The much-anticipated musical In the
Heights will open the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
Based on Lin Manuel Miranda's
(Hamilton) stage musical, In the Heights will premiere
at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, the same New York
City neighborhood where the movie takes place.
The film stars Anthony Ramos as Usnavi,
who dreams of returning to his home country of the Dominican
Republic.
In a statement, director Jon Chu called
Washington Heights “the lead character” in the film.
“How incredible that after a year of
isolation, New Yorkers from across all boroughs will have an
opportunity to see it first, together, and join us in the celebration
of life coming back,” Chu said.
The movie includes some queer elements,
including a cameo from RuPaul's Drag Race alum Valentina.
The film also differs from the stage
version with the inclusion of a lesbian couple. While beauty salon
owner Daniela (played by Daphne Rubin-Vega) and hairdresser Carla
(Stephanie Beatriz) are portrayed as friends and coworkers in the
play, the women are involved in a romantic relationship in the movie.
“What was so gratifying to me as a
person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part
of the fabric of the community,” Beatriz
said at a press event, “and to be normal, and be happy and
functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created. So much of
this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for
Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla
feels at home.”
In the Heights will open in
theaters and on HBO Max on June 11.