Lin-Manuel Miranda

Infobox actor
name = Lin-Manuel Miranda


caption =
birthdate = January 16, 1980 (age 28)
birthplace = New York City
tonyawards = Best Original Score
2008 "In the Heights"

Lin-Manuel Miranda (born January 16, 1980) is an American actor and Tony Award winning composer, and lyricist. He is most famous for writing and acting in the Broadway musical "In the Heights", which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2008.

Early life

Lin-Manuel was born in Northern Manhattan in New York City of Puerto Rican descent. cite web|url=http://www.intheheightsthemusical.com/story_lin.html|title=The Conceiver|publisher=In the Heights|accessdate=2008-08-26]

Education

After graduating from Hunter College High School, Miranda went on to attend Wesleyan University.cite news|url=http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/03/linmanuel_miranda_of_in_the_he.html|title=Lin-Manuel Miranda of ‘In the Heights’ on No Longer Being in the Heights|last=Murphy|first=Tim|date=2008-03-07|work=New York Entertainment|publisher=The New York Times|accessdate=2008-08-26] During this time, he founded a hip-hop theatre troupe called "Freestyle Love Supreme" and he wrote the earliest draft of "In the Heights", which only included one song, in 1999 (his sophomore year of college). Miranda received permission to perform at the school theater from 20 April to 22 April. After he got permission, he worked adding "freestyle rap... bodegas, and salsa numbers." When it debuted, the musical broke box-office records for the theater that year. After seeing the play, John Buffalo Mailer, the son of a famous Broadway producer, approached Miranda and asked if the play could be expanded to be on Broadway.

"In the Heights"

In 2002, John Buffalo Mailer and Miranda worked with director Tommy Kail and wrote five separate drafts of "In the Heights" that were dissected. During this time, Miranda worked as an English teacher at his old high school. After making it off-Broadway, the play went to Broadway in 2007.

Other Work

Miranda also wrote, directed, and acted in an independent film called "Clayton's Friends" (1996). In 2007, Miranda made an appearance on the television series "The Sopranos" in the episode "Remember When." [http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Star_File.aspx?ci=550920 Lin-Manuel Miranda, Star File: Broadway.com Buzz ] ] Lin-Manuel has also worked as an English teacher at his old high school, written for the Manhattan Times as a columnist and restaurant reviewer, and composed for commercials. [ [http://bigsight.org/linmanuelmiranda bigsight.org | Lin-Manuel Miranda - Writer, "In The Heights." - New York, New York ] ] In 2008, Miranda was invited by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz to contribute two new songs to a revised version of Schwartz and Nina Faso's 1978 musical "Working" which opened in May at the Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, Florida. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/117759.html Playbill News: Working, with Two New Songs by Heights Writer Miranda, Opens in FL May 16 ] ]

Awards

Miranda has won the following awards:
* 2008 Tony Award Best Musical, In the Heights
* 2008 Tony Award Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre, In the Heights
* 2007 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut, In the Heights
* 2007 Clarence Derwent Award, In the Heights
* 2007 Obie Award for Music and Lyrics, In the Heights
* 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble Performance, In the Heights
* 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Musical, In the Heights
* 2007 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, In the Heights
* 2007 Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Off-Broadway Musical, In the Heights

In addition, Miranda was nominated for the following awards:
* 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics, In the Heights
* 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Music, In the Heights
* 2008 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

References

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=459893 Internet Broadway Database profile]
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* [http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=562350 Lin-Manuel Miranda Q&A on Broadway.com by Beth Stevens]