It all began with a dream.
Well,dreams, actually.
“I presented him with an idea that probably sounded crazy to him,” Chu tells EW.
‘In the Heights’ stars Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera.Illustration by German Gonzalez for EW
that would magnify the story of an underrepresented community.
“All those details played into how we would eventually film.”
“It was one of the most memorable meetings I’ve ever had,” says Ramos.
Lin-Manuel Miranda as Piragüero, with Christopher Jackson as the Mr. Softee driver in ‘In the Heights.'.Macall Polay/Warner Bros.
“We got emotional talking about the parallels from our childhoods and our parents’ upbringing.
There was this connection from the start and that bled over into filming.”
“Everyone saw Daphne as an inspiration on set,” says Chu of the Broadway icon.
Melissa Barrera as Vanessa and Anthony Ramos as Usnavi in ‘In the Heights.'.Macall Polay/Warner Bros.
“The opportunities for great actors in the Latinx community just aren’t there,” says Chu.
“So we were going to have to create the infrastructure to find that.”
That infrastructure allowed Chu and Co. to find Barrera for the role of Vanessa.
A scene from the ‘96,000’ musical number in ‘In the Heights.'.Warner Bros. Pictures
“I was obsessed.
From that moment, I was like, ‘This is incredible.
I can be in this musical.’
Melissa Barrera in ‘In the Heights.'.Macall Polay/Warner Bros.
Ramos had a similar revelation the first time he sawHeightson stage when he was in college.
It was almost like this voice telling me, ‘Yo, don’t worry.
Things are changing.'”
A moment from the ‘Carnaval del Barrio’ number in ‘In the Heights.'.Warner Bros. Pictures
The experience earned him his theater union card, and by extension, ultimately his role inHamilton.
“The Heightspopped it all off,” he says.
“The water was cold.
It was gloomy out.
But it was also amazing.
We were cheering [the dancers] on, like, “Let’s go.
This is for the culture!”
The music starts playing, and you could feel the energy.
That power, that adrenaline, that heart was what was keeping everybody going.”
“I was holding onto so much fear and I needed to let it out.”
“We shot that number in two days and it felt like I’d climbed Mount Everest.”
Chu also had some almost-insurmountable moments.
Ramos adds, “I wish I could explain that s—.
Barrera concurs, “We all felt it.
It was such a beautiful day, seeing all the flags.
Everyone felt represented and everyone felt seen.
It was the highest high and we felt like we were making history at that moment.”
Bringing extra emotion to that scene, Miranda was standing on a fire escape above the action that day.
When the cast and crew started chanting his name repeatedly, he, too, was overcome.
“They did it for so long, everyone started crying,” says Chu.
“He’s looking down at hundreds of people who are employed because he wrote this show.
That’s what this whole journey was about.
That’s what’s most fulfilling.”
When dreams come true.
In the Heightshits theaters and HBO Max this Friday.
