A Lin Manuel Miranda Musical Will Open Portland Center Stage’s Next Season

It's probably not the one you're imagining.

IMAGE: Luke Harold.
By Andi Prewitt

Portland Center Stage will open its 2019-2020 season with a Broadway hit by Lin-Manuel Miranda, though probably not the one you're imagining.

The rap musical Hamilton turned the playwright into a megastar, but before that, Miranda was the composer and lyricist for In the Heights. The slice-of-life story about a tight-knit immigrant community in New York City, which opened on Broadway in 2008 and went on to win four Tonys, will be the first play to kick off a diverse and politically relevant year of programs for the Northwest Portland company.

"You'll find a lineup brimming with music and humor, that also wrestles with the urgent ideas and questions of our time," artistic director Marissa Wolf said in a press release following a live preview of the 10 shows on Sunday.

This will be the first full season Wolf has planned for Portland Center Stage, having previously served as the associate artistic director at Kansas City Repertory Theatre. She took over for Chris Coleman, who left the company after 17 years for a similar position in Denver.

In the Heights continues Portland Center Stage's tradition of starting the season with a big, showy musical. Performances begin Aug. 31 and run through October 13 on the U.S. Bank Main Stage. Subscriptions are on sale now. You can find the company's complete schedule here.

Related: Hamilton Is Finally in Portland, and It's Everything You Hoped For.

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