lin-manuel Miranda transformed from
substitute high school English teacher
to Tony award-winning theatrical genius
in less than 10 years this is the
evolution of lin-manuel Miranda even
before he won the Pulitzer Prize for
drama
lin-manuel Miranda had Broadway in his
veins Lin was born January 16 1980 in
New York New York but his parents came
to the United States from Puerto Rico
his mother is a psychologist and his
father served as a political consultant
for several NYC mayor's from the early
80s to the late 90s there Washington
Heights home was filled with cultural
pride and musical cast recordings such
as rent lamer zurab Camelot and Man of
La Mancha Lin's creativity was nurtured
early on at the age of nine he was
composing his own music for his piano
recitals and filming elaborate book
report projects with the help of his
family his affinity for the dramatic was
clear in hilarious letters he wrote his
parents from sleepaway camp in the
summer of 1990 he claimed that he was in
hell his tent was filled with morons who
called him Carmen Miranda and he missed
home desperately that love for his NYC
upbringing would provide important fuel
for his passions down the road Wesleyan
University is only two and a half hours
from home giving Lynne close proximity
to the inspiration he needed to take a
shot at the stage while it was Lynn Lynn
made friends with fellow theater lover
Thomas Kael and sang in a Jewish
acapella group called the Mazel tones
his first musical in the heights was
conceived in 1999 during his sophomore
year I started writing musicals because
I really wanted to be in musicals and I
didn't see that many opportunities for
myself I was like Chorus Line West Side
Story that's like Oh God in the heights
is filled with the Spanglish music in
sazon that flavored his childhood Lin
played whose Navi de la Vega a bodega
owner in love with a woman named Vanessa
Vanessa is also the name of a gorgeous
girl Lynn met in high school
Vanessa Nadal who would later become his
wife and mother of his sons Sebastian
and Francisco in the heights was
initially performed by the Wesleyan
student theatre company second stage
after Lynn graduated in 2002 Thomas ko
expressed interest in stepping in as a
director and helping Lynn take the
production to Broadway after a stint in
Connecticut and a year
off-broadway performances in the heights
premiered at Richard Rogers Theatre in
2008 the musical was nominated for 13
Tony Awards that year and took home four
including Best Musical the next year the
cast recording won a Grammy Award for
Best Musical show album Lynn was working
as a substitute English teacher at his
old high school to pay the bills as in
the heights began to take off but it was
his dad who encouraged him to really
commit to his writing great advice
considering lin-manuel was nominated for
the Pulitzer Prize for drama
in 2009 momentum was beginning to build
behind him consistently putting Lynn and
his unique creativity in the room where
it happens in 2008 while on vacation
Lynn casually picked up rancheros 818
page biography of Alexander Hamilton
what that doesn't sound like an easy
Beach read to you as he turned through
the pages of the eventful and tragic
life of the founding father who created
America's financial system Lynn was
struck by Hamilton having been a
non-stop hard-working immigrant much
like his parents he could already hear
how hip-hop could bring the story to
life in 2009 the Obamas invited him to
the White House to perform an early
version of the opening number from the
new musical he was cooking up with in
the heights alums Alex lakum or Thomas
Cale and Andy blinken Bueller education
don't forget from whence you came and
the world is gonna know
michelle obama has admitted she and her
husband former president brock obama
laughed when lin-manuel told them he
intended on bringing a hip-hop musical
about a little-known founding father to
broadway but after hamilton premiered on
Broadway on July 13 2015 the world has
never been the same as Hamilton quickly
became the hottest ticket in town with
repeatedly sold-out shows and soaring
ticket prices the MacArthur Foundation
awarded lin-manuel Miranda a genius
grant in the form of a six hundred and
twenty five thousand dollar stipend at
the 2016 Tony Awards Hamilton picked up
eleven medallions that same year Lynn
upgraded from Pulitzer Prize finalist
Pulitzer prize-winner when hurricane
Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017
lin-manuel immediately went to the aid
of his people struggling to survive as
the neglect of the current
administration left them wanting I feel
so grateful that we've raised at this
point forty-one million dollars and it
started emergency short term and has
also has slowly developed into long term
needs and although he left his post as
Alexander Hamilton on Broadway in the
summer of 2016 he decided to get back in
the blouse to bring the show to Porto
Rico all of the proceeds from the tour
are going to the flambeaux Yan Arts Fund
which supports local cultural
institutions theatre companies dance
companies and independent artists the
widespread success of his musicals has
put lin-manuel Miranda in the position
to showcase his songwriting skills in
Moana star wars the force awakens and
the 2018 remake of a Julie Andrews
classic Mary Poppins returns it has also
been announced that Lin will make his
feature film directorial debut for an
adaptation of tick tick boom a musical
by the late Jonathan Larson a
full-circle moment to be connected with
a project by the creator of rent one of
the first musicals that inspired
lin-manuel to explore theatre in a short
period of time
lin-manuel Miranda's innovation and
passion has made him an inspiring force
across the entertainment industry
history certainly has its eyes on
thanks for watching the evolution of got
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