In the Heights [Original Broadway Cast Recording]

by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Overview

Conceived and written by up-and-coming Broadway talent Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights is set in the vibrant Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights and features a spirited, colorful score of hip-hop, rap, and salsa music. In The Heights won four Tony Awards in 2008, including the top prize: Best Musical.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2008
Label:	Ghostlight
UPC:	0791558442823
catalogNumber:	84428
Rank:	2369

Tracks

Disc 1

1. In The Heights
2. Breathe
3. Benny's Dispatch
4. It Won't Be Long Now
5. Inútil
6. No Me Diga
7. 96,000
8. Pacienca y Fe (Patience and Faith)
9. When You're Home
10. Piragua
11. The Club
12. Blackout

Disc 2

1. Sunrise
2. Hundreds of Stories
3. Enough
4. Carnaval Del Barrio
5. Atención
6. Alabanza
7. Everything I Know
8. Piragua (Reprise)
9. Champagne
10. When The Sun Goes Down
11. Finale

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lin-Manuel Miranda   Primary Artist,Vocals
Carlos Goméz   Vocals
Priscilla Lopez   Vocals
Andrea Burns   Vocals
Janet Dacal   Vocals
Eliseo Román   Vocals
Christopher Jackson   Vocals
Karen Olivo   Vocals
In The Heights Pit Orchestra   Performing Ensemble
Seth Stewart   Vocals
Olga Merediz   Vocals
Carlos Gomez   Vocals
Robin De Jesús   Vocals
In The Heights Cast Ensemble   Choir, Chorus
Mandy Gonzalez   Vocals

Technical Credits

Andres Levin   Producer
Joel Moss   Producer,Engineer,Engineering
Bill Sherman   Arranger,Producer,Orchestration
Joan Marcus   Production Photography
Alex Lacamoire   Arranger,Producer,Orchestration,Music Direction
Kurt Deutsch   Producer
Paul Tazewell   Costume Design
Brig Berney   Company Manager
Quiara Alegría Hudes   Book
Lin-Manuel Miranda   Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Concept
Scott A. Moore   Marketing
J. Philip Bassett   Production Stage Manager
Thomas Kail   Director
Andy Blankenbuehler   Choreographer
Vincent Dixon   Cover Photo
Andrey Levin   Producer

Editorial Reviews

The heights referred to in the title of the Broadway musical In the Heights is Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan adjacent to the George Washington Bridge largely occupied by working-class Hispanics, many of them from the Dominican Republic and other islands in the Caribbean. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who stars in the show and is also given a credit for conceiving it as well as writing the songs, clearly knows the neighborhood intimately. When, at one point, a character reminisces about the subway trains, the IRT 1 and 9, that serviced the area, his character, Usnavi, quickly points out that the 9 has been discontinued. Usnavi, the owner of a bodega (a small grocery) who dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic, is not only knowledgeable about local transportation. In the introductory song "In the Heights," as he introduces the many other characters in this ensemble piece, rapping over salsa music, he uses words such as "exacerbated" and at one point, speaking of the high temperature, notes, "It's gotten too darn hot like my man Cole Porter said." Usnavi is, in other words, a bit too well educated to be what he claims, and the mixture of closely observed street life with erudition is typical of the show's writing, just as Miranda's music, while infused with Latin and hip-hop elements, is also informed by contemporary show music writing. There's no doubt he's familiar with Stephen Sondheim as well as Jonathan Larson, whose Rent is a major influence, even if it's about an entirely different neighborhood of Manhattan. Like Rent, In the Heights follows the lives of a group of characters whose aspirations and experiences have something of a soap opera quality, though the intention is to provide a panoramic view of a bustling community. There is the sense of that neighborhood's falling apart: several of the characters want to leave, others are being forced out. (At one point, Usnavi predicts that in five years the whole city will consist of nothing but rich people and hipsters, a forecast people have been making for a century or so.) But while they're still on the hot streets, they sing and dance and interact with each other, and Miranda has captured their stories well. The large cast, also including Mandy Gonzalez, Karen Olivo, and Olga Merediz in principal roles, does well by the score on this double-CD cast album, which runs 89 minutes.

All Music Guide - William Ruhlmann

In The Heights has an infectious score, joyous choreography, and the inspiriting flavor of a morning pick-me-up on a warm summer day. You can't take your eyes off the performers, and you don't want to.

New York Times

A modern-day immigrant tale fueled by an exuberant mix of hip-hop, salsa and good old-fashioned Broadway belting and energetic, effortless performances by the talented cast. Heights is worth the trip!

Entertainment Weekly

Exuberant, sexy and hilarious, bursting with vitality and freshness.

New York Post

A love letter to Washington Heights, the upper Manhattan neighborhood in which a diverse Latino community is invited to take an extended bow, “In the Heights” mixes salsa, hip-hop and " American Idol"-ized show tunes into a package that's meant to leave everyone feeling happy and full.

Los Angeles Times - Charles McNulty

There's a lively block party going on...and you would be foolish to turn down an invitation. An affectionate protrait of a neighborhood and the people who call it home, with a flavorful, intriguing score, rousing coreography and such a talented cast.

The Associated Press

Boisterous and all but irresistible, a vibrant and tuneful celebration of community. There's heat and heart and hope in its rambunctious soul.

New York Sun

In The Heights has sharp comedy, dances that feel like they really might have come off the street, a rich and kaleidoscopic score, and some of the best lyrics that New York has heard from a young songwriter since Avenue Q.

New York Magazine

So fresh! Spirited and sexy. Musical theater welcomes a dynamic new talent in the gifted Lin-Manuel Miranda. A refreshing and sincere depiction of the struggle to make an honest living and remain true to one's roots.

Variety

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