous. He has also worked on plenty of Disney films. He has advanced the status of Latino composers and performers everywhere. He was born Jan. 16, 1980 in New York City. His father is a political consultant from Puerto Rico. Miranda grew up in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. He started writing and performing in school. He wrote the first draft of In the Heights in 1999 when he was in his sophomore year at Wesleyan University. Writers John Buffalo Mailer (Norman Mailer's son) and Quiana Alegria Hudes and director Thomas Kail helped Miranda with In the Heights revisions. It premiered in Connecticut in 2005 followed by off Broadway in 2007. And In the Heights premiered on Broadway Mar. 2008. It's about the mostly Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York. Miranda not only wrote In the Heights but he played the main character of Usnavi de la Vega. The show ran until Jan. 2011 so it was very successful. It won four Tonys including Best Musical. Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. 96,000 is about what could happen if you won the lottery. The original cast album is available on CD. It was eventually turned into a 2021 film. By that time, Miranda had decided not to star in the film. He made a cameo appearance. He's been busy though. The 2015 musical Hamilton was a bigger hit than In the Heights. He has also worked on several Disney animated films including Moana (2016) and Encanto (2021). He works on so much, it makes me think that he spreads himself too thin. And though he has done a lot for Latinos in the entertainment business, it takes forever to develop projects and that must drive him nuts. Look at how long it took to turn In the Heights into a film because movie studios get cold feet. Here's Lin-Manuel Miranda and company performing 96,000 on the 2009 Tony Awards broadcast.
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