Meanwhile, Miranda is now ruling Broadway, where these stories of course originate (or transfer – “Mary Poppins” was made into a Broadway musical in 2006.) Miranda’s “Hamilton”, which he wrote and stars in, incorporates various musical styles, including hip-hop, and recently won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.
Advertisement
Universal originally opted out of making the film when they couldn’t reason with director Kenny Ortega’s (Newsies, High School Musical) proposed $37 million budget.
A planned film adaptation of the 2008 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical has been given new life at The Weinstein Company, after languishing at Universal Pictures, an individual familiar with the project. “It’s been almost 10 years since In the Heights opened on Broadway, revealing, for the first time, Lin Manuel’s ground-breaking artistry to the theater world”, Sanders said.
Set in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, the story centers on a bodega owner who has mixed feelings about closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic after inheriting his grandmother’s fortune. Although he will be involved with the process of adapting his show, he is not expected to reprise his role as the lead character of Usnavi. The show, which also spawned a Grammy Award for best musical show album, ran on Broadway from 2008-11 and toured the U.S from 2009-11.
Mark Klein (“Serendipity”) has already penned the first draft of the script, and world-renowned producer Scott Sanders (“The Color Purple”) will be producing along with Miranda all under the umbrella of The Weinstein Co. Fast forward to now and The Weinstein’s reworked version will be based on a screenplay by Quiara Alegria Hudes, the writer behind the original stage show.
Advertisement
“In the Heights” was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won four – Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. The new movie, titled “Mary Poppins Returns”, will be directed by Rob Marshall of “Into the Woods” and “Chicago” and will be released in December 2018.
