东京热

In the Heights, directed by Professor Jodi Julian in Landis Auditorium:

• Thursday, Oct. 30, 10 a.m. 鈥� Faculty Equity Flex performance

• Thursday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m.

• Friday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m.

• Saturday, Nov. 1, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

• Sunday, Nov. 2, 2 p.m.

Enjoy an art installation curated by 东京热鈥檚 Art Department visiting artist Cosme Cordova and students in Bryan C. Keene, Ph.D.鈥檚, Introduction to Exhibitions course. Let鈥檚 celebrate Hispanic Heritage year-round.

鈥淪ince the beginning of the great unfinished symphony that is our American experiment, time and time again, immigrants get the job done!鈥�
鈥� Lin-Manuel Miranda, University of Pennsylvania Commencement address, 2016

Immigrants have always helped make America great.

In the Heights is a story of sue帽os, comunidad y amor鈥攄reams that lift us, a community that grounds us, and love that carries us along. It is a story of those who hustle, those who sacrifice, those who thrive. They fall in love, chase a college degree, scrape together savings to open a small business. They swap gossip at the beauty salon and share **recuerdos鈥攎emories鈥�**of homelands near and far. We see the kids who dance in the street, the parents who hold everything together, and the **abuelas鈥攇randmothers and matriarchs鈥�**who remind us of our roots. The barrio beats with rhythm and resilience: even in the face of injustice, they carry paciencia y fe鈥攑atience and faith鈥攍ifting alabanzas, or praises, to their ancestors. Each character wants m谩s鈥攂elonging, security, home, a chance to shine鈥攁nd in reaching for it, they show a full picture of immigrant and working-class life.

The creative team behind In the Heights brings a lineage of m煤sica, storytelling and coraz贸n鈥攈eart. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who conceived the show and wrote its music and lyrics, also gave us _Hamilton_ and songs for Disney鈥檚 Moana and Encanto. Quiara Alegr铆a Hudes, Pulitzer Prize鈥搘inning playwright of Water by the Spoonful, wrote the book for the musical and its film adaptation, shaping it with her signature insight into Latinx life and language. The show opened on Broadway in 2008 and was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning four鈥攊ncluding Best Musical. When Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, Wicked) directed the film version, he brought Washington Heights to the screen with vibrancy, humor and an even more pressing sense of activism.

To stage this story in Riverside in 2025 is to echo our own streets and our own moment. In the Heights speaks loudly in a time when, as the show reminds us, 鈥渞acism has gone from latent to blatant,鈥� and when undocumented lives remain vulnerable. In a moment when raising the banderas of our homelands with orgullo鈥攑ride鈥攊s an act of resistance, Miranda takes us beyond the familiar New York neighborhoods of _West Side Story_ and RENT, insisting that In the Heights is a celebration of a barrio that refuses to be invisible. As he reminds us, every staging brings its own community to the stage, letting each city raise its voice in celebration of Latinidad and Hispanidad.

Our students feel this deeply.

鈥淢y family are immigrants鈥攎y dad came from Per煤 at age 8 and worked any job to survive. I see that same passion in Usnavi,鈥� shares Emilio.

Bella finds Nina鈥檚 story close to her own: 鈥淚t means acknowledging my family and how they paved the way for me. I don鈥檛 need to feel bad about succeeding.鈥�

For Sebastian, the show is lleno de coraz贸n: 鈥淭his musical always reminds me of my household, my childhood city. With immigration today, it feels like a huge 鈥樎�ya basta!鈥� to the government.鈥�

Victoria hears her Lola in Abuela Claudia鈥檚 words: 鈥淭he idea of choosing a community as a family will always be something I identify with.鈥�

Lupito and Alexis hold onto themes of familia: 鈥淟etting go and letting your family ease your burdens,鈥� wrote the former; 鈥淟ove for family is the number one motivation鈥攎y character puts aside her own dream,鈥� said the latter.

Andy sees it as 鈥渁 colorful reflection of the immigrant experience鈥� an invitation to raw beauty in the cracks of unprivileged life.鈥�

Nathan connects with feeling like an outsider: 鈥淢y character鈥檚 stereotyped as up to no good, but really has huge heart鈥攁nd I know what it鈥檚 like to grow up under that same stereotype.鈥�

Bianca C., who once longed for a place that reflected her own heritage, explains: 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 wait to find a space where I鈥檇 feel seen and appreciated for who I am and where I come from.鈥�

Matt, reflecting on the pirag眉ero, shares: 鈥淧iragua guy is joy. He鈥檚 a reminder of home for immigrants, a sign they belong here and aren鈥檛 alone. This show is a love letter to Latinos and people who look like me.鈥�

And playing the matriarch, Bianca G. notes that seeing all the flags of the Latine/Chicane experience raised high in the show lifts all of us higher and fills us with tears of deep pride. She adds, 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be in the musical because of the loud and proud celebration of our culture. Especially because of the climate of the world we are living in now鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 just feel powerful, it feels necessary.鈥�

The cast brings ancestries that cross oceans and generations: the Caribe帽es鈥擯uerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic鈥攆lowing through Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica), down to Per煤 and Argentina; stretching to the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia; alongside Apache and Cherokee Native American ancestry, African Americans and others from the African diaspora; and reaching across Europe through Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, Portugal and Ukraine. Over 20 nationalities, woven together into one community.

And in rehearsal, they live that comunidad. They share stories of abuelas, primos, and t铆as, laugh about piraguas鈥攕now cones鈥攐r raspados鈥攕haved ice with syrup that cool a summer block. They bring snacks, exchange recipes, reminisce about family, history and heritage. Story by story, bite by bite, they build **confianza鈥�**trust鈥攗ntil the rehearsal hall feels like a home.

In the Heights is a gathering. A celebration of cultura鈥攐ur culture. A reminder that **nuestras voces鈥攐ur voices鈥�**carry legacies of resilience, joy and belonging.