StageArt opens second season of In the Heights

In a gorgeous piece of symmetry, StageArt’s return season of In the Heights began last night, eight years after the opening performance ended at the Richard Rodgers theatre on Broadway, all the way back in 2008.

Written by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda, many Australian theatre fans may have missed the impact the show made on Broadway last decade. In a similar way to Hamilton, the show broke new ground for the theatre genre, being lauded as the first musical to feature hip-hop, rap and Latin-inspired music, as well as providing a show in which actors and characters of many theatrically under-represented ethnicities were allowed a voice. It also heavily featured the stories of first and second generation immigrants, focussing on the characters as real people in a time that politics and most pop-culture references to their heritage were not painted in a positive light.

In celebration of Australia’s In the Heights opening night tonight, here are a few videos from the Broadway production to remind you of why you love the show.

• Bet On It

Lin-Manuel’s unique sense of humour comes out to play in this promotional video for fans, featuring Broadway favourites and a truly awful nod to High School Musical 2.

• In the Heights – Chasing Broadway Dreams

A short documentary following the cast of In the Heights as they achieve their Broadway dreams.

• Heights alumni performing a #Ham4Ham show.

Proving the love fans still have for Heights, this rendition of ’96,000’ is performed by both show alumni and the entire #Ham4Ham audience.

Read our review of the first season of In the Heights, and then buy your tickets here. The show closes this weekend and is not to be missed!