Washington Heights’ Hispanic heat has hit the Watkins Mill High School stage in the form of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award winning musical In the Heights, which opens tomorrow night at 7pm.

“In the Heights” is about the everyday life of South American immigrants living in the small New York neighborhood of Washington Heights. The play follows the character of Usnavi De La Vega, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, and his friends as they tell the story of what it’s like to live in “El barrio” from July 3 to July 5.

Director and IB film teacher Jamaly Allen is excited to direct this musical because he “[grew] up being a New Yorker himself, and [living] with his next door neighbors [being] Italian, [his] upstairs neighbors were Puerto Rican, and the ones above were African American.”

“[I] originally [was] going to do Rent but I realized that it excluded some of the actors that I’ve been working with for the past three years, I didn’t want to exclude them, so I chose In The Heights,”  Allen said.  In The Heights captures some of the same social issues faced by the diverse population at Watkins Mill, making it a popular choice.

Working with so many new faces can be a challenge for some, but many actors still have faith in their theater family. “We had a team building exercise that helped [bring the cast] together,” sophomore Shareyne Repaje, who plays Camila Rosario, said. “I feel like it’s [going to be] a great play because of the cast.”

“[I feel like] my favorite play is [going to be] In the Heights,” junior Lenox Kamara said.  Kamara is playing the lead role of Usnavi. “I’ve never been under [Allen’s] leadership, but I believe that with his guidance for the show, it’s going to turn out to be one of the biggest shows [that] Watkins Mill [has ever done].”

“A lot of the time [the actors] feel like they aren’t doing the role they [were] cast for,” Allen said. “That isn’t the case. Acting is about following the need of the character, the need propels the character and action and that is what I’m looking for.”

Junior Elena Rodriguez is excited that the play  “has different music [that] there [is] dancing [and many] different cultures.”

“It’ll be a great play,” Repaje added.

In The Heights premieres tomorrow night at 7pm and will be performed this Saturday night, April 15, and April 16 as well.  Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for students and senior citizens.