Photo: Teresa Wood
Lights up on Washington Heights!
Anthony Ramos, the Hamilton actor who is currently appearing alongside Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born, is in talks to star as Usnavi in the film adaptation of the 2008 Tony-winning In the Heights—Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first musical.
The musical follows the residents of Upper Manhattan neighborhood Washington Heights, where a bodega owner, a college student, a taxi driver, a beauty salon employee, and an older woman aspire to better lives as gentrification begins to take control of the largely Latino neighborhood. Musical scribe Quiara Alegria Hudes will pen the script, with Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu on board to direct. Miranda, alongside Anthony Bregman, Mara Jacobs, and Scott Sanders will produce the film.
While nothing is officially confirmed yet, it is rumored that Ramos is in talks with Warner Bros. to play bodega owner Usnavi, a role originated by Miranda himself on Broadway. Ramos originated the roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in Hamilton on Broadway, and stars in the upcoming films Monsters and Men and Godzilla: King of Monsters; on the silver screen in Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It; and the revival of Will & Grace.
This past spring, Ramos portrayed Usnavi at the Kennedy Center’s production of the Tony-winning musical alongside Vanessa Hudgens.
Warner Bros. won the bidding war the film adaption in May. The film rights was previously secured by The Weinstein Company but was extricated last fall during their misconduct scandal.
In The Heights is set to release June 26, 2020.
