#song for today: carnaval del barrio | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

londonspirit · 3 years ago

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After the pandemic delayed its highly-anticipated release, the In the Heights movie is finally coming to very thirsty fans this Friday - and, to make the premiere even better, a special behind-the-scenes look at the movie is hitting bookshelves. In the Heights: Finding Home is a joint venture with Lin-Manuel Miranda, screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter - it combines never-before-seen photos and oral history style-storytelling to take readers onto the Washington Heights set, spilling all sorts of filming secrets. Here, in an exclusive excerpt, read along as the cast battles record heat to complete the "Carnaval del Barrio" number.

Washington Heights is dense enough, and lively enough, to offer a distilled version of the New York paradox: Life is a nerve-fraying ordeal that you miss terribly as soon as it's gone. (According to local custom, people don't just double-park here, they triple-park.) Everybody knew that shooting a movie there would be difficult and expensive. But Jon [M. Chu, the director,] couldn't imagine doing it any other way.

For all of its fantastical touches-what Jon calls its "sing-to-the-stars-y" energy-Heights has always drawn power from its realism, a depiction of life as it's actually lived. The sweet spot for the movie, Jon felt, would be offering "a very truthful take on living in Washington Heights, then upping it."

In other words: No matter how fraught the process might be, the cast, the crew, and all of their gear-up to and including their fake sun in the sky-were going to spend the summer of 2019 in Washington Heights.

"The essence of a movie dictates where you shoot it," explains Kevin McCormick, a Warner Bros. executive who was integral to Heights. "And there's no way you could not have made this in Washington Heights. To have a movie about this community and not film there would be such a lost opportunity."

The first thing they did there was listen. Members of the production team, particularly Samson Jacobson, the location manager (born and raised in the area-a definite plus), and Karla Sayles, the director of public affairs at Warner Bros., met with community leaders to field questions and respond to concerns. Once again, Luis Miranda was a vital resource, drawing on relationships he had built over decades to make introductions.

The producers vowed to do all they could to limit the physical footprint of the shoot. Cast members shared trailers that they might otherwise have kept to themselves. The production hired people from the neighborhood for roles onscreen and off. Instead of catering every meal, they encouraged actors and crew to buy lunch in area restaurants. They even funded a student production of the show at George Washington high school.

What you see onscreen is a two-hour-and-fourteen-minute record of movie professionals falling in love with a place and its people. They arrived uptown to discover that Washington Heights really was different from most places in New York. Locals opened the hydrants on hot afternoons and played dominoes on the sidewalks. The piragüeros really did park their carts on the sidewalk to hawk their flavors of the day. The fascination seemed to be mutual: Actors got used to seeing whole families-little kids and their abuelitas-watching from their stoops at any time of the day or night.

Which is not to say that it came easily.

To Alice Brooks, the director of photography, the weather problems were "insane." If a storm popped up on the radar anywhere nearby, they had to suspend production. This happened with schedule-wrecking regularity. They expected to be free of such interruptions when they went underground to shoot "Paciencia y Fe" on the subway. Instead, they experienced a torment familiar to every New Yorker but with a twist: They weren't waiting for the train to appear so they could ride it to work, they just needed the garbage train to pass by so they could go back to shooting their movie.

The need to solve the endless riddles of New York filmmaking had led the producers to add Anthony Bregman to the team. At this point, he reckons, he's filmed in just about every corner of his hometown, always looking for ways to capture the authentic look and feel of a place-even when the movie is surreal. (He produced Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a valuable point of reference for the reality-bending frame of Quiara's screenplay.) So he wasn't especially rattled when, on the night they filmed "Alabanza," a nearby building caught fire, or when, on another night, gunshots rang out nearby.

"You want the life of the city?" Anthony asks. "The life of the city is complicated."

The production lost valuable shooting time on both of those nights. They found ways to make it up later. But other days offered no second chances. Anthony remembers looking at the calendar before summer began, getting a feel for what lay ahead. Some days seemed manageable; some days seemed tough. Then there was "Carnaval del Barrio."

"That day," he says, "was impossible."

What turned out to be a defining episode in the whole long history of In the Heights almost didn't happen at all. Many a movie executive had suggested over the years that there wasn't enough plot in "Carnaval del Barrio" to justify a song that was very long and very crowded, which made it very expensive. But the song's power doesn't come from the plot, it comes from the theme. The characters rally one another's spirits amid a citywide blackout. They raise their flags and celebrate their heritage-and their humanity-in defiance of every force telling them not to.

That community-fortifying aspect of the song is "essentially the DNA of In the Heights for me," Quiara says. Beneath the joy, there's a legacy of struggle and resilience. " 'Carnaval' unearths that history. All we have is our fight to be here together, the testimony to our spirit."

To help ensure that the number would remain in the movie, she hooked it into the plot more securely, situating it as a farewell number for the salon ladies, who have been priced out of the neighborhood. But the budget wasn't the only limiting factor. "Carnaval" is unique in requiring virtually every member of the cast to be present at the same time.

The actors' complicated schedules meant that Jon wouldn't get all the filming days he wanted. He would get only one.

Which meant it was time for the hard, slow, unglamorous legwork of moviemaking: planning, organizing, rehearsing, designing, equipping, and rehearsing some more-months of it, all to give themselves the best possible chance to "make the day," to film the whole gigantic number in the time available.

In the world of making movies, "day" is a flexible unit of time, especially for a scene that would be filmed outdoors- in this case, a courtyard between two apartment buildings around the corner from where Lin went to preschool. They scheduled the shoot for a Monday, when union rules would let them start the earliest. And they picked June 24, one of the longest days of the year.

They didn't realize it would also be one of the hottest.

The song would be filmed more or less in order. Which meant that for the production, as for the characters, the salon ladies would lead the way.

Some of the movie's actors were new to musicals. Not Daphne Rubin-Vega, who plays Daniela. When Rent blew the mind of seventeen-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, she was onstage, playing Mimi. But when she arrived for hair and makeup on "Carnaval" day-at 4:30 in the morning-even she was feeling nerves. The uneven concrete floor of the courtyard wasn't like where they had rehearsed. The prospect of filming a seven-page song before nightfall seemed crazy.

She began to hear a voice of doubt in her brain, one that's encoded in a specific ugly memory. After wrapping her first film, she had gone to the airport to fly home to New York and mentioned to the woman at the ticket counter that she had just acted in a movie.

"That's funny," said the woman, who Daphne believes to have been Latina like herself. "You don't look like an actress."

Worries about how they looked, questions about what they were wearing, a general feeling of negativity-Dascha Polanco was feeling them, too. She always loved arriving on set to play Cuca, one of Daniela's fellow salon ladies, because it felt so much like coming home. She was born in the Dominican Republic and while growing up in Brooklyn used to make frequent trips to the Heights with her friends. ("Washington Heights is a small Dominican Republic," she explains.) Now she, too, wondered if she belonged. Am I capable of remembering the steps? she asked herself.

She decided to stop those doubts-for herself and the other salon ladies. She grabbed the hands of Daphne and Stephanie Beatriz, who played Carla, and formed the women into a profane prayer circle.

"Shake that s--- off," she told them. "I'm not going to let anyone or anything interfere with my performance today."

Daphne laughs as she tells the story. "She was so hilarious and said we were going to protect each other from that insecurity. That was such a beautiful thing-going in there with that determination to represent."

By 5:30 A.M., when the sun rose over Queens, sixty dancers had arrived. Christopher Scott, the film's choreographer, tried to prepare them for what was coming, backed by his full team of associate choreographers: Emilio Dosal, Ebony Williams, and Dana Wilson, as well as associate Latin choreographer Eddie Torres, Jr., and assistant Latin choreographer Princess Serrano. By six A.M., dozens of crew members had joined them, making the thousand careful adjustments needed to help a movie look spontaneous.

It was almost nine A.M. by the time Jon called "Action." The cameras started rolling, Daphne started singing, and the clock kept ticking.

Arrange the actors, position the cameras, do a take, reset everybody, do it again. As the sun climbed higher that morning, the temperature rose to what one crew member estimated to be nine hundred degrees. Look closely-see the sweat on people's bodies? Most of it didn't come from the makeup department. But there wasn't time for extra breaks to cool off.

"Please be quiet," a voice on the loudspeaker boomed at one point. "We gotta go."

At one point that morning, Jimmy Smits got his turn to shine. Playing Kevin Rosario wasn't his first Height experience. He had seen the show Off-Broadway and been "blown away" by it, he says. He had offered to help in any way he could, eventually recording a radio ad for the show.

His devotion to Heights carried into rehearsals for the film. As they got underway, he told Chris Scott and the choreography team, "I know I'm playing the dad, but the last thing I want to see is myself in the background, just waving my hands. I want to go all in." They obliged him. He sometimes hobbled home from the dance studio to ice himself for hours.

His payoff came on "Carnaval" day. He had a featured moment in the song: an intricate, whirling combination. The cast and crew watched him do it again and again, cheering him on. He could feel "a lightning bolt of energy" around the set, something he'd experienced only rarely in his long career.

Over the applause after one take, a voice rang out, ricocheting off the walls: "That s--- was crazy! For our ancestors!" It was Anthony Ramos. He, too, had a long history with Heights, but it wasn't as happy as Jimmy's.

Very early in his career, he had tried to get cast as Sonny on the show's national tour. It meant taking a bus into Manhattan from a gig he was doing in New Jersey, going through round after round of auditions. At last he made it to the big moment: a callback in front of Tommy Kail, Alex Lacamoire, and Lin himself.

He gave the song everything he had. He didn't get the part.

He thought he'd missed the one chance he would get to work with Lin, the writer who'd evoked Anthony's own world, Latino New York, so beautifully on a Broadway stage. He needn't have worried. A few years later, the same guys would hire him to originate the roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, Alexander's son, in Hamilton.

When Anthony got to know Tommy and Lac well enough, he asked if they remembered not casting him as Sonny. They said they did.

"You weren't ready yet," Lac said.

Anthony knew he was right. "Only a homie would tell you that," he says.

But he needed one more break to make his way back to Heights and find himself sweating in the courtyard that morning.

In 2018, Stephanie Klemons, an original cast member of both In the Heights and Hamilton, directed a production of Heights at the Kennedy Center in Washington. The night before rehearsals were set to begin, she lost an actor to an injury. She reached out to Anthony: Could he step in with zero notice?

He didn't feel physically or mentally ready, and was about to pass, but decided to do it. That's how he got a second chance to show Lin what he could do in Heights-not as Sonny this time, as Usnavi. In a series of tweets, reproduced on this page, Lin commemorated how overwhelmed he was watching Anthony step into the role he once played. He, Quiara, and Jon all agreed that when the cameras started rolling, Anthony should be their Usnavi.

The bond between Anthony and Lin added to the drama of filming "Carnaval." Lin played Piragua Guy, so he was in the courtyard, too-or, rather, directly above it, on a fire escape. It meant that the whole cast and crew had a clear view of the brief duet that he and Anthony sing in the middle of the number. To people who knew their history, the sight made time go all swirly. Anthony had originated the role of Lin's son in Hamilton, and now he was playing the role that Lin had originated, and somehow the two of them were singing a duet in Washington Heights.

A quirk of the production process made the moment even stranger and more potent. All day, the actors had been singing along to prerecorded versions of "Carnaval" piped over the loudspeakers. But somehow they hadn't gotten around to recording Anthony's side of his duet, so they had to fall back on the only other version on hand: the Broadway cast album. Which meant that Lin wasn't just singing with Anthony that day, he was harmonizing with himself at age twenty-eight, when every bit of what was happening around him would have seemed like a ludicrous dream. "It was like time travel," Lin says.

By three p.m., when everybody had returned from their lunch break-blood sugar bolstered by the ice cream truck that Stephanie Beatriz had hired-time was growing shorter, the day hotter. Now when choreographer Chris Scott talked to the dancers, many listened with hands on hips, hands on knees.

From his fire escape, Lin did his bit to keep up morale. He joined in the clapping that broke out between scenes; he made silly faces; he pulled up his shirt and did belly rolls. Guests watched from the edges of the shoot: Lin's dad and wife, Quiara's sister, Chris's mom, Anthony's sister and mom. Anna Wintour stopped by.

Jon is not the type to direct through a bullhorn, barking orders from the shade. When they'd filmed "96,000" earlier that month on a couple of unseasonably frigid days, he had jumped in the Highbridge Park pool with the cast.

On this day, he darted around the courtyard, giving notes to actors, framing shots, conferring with Alice. He is also not the type to speak in mystical terms, but when he thinks back on that day, he remembers "the sun shining down like a laser-it was like the sun was shining out of everybody."

By late afternoon, the boundary between the make-believe world of the movie and the real world of the shoot had all but melted away. They had reached the part of the song where Usnavi and Daniela try to call forth their neighbors' pride in where they come from. Anthony climbed onto a picnic table and faced the whole cast, rapping, "Can we sing so loud and raucous they can hear us across the bridge in East Secaucus?" Daphne stood near him, arms wide apart, raising them up, willing everybody to stand tall, to keep going.

Both of them were throwing all their skill and commitment into their performances, the stars of two of Broadway's epoch-making musicals doing what they had trained to do. But they also weren't acting.

"To raise the flag for your country, to dance and recognize that we're all here together, and belong here, we don't need to be forgiven for it, or ashamed for it," says Daphne of what she was feeling. "There's a pride in being here from Colombia, or Panama, the D.R., Puerto Rico, Cuba, wherever."

At eight o'clock, with the sun sinking toward New Jersey, the dancers were still dancing. Eleven hours had passed since Daphne had belted out "Hey!" to start the song. Now Jon was trying to get the right take of sixty-plus voices shouting "Hey!" to finish it. In the movie version of the scene, the blackout ends when the song does, so a voice on the loudspeaker would announce, "The power's on!" That's how the actors knew the right moment to cheer that it was over.

After one such cheer, it really was over. Not just the take-the song.

They had done it. They had made the day.

Jon jumped into a swarm of dancers. (Ever see a baseball player hit a walk-off home run, then leap onto home plate into the waiting arms of his cheering teammates? That's what this jump looked like.) People were clapping and shouting and hugging and crying. Alice thought the whole thing was a miracle.

"You know when you see people at a concert cry, and you're like, 'I would never do that'?" asks costume designer Mitchell Travers. "That's what I did." He thinks it's the most sheer human energy he has ever been close to.

Anthony Ramos, in the middle of the crowd, launched into a speech. He can't remember his exact words. He hadn't planned what he was going to say-he hadn't planned to speak at all. He just felt that something needed to be said.

"I might have said, today we made history," he recalls. "This was for our ancestors who didn't get the opportunity to do this-who were fighting to have a chance to do what we just did. It was for love of the culture. It was for our kids, who look like us, to be able to see themselves on the big screen, to see us singing about our pride. Some s--- like that."

Somewhere in the crowd stood Dascha Polanco, cheering with the rest. She was sweaty, tired, tear-streaked-and beginning to feel the spirit move.

"I looked down and saw that concrete floor," she says, "and I saw those fire escapes up there, and I was like, 'New York.' "

She began a chant. It was slow and pitched low: "N-e-e-e-e-w York, N-e-e-e-e-w York." In seconds, the whole crowd took it up. "N-e-e-e-e-w York! N-e-e-e-e-w York!"

They were pointing to the sky. They were dancing.

"N-e-e-e-e-w York! N-e-e-e-e-w York!"

"It wasn't like chanting, 'Oh, I love New York,' " Anthony says later-meaning it wasn't a casual thing someone would casually say. "It was"-he drops his voice an octave and leans in-"I motherf---ing love New York. I'm proud to be from New York. I'm proud to be Latino from New York. That was the chant."

Lin, on his fire escape, was overwhelmed. Quiara, in the courtyard, guessed that people could hear them all chanting for blocks around. "It was the sound of joy and survival," she says. "And the sound of people who were really proud to be artists in community together-all our stories braided and interwoven at that one moment."

The long months of preparation had yielded the thing that movie people dream of creating: the burst of real emotion, the flash of genuine spontaneity. Some of it infuses what you see in the finished version of the song, but some of it can't be recovered now. It's an experience only for the people who got to be part of that impromptu celebration, the carnaval that followed "Carnaval."

That long day and its joyous finale capture, in miniature form, a lot of the Heights experience-what's powerful about it, what's rare. Instead of expecting little from the actors it featured, Heights demanded everything-not just what they could do, but who they were and where they came from. By fusing them with dozens of other artists making the same commitment, it gave them the feeling that Lin had wanted so badly for himself when he started writing the show: a sense of belonging, of being part of a group of people working toward a goal they all hold dear. That's why Anthony, looking back on filming "Carnaval," says, "That was one of the greatest days of my life. Period. If I never do another movie again, I did this."

"Something that arises in 'Carnaval' is a feeling of, 'There's a place for us,' " says Quiara. "But the place is not one that says, 'Oh, I definitely fit in' or 'I definitely don't.' It holds those questions. It allows those questions to exist."

Those questions, she has come to see, are universal.

"People are like, 'What is my place in the world?' That question is actually part of your place in the world," she says. "There's something about In the Heights. It takes such a burden off to hear, 'Yeah, there's a place for you. Here it is.'"

#in the heights #ith movie #in the heights - the movie #spoilers #ith spoilers #sorry - super long post #long post #but I needed the whole text here because it's fucking BEAUTIFUL #and I don't want it to vanish!!!#carnival del barrio

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thats-ladyrandom-toyou · 4 years ago

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Today on songs that made me cry :

Carnival del Barrio

In the heights original Broadway cast

#song rec #in the heights #broadway #music #songs #lin manuel miranda #so listen to it if you havent #Spotify

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hot-chocolate-is-my-lover · 2 years ago

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The only song that matters today

#i am VIBING #one of my favourite musicals #my shit #audio

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latinxcreativityfall2021 · 3 years ago

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Blog Post #6

This week, we read chapters 14-16 of Routledge Companion to Latino/a Popular Culture. Chapter 14 focuses on Chicanx hip hop, while chapter 15 discusses punk Spanglish. Chapter 16 is on Latinx radio and counter epistemologies.

Chapter 14 is a discussion of how Chicanx identity is influenced by both physical and geographic space, as well as native or ancestral land. Decolonial, or alterNative analyses, the book states, challenge academic history and teachings that portray Chicanx history and marginalization as a result of the US social system. Some systems of thought, Marxism in particular, point to capitalism as the reason for this marginalization and exploitation, while alterNative perspectives center on colonialism as the root of injustice within the Chicanx community. These alterNative analyses have found a link between Xicanx artistic expression, mainly hip hop, to indigenous culture and customs spanning thousands of years. Xicanx hip hop, the book states, structures indigenous philosophy, religion and social organization from over six thousand years ago, and imagery and themes from ancient stories, some centering around pollution of Mexican corn crops (centeotzintli, or “our sacred maiz”), make up much of Xicanx hip hop today. This maiz represents a spatial or territorial identity for some Xicanx artists, as seen in artist Kinto Sol, who uses hip hip as a method of reclaiming space and territory.

Chapter 15 discusses Punk Spanglish. A line that immediately caught my eye, after reading the email that the author’s friend sent, is “language is always marked by perspective” (pg. 173). English, the author states, is dexterous and adaptable in its ability to seamlessly absorb foreign words and phrases. Linguistic pluralism, a concept that has always fascinated me, is the idea of English taking on phrases or words from another language and incorporating them into a community or dialect. Punk Spanglish, the author says, is a language or dialect used mostly by young people. Punk Spanglish is the perfect example of the elasticity of language. Since it is used by mostly young people, it is slippery and intangible, and any attempt to codify or stabilize it will “make it old”. The chapter also discusses In the Heights, in which Merengue and Bachata are combined into rap and hip hop, as seen particularly in the song “Carnaval del Barrio”, which I am now singing mentally as I write this. This musical, along with other examples of music, all use Spanglish in their music, combined with both modern and traditional forms.

Chapter 16 discusses Latinx radio and counter epistemologies. Stacey Alex, the author of the chapter, discusses how Latinx radio exists as a form of activism and art within the United States. When immigration policies attempt to strip migrants of a sense of belonging, radio is the space where Latinx participants can attempt to redefine social hierarchies and build a community space of Latinx knowledge and art. Critical race-gendered epistemologies, according to Dolores Delgado Bernal, are systems of knowledge informed by various raced and gendered experiences. These epistemologies, developed from social, cultural and political histories of the dominant race and rooted in white supremacy, challenge educational foundations of Anglo cultural experiences. The topics of internal and resilient resistance are also discusses here, with a person working and thriving within a system that was never set up to help them survive. Radio exists as a space in which Latinx artists and creators, as well as activists, can have their voices heard and valued, and can serve to create a sense of belonging within a community.

A link to a Latinx music radio station that I found.

A past, but still fascinating, UCDavis exhibit on Xicanx hip hop, music and art.

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ihaterossfromfriends · 7 years ago

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Tagged by @lildreamysoul thank you baby!! <3

Name: Mia, some friends call me Peach.

Star Sign: Aries!

Height: Around 5′ 5″ or 5′ 6″? I haven’t checked since I was in highschool lol.

Put your music on shuffle. What are the first six songs that popped up?

1. Carnaval Del Barrio - In The Heights

2. For Us - ODESZA

3. Tightrope - LP (thanks @obscurelemons for showing me this song who knows how long ago lol)

4. Dopamine - Borns

5. Broken - Gorillaz

6. Flowers - In Love With a Ghost (great study music btw, check them out!)

Grab the book nearest to you and turn to page 23. What’s line 17? There are literally no books within ten feet of me and I do not wish to get up I’m sorry. :’D

Ever had a poem or song written about you? Actually, yes!! Years ago my best friend who is a talented and budding young musician wrote a song for me. :>

When was the last time you played air guitar? literally every time I listen to anything, I probably did it today I just don’t remember lmao.

Who is your celebrity crush? ANY ONE OF MY FRIENDS CAN TESTIFY THAT IT IS LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA. He’s so talented and handsome and he seems really nice and funny, he owns my life tbh. xD

What’s a sound you hate? How about love? I can’t stand the sound of whatever curtains (and some bedsheets) are made of being scratched!! I’ve hated it ever since I was a kid. and I love bloopy electronic noises!

Do you drive? If so, have you crashed? No, I’m gay. and autistic.

Last Book you read? It wasn’t really a book per se, it was actually a play in book form. It was ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller for my drama final.

Do you like the smell of petrol? Yes!

What was the last movie you saw? today? Jurassic World. In theatres? Coco!! both of which I love!

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? Honestly I can’t even remember. I’m very careful so I haven’t broken a bone since I was five years old. I do have mild scoliosis and mild back pain but that was more gradual lmao!

Do you have any obsessions right now? I only have obsessions what are you talking about.

Do you tend to hold grudges against anyone who’s done you wrong? I’m a reasonable person but there is one person who I will never ever forgive and I would kill him if I had the chance. All jokes aside I hope he burns in hell forever.

In a relationship? yes!! we’re long-distance tho and we’re both kinda busy and in different timezones so we haven’t talked much lately. ; u ; I miss them

Tagging: @still-james, @mochi--pon, @thecrowmaiden, @hime--caramel, @trollbabbles, @akiiharu, @better-than-nothin-kay, and @shinsen-haruki!

#mia speaks #long post #thanks again for tagging me ash!!#ily #<33

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twostepsfromtemerant · 7 years ago

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Tag

I was tagged by both @logarithmicpanda and @bookcub!!

1) Rules: Tag 9 people. aaahhhhh. ok. @waves314 @kingkilling-and-stormlight @frei-rancken @maple-maypole @the-name-ofthe-wind @forest-of-books @feralgod @the-name-of-stone and @jessiebenkie

Last song I listened to: Carnaval del Barrio from In the Heights

Last book you read/listened to: A closed and common orbit by Becky Chambers

Favourite color: Purple

Top three shows: Brooklyn 99, American Gods, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Top three characters: Auri from the kingkiller chronicle, Blue from the Raven Cycle, and Inej from Six of Crows

Top three ships: Supergirl/Lena Luthor, Blue/Gansey, and Percabeth

2) Rules: BOLD the statements that are true for you!

APPEARANCE: I am 5'7" or taller: For those who use m (1,70m) I wear glasses I have at least one tattoo I have at least one piercing I have blonde hair I have brown eyes I have short hair My abs are at least somewhat defined I have or have had braces

PERSONALITY: I love meeting new people People tell me that I’m funny Helping others with their problems is a big priority for me I enjoy physical challenges I enjoy mental challenges I’m playfully rude with people I know well I started saying something ironically and now I can’t stop saying it There is something I would change about my personality

ABILITY: I can sing well I can play an instrument I can do over 30 pushups without stopping I’m a fast runner I can draw well I have a good memory I’m good at doing math in my head I can hold my breath underwater for over a minute I have beaten at least 2 people in arm wrestling I know how to cook at least 3 meals from scratch I know how to throw a proper punch

HOBBIES: I enjoy playing sports I’m on a sports team at my school or somewhere else I’m in an orchestra or choir at my school or somewhere else I have learned a new song in the past week I work out at least once a week I’ve gone for runs at least once a week in the warmer months I have drawn something in the past month I enjoy writing FANDOMS ARE MY #1 PASSION I do or have done martial arts

EXPERIENCES: I have had my first kiss I have had alcohol I have scored the winning goal in a sports game I have watched an entire season of a TV show in one sitting I have been at an overnight event I have been in a taxi I have been in the hospital or ER in the past year I have beaten a video game in one day I have visited another country I have been to one of my favorite band’s concerts

RELATIONSHIPS: I’m in a relationship I have a crush on a celebrity I have a crush on someone I know I have been in at least 3 relationships I have never been in a relationship I have asked someone out or admitted my feelings to them I get crushes easily I have had a crush on someone for over a year I have been in a relationship for at least a year I have had feelings for a friend

MY LIFE: I have at least one person I consider a “best friend” I live close to my school My parents are still together I have at least one sibling I live in the united states There is snow right now where I live I have hung out with a friend in the past month I have a smartphone I have at least 15 CD’s I share my room with someone

RANDOM SHIT: I have breakdanced I know a person named Jamie I have had a teacher with a last name that’s hard to pronounce I have dyed my hair I’m listening to one song on repeat right now I have punched someone in the past week I know someone who has gone to jail I have broken a bone I have eaten a waffle today I know what I want to do with my life I speak at least 2 languages I have made a new friend in the past year I have been given flowers before

#me #tag #thanks!!

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consider-thecoconut · 7 years ago

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In The Heights

Thank you!!

the first song from this show I heard: The first time I heard it was when I was watching it live at my college, so In The Heights was the first song I heard

do I own the cast album? Yep! I was listening to it today

favorite song: Idk I love them all!! But probably Breathe or Carnaval del Barrio

least favorite song: I guess Attencion, cause it’s short

favorite character: NINA

least favorite character: Graffiti Pete, I guess. I don’t have anything against him, I just like the other characters better

OTP: Nina/Benny

BROTP: Nina and Usnavi

NOTP: I don’t really have one

song I didn’t like at first but now do: Blackout

song I used to like but now don’t: N/A

is the fandom annoying? I’m sure there’s some annoying people, but everyone I’ve talked to has been really nice.

do I read/write fanfic for this show? I’ve read stuff, but haven’t written anything

favorite non-sung line: Why learn the language when they still won’t hear you?

favorite lyric: Idk I have a lot?? Like I really love this part from Carnaval del Barrio:

Parriba esa banderaAlzala donde quieraRecuerdo de mi tierraMe acuerdo de mi tierra…Esa bonita bandera!Contiene mi alma entera!Y cuando yo me muera,Entierrame en mi tierra!

And I also really love “I used to think we lived at the top of the world, when the world was just a subway map” because I love that metaphor of growing up and losing some of that childhood innocence. And I also love “hey guys it’s me, the biggest disappointment you know” because #relatable

overall rating out of 10: 12

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pardonmydelays · 1 year ago

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"i don't think i'll ever understand musicals the way you do" is something i've heard from one of my friends a couple of days ago when i told him i'm about to cross the whole country just to see one of those (my favourite one!) live in theatre. and i can't blame him. if you'd have told me a year ago that i would do something like that, i'd probably have laughed in your face. life is so unpredictable. i guess i have changed a lot. and i could write thousands of essays about how musicals helped me get through the shittiest period of my life, but we are not going to talk about this today. today we are talking about in the heights, the first musical i got a chance to experience live in theatre, hopefully not last. so grab a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable, this is going to be the longest essay you've ever seen, friends.

a little warning: spoilers. a lot of them actually. so if, by any chance, you haven't seen/heard it yet and you are going to, don't read it.

first thing i feel like i need to mention is that they had this mini bar inside the theatre and you could order a lot of different drinks there and one of them was called abuela's coffee. i heard one lady explaining to someone that it's actually coffee with condensed milk. my jaw dropped and i was like CAN I STAY HERE FOREVER, PLEASE? for those who don't understand why, here's a quote from the first song:

USNAVI: abuela, my fridge broke, i got café but no con leche ABUELA CLAUDIA: try my mother's old recipe: one can of condensed milk

so this was my first "OH! THEY GET IT!" moment (a little note here: i had a lot of oh, they get it moments, mostly because i don't have any people around me who understand musicals the way i do... honestly, you'd have to live inside my brain). that was the first time ever when i could actually be in the room where it happens with all those people who get it and care about it as much as i do (mostly actors and people responsible for the whole show tho, but we will get to this later).

let's get to the show. so when i finally went inside and i saw the stage, i already had tears in my eyes (don't judge me please). usnavi's store, abuela's door, daniela and carla's salon, all those puerto rican, cuban and dominican flags (one couple behind me was trying to figure out which one is which and it was funny because i knew and i wanted to scream)... listening and memorizing the whole soundtrack is one thing. being able to experience it all live is something else. all those things around me were so familiar and this was the first time in months (MONTHS! OR EVEN YEARS!) i felt really understood. after all, it was all like a little celebration of lin's story (the one i love with all my heart) and i truly felt like home. so that was another OH! THEY GET IT! moment.

i don't think i'm going to talk about every single song here, that's not the point. i will talk about my favourite moments, but also about things that didn't work very well in my opinion (again: this was a polish version so all the songs were translated into polish. and they did a really great job here, surprisingly. but it wasn't perfect, more about that later).

one thing you need to understand is that i will never be normal about musicals so of course i had to burst into tears at the very first song (i don't even know why, i think i was a little bit too excited). i was actually crying in the most random moments like when i first saw nina or at the end of carnaval del barrio because I KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT (who the hell cries at carnaval del barrio when everyone is having the time of their lives lol, me apparently).

ok, so the first song. the choreography, oh my god. it was everything. the translation was also pretty good here, i need to say this was probably one of my favourite moments. imagine me leaving today giggling like a child when usnavi came on that stage and started rapping, i was in heaven. also, i have to admit, the cast was amazing. i could never imagine anyone better for this role (and again, i am talking about polish actors because everyone knows who's the best usnavi of them all). he was cute and charming and awkward and so adorkable and also really handsome. he was actually perfect in my opinion.

i kinda lost my mind when i saw nina for the first time. first of all: i already knew who was going to play her and let's just say i fell in love with this actress before i even saw her live on that stage. this was important to me, because (as some of you know) nina rosario is my favourite character. and oh my god, she was an absolute perfection. what a voice, sweet jesus. i'm being serious, this girl is so talented, give her every award (i honestly hope i will have a chance to see her again one day, i'm just crazy about her). and breathe was so good! polish version was amazing, i was so scared they would screw it up, but they didn't, so all's good (this song is very important to me, ok?). also, she's a phenomenal actress, i could feel all her emotions for real. and of course i cried, what did you expect?

i don't have that much to say about benny, except that he was really cute and he had amazing chemistry with nina, so once again, the casting was really good. i mean, he is not chris jackson of course, but i have decided i'm not going to compare all those actors because everyone knows at this point how much i love OBC, i was trying to have an open mind. vanessa was also pretty great, amazing voice and her dancing skills, wow, just wow. i could talk about all those actors for days actually, but i'm not going to do that, so i will just quickly mention that i absolutely loved daniela and carla, abuela claudia made me cry, sonny was the funniest character in the whole play and i don't think i will ever recover after piragua guy's performance (i was the only person in the audience who was laughing when he came on that stage, they don't get it, ok? polish people have no sense of humour and that's a fact). actually, there were a lot of funny moments (obviously) and i was the only person who was laughing, god help me.

so let's get to the first thing that was a little disappointing for me. you will not believe it, but it was actually... 96,000 (this is one of my favourite songs and i seriously can't live like this). it's not the translation tho (it was honestly fine), it's the voice overlapping part at the end (again, the best thing ever, just listen to we don't talk about bruno from encanto and non-stop from hamilton and you will understand why it works so well in every lmm's song). the thing is, you could actually only hear vanessa's part and i wanted to die, because EXCUSE ME. i always sing usnavi's part and you could barely hear a word from it. but apart from that, the rest was fine, the choreography was amazing and it's just something i needed to mention because i had thoughts about it.

paciencia y fe! ok besties, i have thoughts, again. abuela claudia was absolutely incredible, also, her relationship with usnavi is something that you can't see in the movie version (they were so sweet i wanted to curl up and die. i knew about it before, i saw slime tutorial with obc on yt, ok? i'm pretty sure lin would be mad at me for watching bootlegs lol. i just wanted to say this). the translation didn't work out at the very end of the song tho, because when in the og version abuela sings about the "winning ticket", everyone knows already she won the lottery. i don't remember polish translation exactly, but it was something with double meaning, depends on how you interpret it, and i'm 100% sure people who didn't know the plot just didn't catch it. the rest of the song was absolutely beautiful tho.

when you're home. i was so afraid of this one, because i am totally crazy about this song (did i ever mention lin wrote this one after one of his first dates with vanessa? no? yes? ok i'll shut up about this now). oh, they did a really great job with it and it's a relief. i have nothing else to say, except that i was crying like a baby, but this song always makes me cry so what did you expect exactly? one of the best moments for sure. again, nina and benny's chemistry was absolutely incredible.

as much as i loved the club, i was actually really disappointed with one part, which is usnavi's famous "jealous i ain't jealous, i can take all these fellas, wHaTeVaaaaa". i've been waiting so long for this! and they messed it up with their stupid cringy translation which i don't even remember at the moment but usnavi was actually mad at benny and he cursed? ANYWAY. the rest of the song was great and the choreography was absolutely phenomenal, oh vanessa! let me get the next one! (i love her so much, she was amazing here). a little note from me: no one was laughing at the "no hablo ingles" part, NO ONE BUT ME!!! THEY DON'T GET IT! WTF! i was so mad (i am aware of the fact that most people probably didn't even know this story before and they just wanted to see a musical, not THE MUSICAL, which is totally fine. but sweet jesus, where is their sense of humour? they left it at home or what?).

and blackout was that part where the voice overlapping effect worked very well, so all's good. actually, one of the best moments for me as well. people were actually so confused when all the lights went down, but that was just so amazing. all the panic! everybody was screaming, crying! WE ARE POWERLESS! THE END OF ACT I!!! oh, i had the time of my life.

i had this weird feeling that they didn't exactly know how to translate most of hundreds of stories so they just made this song shorter than it actually is. which is fine i guess. honestly, it's better than bad translation, so i can forgive them. what i absolutely can't forgive tho is that the audience wasn't laughing at US NAVY. polish people, you have no fucking taste. i said what i said. and then again, usnavi and abuela's relationship was so sweet this song actually made me cry (mostly because i knew what was coming but also, i was just this weird girl who was sitting there in the second row and was crying at the most random moments).

ok, guys, honestly. carnaval del barrio was the best moment from the entire musical. oh, how much i want to experience it again! daniela was absolutely incredible, carla was so sweet, piragua guy stole the whole fucking show for me (seriously guys! he was just so amazing!). also, those little details i have never noticed before? i can't even tell if the same thing happened in the original version (the quality of that bootleg is actually terrible), but benny dancing with american flag somewhere in the background was so fucking funny and i don't think i will ever get over that part where at the end they were all still dancing and celebrating and nina and usnavi just ran away as fast as they could because... because you guys know what just happened. also, this is the moment i started crying.

i was so scared of it. let me tell you one thing, i experienced abuela's death at least fifty times and i still cry every single time. so atención is something i have to mention, because all the emotions and kevin's shaky voice made me burst into tears right away, and this time i wasn't the only one because i saw a lot of people crying when they realized what happened (i also heard a lot of OHs when he said abuela passed away, so yes, most of them didn't know this story and they were surprised). and alabanza was something else. believe me when i tell you i am writing this with tears in my eyes, i have never cried so much in public. this was the moment i was the most scared of and i was absolutely right because holy fuck. i was a mess. all the actors with those candles singing alabanza a doña claudia! (yes, they didn't translate it, all the spanish parts were left like in the original version and i am so grateful for that), it was just so sad and so beautiful. and this time i was actually like oh, they get it now (everyone was speechless and people were crying).

everyone must know at this point how much i adore champagne and i wasn't disappointed (thank god!). once again, usnavi was absolutely adorable here and people were actually laughing this time (also thank god!). how do you get this gold shit off? (my favourite line from the whole musical) was translated really well and the moment when usnavi and vanessa kissed! with all lights on them! this was so emotional and the audience reacted so well! we were all clapping (it was so funny to pretend like i didn't know it was gonna happen haha i was just as excited as all of them and once again i was like OH! THEY GET IT!). 10/10, would recommend.

if you think i wasn't crying during the last song, think again. one thing i absolutely hate about the movie version is that they actually changed the graffiti that made usnavi stay in washington heights, but i'm not gonna talk about that and i'm not gonna talk about vanessa also being there in the movie. in the original version it was a portrait of abuela claudia made by graffiti pete and oh boy, i lost my mind (i knew about it but i still lost my mind because it was absolutely beautiful). i got the feeling it was a little rushed in our polish version, but i can forgive them because it still made me cry. also, at the very end, usnavi did not only finally acknowledge he's home, when the song was over he pretty much told the audience that we are all home right now and may i just say... i felt that. i was home. they made me believe for the first time in my life i was where i belong, and somehow that was everything.

one thing about me is that this is actually all new to me. this was my first musical i saw live in theatre (and also lin's first child, which is exactly how it was supposed to be i think), and believe me when i tell you i've never had this much fun in my entire life, not even at all the concerts of my favourite artists. it was worth every money. it was worth spending 11 hours on the train and 11 more on my way back home, which by the way we should normalize (people are doing crazy things just to see their favourite artists on the stage and it's considered normal, so why can't we consider THIS normal?). anyway, i don't expect anyone around me to understand it the way i do, but i feel like i really found my thing, and it's all because of lin-manuel miranda, our beautiful puerto rican genius. he made me believe musicals can be cool and i truly wish i could thank him for that one day.

and like i said, in the heights is my favourite story with my favourite characters and i listened to it so many times i have memorized all the little details. experiencing it live is something completely different tho and i think it's safe to say this was the best night of my entire life. even tho most of the people in the audience didn't really get it, i finally felt like i was a part of this world created by my favourite genius and for the first time ever i felt understood. so i think i can say that now: i found my island, guys, i'm there, i'm home!

#if you were able to read the whole thing: congrats #also another note from me: i apologize for all those “they get it” “they dont get it”#i swear to god i am not making fun of anyone #you guys just know how much i am into it #and if other people were just there to enjoy it it's totally fine!#not everyone has to be obsessed!#but i am!#so i just wanted to explain it ok?#good.#also i apologize for it being so long but i had so much to say and i still feel like i didn't say everything i wanted #feel free to leave a comment or ask any questions if you want #now if you think i will finally shut up about in the heights on my silly little blog think again #i love it even more now if that's possible #and another explanation: i'm gonna tag this as my countdown because again i want all my ith posts in one place #thank you for your attention #it won't be long now*#why do you write like you're running out of time*#(not gonna tag this as ith cause this is only for my moots cause you guys get it)#(the last time one of my ith posts was seen by people who dont even know what that is i was depressed for days but that's another story)#(iykyk)#(and you know cause you left me tons of sweet messages guys i love you)

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musicalchacha · 8 years ago

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In The Heights - Nina

Ok but notice how Nina usually only sings solos and duets, and doesn’t participate in big community songs, like 96,000 and Carnaval Del Barrio. I have a theory that it’s because she feels excluded from the rest of the people, as shown in Breathe, “...these faces that I used to know?”

However, she also sings duets with Benny, showing that Benny gives her a place to fit in at home and to be recognized in the community.

I realized this on the bus today while listening to Everything I Know, and I want someone to confirm this.

#in the heights #nina rosario #lin manuel miranda #ith #thespian #theory

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iwrotemywayto-revolution · 8 years ago

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There she goes

Request: NOW I NEED MORE!!!! sooo good, can’t wait for another part? part one is here || part three is here

Pairing: Lin-Manuel Miranda x reader

Warnings: Mild angst

Word count: 2,234

A/N: Y/T/N = Your Twitter Name; this skips around in time a little but it shouldn’t be too confusing. If you want to be tagged for the final part, just send me an ask. @fragmentofmymind here you go... part two.

ask box || masterlist

–

You returned to consciousness as if through seaweed-clustered waters. Each step was slow and laborious and threatened to make you fall back into sleep. When you did open your eyes, it was to find yourself cradled in a warm embrace and definitely not lying in your bed.

Lin, you realised and, careful not to wake him, turned your head to look at him. You must have fallen asleep watching the West Wing the night before and, somehow, got tangled up while you slept. Lin was asleep with his mouth open a little and his arms around you. He looked a little less troubled in sleep.

As gently as you could, you slipped out of his arms and got up off the couch. You figured running for it would make the next few days of rehearsal awkward, so you headed into the kitchen and started to make some coffee. You concentrated on finding mugs and figuring out how to work the machine- anything but how much you had liked waking up in Lin’s arms.

“Y/N?” Lin’s voice, still groggy with sleep, interrupted the whir of the machine. You poked your head through the doorway and smiled at him. He was still on the couch, hair ruffled and jumper rucked up a little.

“I’m here,” you said, “and I made coffee.”

He grinned. “You’re the best.”

“I know.” You passed him his coffee, watching him cradle it and sway a little. “We should go soon- it’s nearly eight.”

Lin gave you a plaintive look. “I want to sleep,” he complained, and you laughed.

“You can sleep on me during the lunch break,” you promised, and he got up.

–

Chris wasn’t the only one who raised an eyebrow when you and Lin turned up at rehearsal, you still in your clothes from the day before and Lin looking decidedly rumpled despite his best attempts. “What happened?” Chris asked after Lin had disappeared to find Andy.

“I stayed over,” you said, then groaned at his knowing smirk, “because of the blizzard. Nothing happened.” Chris looked doubtful. “We drank hot chocolate and fell asleep watching the West Wing.”

“He must like you,” Chris marvelled, “the West Wing doesn’t come out unless he likes people.”

You turned to Andréa in the hope of a reprieve, but she looked downright gleeful. “You like him!” she clapped her hands like a giddy school-girl. “I knew it.”

“You’re probably right,” you admitted, thinking of how it had felt to wake up in Lin’s arms, to hear him say your name sleepily when he woke, to leave his apartment together and tease him about him owning Hamilton socks.

“No me diga-” Andréa muttered. “You’re the perfect Vanessa.”

“You can’t say anything,” you told her sternly. “We’re friends and I don’t want to- I can’t ruin that.”

Mandy had sidled up at some point, Andy’s clipboard in hand. She pouted at your statement. “I thought maybe during Champagne-”

You shook your head. “Fine,” she sighed, “but you still have to come over to the stage so we can run through the first act with the ensemble.”

You had forgotten how good it felt to get through songs for the first time. By the time you had sung your solo and got ready for 96,000, you were feeling energised and exhausted all at once.

Lin had collapsed next to you while Carlos sang Inútil. You rested your head on his shoulder, a tired smile on your face. “I’m tired,” he whined, and you chuckled.

“Me too, Usnavi,” you breathed and closed your eyes and enjoyed it for a moment before Mandy arrived.

“You guys are adorable,” she announced, pulling her phone out and snapping a pic, “can I tweet it?” You made to protest, but Lin got there first.

“Mind if I do?” he asked, and Mandy looked disappointed, but nodded and sent him the picture. You and Mandy had to rush to places for No Me Diga, so you didn’t get to see what he typed.

When you walked onstage for 96,000, just in time to call Sonny cute, you felt unexpectedly nervous. You stumbled slightly making your way to centre stage, and Lin shot you a worried look. You nodded and straightened.

“Ninety-six k, go,” he told you, and you turned to look out beyond the imagined audience.

“If I win the lottery, you’ll never see me again-” you sang. It was like being a teenager again- desperate to move on, to live your dreams. Then you’d had so little to stay for, but now-

“Damn, we only joking- stay broke then,” Lin said sadly from behind you.

“I’ll be downtown. I’ll get a nice studio, get out of the barrio.” You couldn’t imagine leaving the new family you had in New York- the cast of Hamilton, your Schuyler sisters, Chris, Mandy, Andréa-

Lin.

You had been waiting backstage for your cue when 96,000 started, and you had checked your phone to find it clogged with twitter notifications. You were fairly suspicious of Lin and, when you unlocked your phone, knew why.

Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel)

@_mandygonzalez caught me and amazing @y/t/n napping backstage during #intheheights rehearsal #napwhereyoucan

The photo he’d attached was a little grainy from the backstage lighting, but Lin was looking down at you with such tenderness in his gaze that your breath caught. You stared at it until you heard Sonny’s verse start, then stuffed your phone away and headed onstage.

A year ago

You walked through the door to the Richard Rogers theatre feeling like your heart might be about to beat its way out of your chest. You had had a phone call from Alex Lacamoire- the Alex Lacamoire- the day before to tell you that you had a place in the Hamilton ensemble.

You had been training with their choreographer and with a couple of other ensemble members for weeks and still hadn’t had a surefire job. But now you did.

Andrew met you at the door to the backstage area with a grin and a hug. “Took you long enough!” he teased, and dragged you- coat, bag, and all- back to meet the rest of the ensemble properly.

He steered you towards one of the dressers, where three girls were putting on makeup. “This is Sasha, Carleigh, and Ariana,” he grinned, “we’d be lost without them.”

Sasha, busy applying a killer winged eyeliner, patted the seat next to her, which you tentatively took. “Don’t look so scared,” Ariana laughed. She was tugging a brush through her tightly curled hair, her costume already on and makeup ready, “We won’t bite.”

You smiled and let yourself relax a little. “Do you have a costume?” Carleigh asked and, when you shook your head, got up. “Lets go find you one then!”

It had seemed surreal to be walking through the backstage, to pick a costume, and to change into it surrounded by professional dancers- on Broadway!- but it happened. You pinched yourself to check but, thirty minutes before places, you found yourself chatting with Sasha about her time on Rocky.

“Hello, hello, hello! Is everybody decent?” You heard a voice say from the other side of the door. Carleigh got up to answer it, opening the door to reveal Lin-Manuel Miranda waiting on the other side. He was already in costume with his hair back. He beamed and flicked his gaze over the assembled ensemble. “I hear we have a new member?”

You waved and Lin immediately focused on you. “Hi,” you said, wishing you could think of something better to say, “I’m Y/N.”

“Welcome to Hamilton, Y/N,” Lin said and pulled you into a hug. His Hamilton cravat tickled your chin and you put your arms awkwardly round his neck. It still felt nice, you realised, like home. His embrace was warm and solid and you hadn't had a hug like it in a while. Lin pulled back, still beaming, “Shall we?”

Now

Lin was practically bouncing by the end of Blackout, refusing to stand still even as he told everyone to disperse into groups to start work on Act 2. You stifled a laugh when he looked your way and went back through to practice the songs.

You were about to make your way to the back row again when Chris caught you by the arm. “Sit with me?” he suggested. You shrugged and followed him to the front row.

Alex clapped his hands. “If you’re singing, I want you to come to the front- no dance moves, just dynamics.”

Everyone murmured in agreement and Alex waved Chris and Mandy to come up for Sunrise. You listened, watching Chris’ careful pronunciation of the Spanish words Nina was teaching him.

You watched, enthralled, as Olga and Lin poured their hearts into Hundreds of Stories, laughed at Priscilla scolding Mandy and Carlos in Enough, and then joined the others for Carnaval del Barrio.

Everyone started to dance a little, half-remembering the dance-steps they were taught years before, as Andréa set the stage. You laughed as Janet sang “I’m Chile-Domini-Curican- but I always say I’m from Queens!”

Andréa wandered over to you as you sang your rant, resting her arm on your shoulder. You raised an eyebrow but kept singing. “Can’t even go to a club with a friend without having somebody shove you-”

“Ay, por favor,” she said reproachfully, giving you a meaningful look before glancing at Lin, “Vanessa, don’t pretend Usnavi’s your friend- we all know that he loooves you.”

The rest of the cast "oooh'd" and you felt yourself blush. Andréa smirked and winked. You ignored her. "Yo, this is bogus," you insisted, and you knew Andréa spotted your gaze flickering to Lin too.

"Haven't you noticed? You get all your coffee for free."

Before you knew it you were singing Finale and doing your best not to cry. Lin spoke to each of you as he sang, putting his hand on Chris' shoulder, an arm around Mandy's waist, and taking your hand in his. It was enough to make your heart flutter and make you grateful that Alex hadn't asked you and Lin to do the kiss in Champagne today. Tomorrow, you knew, would be another matter.

Mandy caught you at the door, Chris still at her side. “Do you want to come over?” she asked, “Chris suggested a quiet night in with some board games and/or crap tv.”

You opened your mouth to turn her down- your bed was calling and you didn’t want to get caught out by the weather again. “Lin will be there,” Chris interjected before you could respond.

You wavered and Mandy saw it. “Aha!” she grinned, triumphant, “I knew it.” You rolled your eyes but let Mandy, chattering about her plans, tug you away.

Mandy’s apartment was small, but cosy. She left you, Chris, and Andréa to sip at your coffees while she went to hunt down something to do. Lin and Robin had said they would join you, but they hadn’t shown up yet.

“So Y/N,” Andréa said, “I hear there’ll be a proper run-through of Champagne tomorrow.”

Chris had pulled his phone out and was texting someone, a frown creasing his forehead. “Andy said we could try it fully when we go through Act 2,” you told her, trying to hide the abrupt rise of nerves it brought.

“Lin and Y/N sitting in a tree...” she laughed at your horrified expression. “You’ve got to show him how you feel with that kiss, niña.”

You blushed. “By the end of next week Lin and I will go back to our separate lives,” you pointed out, “I’ll enjoy being his Vanessa while I can.”

Andréa tsked and got up to use the bathroom. You turned to Chris, but Mandy called him through to help her with something just as you were about to ask him how his son was.

You sat alone for a moment, then figured you might as well go and help Mandy. Just as you got up, however, Chris’ phone buzzed with a text. He had left it on his chair. You picked it up and were about to take it through to him when your own name caught your eye.

From: Lin

Stop quoting my own musical at me, Jackson.

From Lin

I wrote Vanessa- I knew she liked Usnavi. I don’t know Y/N feels.

Heart racing, you read and reread the texts until you heard Mandy and Chris coming back through. You all but threw Chris’ phone back onto the chair he had been sitting on, feeling guilty.

The doorbell went. Mandy handed you a bowl of cheese straws and another of mini cookies and went to answer it. “Your phone went,” you told Chris.

“Thanks,” he smiled warmly, “probably Lin saying he started writing another musical on the subway.”

You laughed. Did Lin’s texts really mean that he liked you? For the first time, you felt hope rising in your chest. You started to help Chris find mats for everyones’ drinks and figure out whether or not there was even enough space for a board game. You would talk to Lin when he arrived, you decided.

“Hi everyone!” Lin called, and you turned to great him, smiling. “Look who I brought!”

You stilled. Lin had brought Karen Olivo. And he had his arm around her. He was grinning. He spotted you. “Y/N!” he called, “come and meet Karen.”

#lin manuel miranda x reader #hamwriters #lin x reader #lin miranda x reader #lin imagine #lin manuel miranda imagine #Hamilton cast x reader

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