‘In the Heights’ is full of incredible moments, but this one really stood out for the cast & crew
Lyndsey Rodrigues
Senior Entertainment Producer, Val Morgan Digital
In the (American) summer of 2019, Jon M. Chu, Lin-Manuel Miranda and a cast and crew of hundreds, began shooting the film version of In the Heights in New York City. The plot of the movie (and the Broadway show that preceded it) tells the story of three days in New York’s Washington Heights, and the characters who inhabit it — vibrantly bringing the often-overlooked stories of Latinx immigrants to life.
It was important to Chu and Miranda, along with screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes, that In the Heights was shot as authentically as possible — which meant that city blocks in Washington Heights and local residents took the place of sound stages and meticulously cast extras.
For Chu, this represented being welcomed into a loving and diverse community that is rarely portrayed onscreen (at least not positively), something that deeply affected the director.
“I cried every day on this shoot,” Chu told The Latch in an interview. “[This film] made me stop and listen, to be honest. To show a community that’s taking care of each other just meant so much and it took our whole shoot to shoot every piece of that. It meant a lot.”
It’s a sentiment that was echoed by the film’s two female leads, Leslie Grace and Melissa Barrera — who play Nina and Vanessa respectively.
“We grew up without having a movie like this,” Barerra said. “We’ve never had anything like it and, and I think seeing yourself represented on screen is very powerful.”
Added Grace, “I feel so proud to be a part of this family. And to know that it’s a story that is going to mean so much to everyone else.”
Anthony Ramos in In the Heights
As you might expect, given that this is an adaptation of a Broadway show, In the Heights is jam-packed with show-stopping musical numbers and jaw-dropping dance routines — all of which were shot on the streets of the Upper Manhattan neighbourhood (in the middle of summer, no less) with hundreds of extras. While each and every song packs punch, there was one number in particular that felt extra special to Chu, Grace and Barrera.
“I would say Carnaval del Barrio was probably the single most amazing shooting day of my life,” Chu enthused of the scene that sees the residents of Washington Heights convene for what could be their last celebration, as their neighbourhood becomes more gentrified.
“We shot that whole scene in one day — eight minutes of screen time — in a real courtyard in Washington Heights with all our characters in one spot. They could basically do the whole eight minutes live, and so it was me just trying to keep up with it and finding new positions.”
He continued, “the energy in there was unlike anything I’ve ever felt — when they grab their flags, and those drums kick in, and Anthony’s up on that table…that is real energy.
“I’d call cut and nobody would stop. It was not a performance at that point. It was as fulfilling of a moment of telling stories as anything I’ve ever experienced.”
Added Barrera, “It was the biggest number we shot in one day and it just felt like it had a weight to it. It had a significance that was broader than a musical number that we had to get right.”
“It felt like we all made history,” she continued — with Grace emphatically in agreement.
“It was a moment in time where we all got to wave our flags proudly, and know that the rest of the world was going to see us celebrating our culture and our ancestors. It was just incredible.”