‘In the Heights’ to open in Dayton

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DAYTON — Victoria Theatre Association will open the 2017-2018 Premier Health Broadway Series with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, “In the Heights,” Oct. 2-8 in the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in downtown Dayton.

“In the Heights” is produced by the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, in collaboration with Teatro del Pueblo. Tickets start at $30 and are on sale now at 888-228-3630 and Ticketcenterstage.com

Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, “In the Heights” tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood, a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions to take with you and which to leave behind.

The cast features Pedro R. Bayon as Kevin, Brian Bose as Graffiti Pete, Debra Cardona as Abuela Claudia, Fernando Collado as Sonny, Justin Gregory Lopez as Usnavi, Emily Madigan as Carla, Aline Mayagoitia as Nina, Val Nuccio as Vanessa, Lara Trujillo as Camila, Lauren Villegas as Daniela, and Stephen Scott Wormley as Benny.

Rounding out the ensemble are Courtney Arango, Rush Benson, Alexander Gil Cruz, Renee Guittar, Patrick Charles Jeffrey, Abby Magalee, Giselle Mejia, Zander Morales, Jorge Quintero, Jen Santoro Rotty, Rudolph Searles III, Maureen Sherman-Mendez and Adan Varela.

“In the Heights” is directed and choreographed by Teatro del Pueblo Artistic Director Al Justiniano and Ordway Vice President of Programming and Producing Artistic Director James A. Rocco, in association with Alexander Gil Cruz, Giselle Mejia and Ashley Selmer.

“After staging ‘West Side Story’ in collaboration with Teatro del Pueblo, we’re so excited to be able to continue that partnership by bringing ‘In the Heights’ to the Ordway stage and then on to Dayton’s Schuster stage” said Rocco. “I’ve heard from many people in the community that this is such an important story to be told, and I can’t wait to work with Al on bringing it to life.”

“I am thrilled to be working on a story that encapsulates the strength of a Latino community who, when its very existence is jeopardized, musters the guts to celebrate its cultural pride as an act of defiance,” said Justiniano.

The creative team for “In the Heights” includes Eugenio A. Vargas (musical direction), Anna Louizos (scenic design), Jesse Cogswell (lighting design), Andy Horka (sound design), Trevor Bowen (costume design), Robert A. Dunn (hair and make-up design), Rick Polenek (props design) and Reid Harmsen (casting).

“In the Heights” features music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes. It opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in March 2008, running for 1,184 performances. The original production was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. It won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and was also nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

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