By Rose Cohen ‘22 & Mariam Keita ‘24
Arts & Entertainment Editor & Managing Editor of the Web, News Editor
As fun as they are, flashy, showstopping musical numbers cannot save “In the Heights” from the criticism that emerged on social media following the musical-drama film’s release in early June. The motion picture, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, writer and star of the Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name, was difficult to watch. This was in part due to its failure to center Afro-Latino actors, despite taking place in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights, known as the “Little Dominican Republic.”
The film tells the story of a dorky, ambitious bodega owner named Usnavi, portrayed by Anthony Ramos, who immigrated to the uppermost part of Manhattan “from the single greatest / little place in the Caribbean: / Dominican Republic.” Usnavi dreams of retaining his roots by returning to his beloved homeland. He saves his pennies and fantasizes about running El Sueñito, or the Little Dream, the beach bar his father owned in the Caribbean nation.
In Arts & Entertainment’s first podcast, Managing Editor of Web and News Editor Mariam Keita and Arts & Entertainment Editor Rose Cohen discuss some of the controversy surrounding the casting choices for the movie adaptation of Lin Manuel Miranda’s popular musical “In the Heights.”
You can listen to the full episode now on Spotify or SoundCloud.