How similar is the In the Heights film to the Broadway show?
Before Lin Manuel Miranda shot to global superstardom as the writer and star of Broadway sensation Hamilton, hed already developed a stellar reputation thanks to his debut production: In the Heights. Advertisement  Co-written with playwright and lyricist Quiara Alegra Hudes, the musical explores the lives of several Latinos living in the titular New York neighbourhood, complete with a colourful cast of supporting characters and several stunning song and dance numbers. Now Miranda and Hudes have adapted their own stage show into a feature film  helmed by Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu  which arrives in cinemas just in time for summer. Read on for everything you need to know. Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at a Q&A prior to the films release, Miranda explained that his favourite adaptations dont always stick 100 per cent to the original texts. Asked what makes a good movie musical, he responded, The ones I like arent necessarily [like-for-like] adaptations of the original. One of my favourite movie musicals is Cabaret, Bob Fosse took enormous liberties in adapting the stage piece to the screen but what emerges on the screen is an almost more concentrated version of the themes. And I think in this endeavour a lot of the credit for our adaptation really goes to Quiara who took a headstart in writing this incredible screenplay, and I think adapted a two-act show into a three-act structure pretty brilliantly and was incredibly courageous in the moves she made. And then the joy for me was the detail work, in this version of the blackout Usnavi and Vanessa run into each other, I get to write that piece of the song now, I never got the chance to write that in the previous incarnation.  So to put it another way, the film is largely very faithful to the show, but a few alterations have been made to the structure, and some minor additions have been made  such as the aforementioned scene between Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) and Vanessa (Melissa Barerra). There are also a few characters who have been cut completely  most notably Camila, Ninas mother who acts as a peacemaker between her daughter and husband in the musical. This means there are some changes to Ninas storyline, with her reason for dropping out of university slightly altered  in the stage show she loses her scholarship after her grades drop due to working two jobs while in the film her reason for leaving stems from alienation and experiences of racism. The film is set in the modern-day, rather than in 2005 when the show was originally written, so some other small changes have been made to bring everything up to date  such as references to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy, with regards to Sonnys storyline, as well as mentions of microaggressions. Another change brought in for the film concerns the framing device used to begin and end the movie  featuring Usnavi addressing his children on a Dominican Republic beach. This does not happen in the stage play, where naturally Usnavi is able to directly address the audience. WB  In terms of music, there is one brand new original song written specifically for the film  titled Home All Summer  while some lyrics of 96,000 were changed, such as a reference to Donald Trump being removed and replaced by Tiger Woods. Meanwhile, a few songs from the musical dont make it into the film, including Enough, Intil, Sunrise, Hundreds of Stories, Atencin, and Everything I Know. According to Quiara Alegra Hudes, the biggest advantage of screen, as opposed to stage, is being able to have a balance between big, spectacular musical numbers and smaller, quieter character moments. When I think of my favourite movie musicals, I think of the opportunity to juxtapose tremendous vision in the musical numbers with very intimate moments, she explained. Like being honestly able to whisper a conversation, like what happens between Abuella and Nina in one of the very first scenes. Get exclusive film newsletters from our award-winning editorial team Sign up to get alerts for movie news, reviews and recommendations Thanks, you are now signed up to our films newsletter! We look forward to sending you our email updates. Sign in to/ register for a RadioTimes.com account to manage your email preferences Sign in Register To manage your email preferences, click here. Sign me up! Immediate Media Company Limited (publishers of radiotimes.com) would love to send you our films newsletters. We may also send occasional updates from our editorial team. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we hold your personal data, please see our privacy policy. So the opportunity to get really big and also get really up close and personal. And I remember developing the screenplay, Jon and I going back and forth on how big we can get and how human we can get, always pushing those extremes to create that dynamism.  Whatever the changes, it appears that the original cast is on board with the new version, with Miranda revealing that he recently had a screening alongside both the films cast and the Broadway cast. Advertisement  Hearing my first family, that Broadway family, scream at what they were witnessing that was there were a lot of good moments and that was a really good one! he explained. In the Heights is released in UK cinemas on Friday 18th June 2021. Visit our Movies hub for all the latest news. Check out our TV Guide.