Photo Flash: IN THE HEIGHTS Opens in Manila

Manila, Philippines, September 5, 2011 -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony Award-winning creator and composer-lyricist of the spirited musical In the Heights, sent his opening night cheer to the cast and production team of In the Heights via Twitter last weekend. "Happy opening @InTheHeightsMNL! It's okay to send ME the bootleg ;) Wishing you all the luck! Mahal minamahal Kita siempre! (Of course I love you)" said Miranda.

Atlantis Productions Inc., the theater company that recently brought to Manila smash rock musicals Next to Normal and Aida, breaks new ground again with the first licensed production of In the Heights in Asia (Its next feat is Disney's The Little Mermaid).  In the Heights, a Broadway musical that presents a portrait of the Hispanic community in Washington Heights, Manhattan, runs at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City until Sunday, September 18.

Audiences can expect hip-hop, salsa, soul and merengue (music and dance from the Dominican Republic) musical numbers from its Tony Award-winning score.

"I'm thrilled to be working on In the Heights. It has a fantastic score and a really touching story. It's very Filipino! Its message of chasing your dreams and finding your home is really powerful. I haven't stopped listening to the music since it first came out. I'm also thrilled to have assembled a really stellar cast from different parts of the industry. They will all bring Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning score to vibrant life each night," stage director Bobby Garcia told Playbill.

Recording artists Nyoy Volante (Usnavi) and Jimmy Marquez, MYX VJ K-La Rivera (Nina Rosario), TV actress and host Jackie Lou Blanco (Camila Rosario), and thespians Ima Castro (Vanessa), Tex Ordonez (Daniela), Calvin Millado (Kevin Rosario), Felix Rivera (Benny), Jay Glorioso (Claudia), Bibo Reyes, Tanya Manalang, Altair Alonso, Johann dela Fuente, Japs Treopaldo, Carlos Canlas, Delphine Buencamino, Reg Claravall and Stanley Canete complete its cast.

In the Heights in Manila is made possible through a special licensing arrangement with the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization and Broadway Asia Entertainment.

In the Heights is currently looking at a non-Equity national tour in the United States that will run this year until June 2012. 

For tickets to In the Heights in Manila, call Atlantis Productions Inc. at (632) 892-7078, (632) 840-1187 or visit www.atlantisproductionsinc.com.

Photos by Jaime Unson