In the Heights's Glorious (and Queer) First 8 Minutes Is Available Now

There's now a woman-loving-woman couple in the story played by Stephanie Beatriz and Daphne Rubin-Vega.

Tracy E. Gilchrist

Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP of Editorial and Special Projects at equalpride. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.

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Tracy E. Gilchrist

June 07 2021 8:52 AM EST

October 31 2024 5:37 AM EST

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It's just a few days until the long-anticipated big-screen version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In the Heights drops in theaters and on HBO MAX. Now, the first eight minutes of the film, including the glorious "In the Heights" opening production number, are available to view.

The film from Crazy Rich Asians director John Chu, tells the story of community in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. While some of the residents dream of things beyond their world, others couldn't imagine life outside of the barrio, where everyone knows everyone. A film that celebrates Latinx people and the Golden Age of the movie musical, the story also now a woman-loving-woman couple played by Daphne Rubin-Vega (Daniela) and Stephanie Beatriz (Carla). The characters weren't a couple in the original Broadway musical when it premiered in 2008.

In the Heights stars Anthony Ramos as Usnavi, a bodega owner who dreams of returning to the Dominican Republican where his father ran an oceanside business. His true love is Vanessa (Vida's Melissa Barrera) who has designs on moving downtown to become a superstar in the fashion world. Leslie Grace plays Nina, who's just returned from her first year at Stanford, while Corey Hawkins plays her love interest Benny, the best dispatcher at her dad Kevin's (Jimmy Smits) fledgling (due to gentrification) taxi company.