{"id":268166,"date":"2026-04-15T00:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T00:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/268166\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T00:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T00:21:21","slug":"mtws-in-the-heights-shows-off-its-uplifting-story-at-the-carpenter-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/268166\/","title":{"rendered":"MTW\u2019s \u2018In the Heights\u2019 shows off its uplifting story at the Carpenter Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Music Theatre West premiered its production of \u201cIn The Heights,\u201d<\/a> on Saturday, which follows a New York City neighborhood with dreams of escaping, belonging and a promising future.<\/p>\n

The uplifting energies of music, hip-hop, salsa, merengue and soul<\/a> also tie into the theme of the musical, of honoring one\u2019s roots while simultaneously reaching for something more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That spirit was apparent in each of the 35 cast members during the April 11 \u201cIn the Heights\u201d VIP Red Carpet, which took place just before the premiere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"(From left to right) Paris Nicole, Swing, and Miah \u201cBLVKE\u201d Blake, ensemble, take photos with each other during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune) <\/p>\n

\"\"The cast and creative team for Musical Theatre West\u2019s \u201cIn the Heights\u201d take a group photo with the director, Jesse J. Sanchez standing at the center. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

As salsa music played in the background, there was a clear liveliness from the team while they each walked down the red carpet. Unlike most red carpets where it\u2019s equal parts high-pressure and structured, the cast and creative team showed their authentic flair, blowing kisses to the camera and dancing.<\/p>\n

Friends and family came to support the cast, with many of them filming the moment with excitement. Cast members also made videos together and talked with one another, with laughter and tears of joy flowing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After hanging out with each other, the team entered the Carpenter Performing Arts Center to perform \u201cIn The Heights\u201d to a live audience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn The Heights\u201d will continue playing from April 16-26 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Tickets are on sale starting at $28 on the Musical Theatre West website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Patrick \u201cPATCHES\u201d Viloria, Graffiti Pete, dances during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Veronica Vazquez Jackson, Daniela, poses during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Jackson also learned the role of Camila. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune) <\/p>\n

\"\"(From left to right) Ensemble members Alonso Melgoza, Elijah Samu\u00e9l Figueroa and Juan Camilo Laverde pose with gun fingers up in the air during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune) <\/p>\n

\"\"Associate Director and Choreographer Marissa Herrera hugs Emilia Vial during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Vial, who is in the ensemble, spoke with Herrera after walking the red carpet and shed tears of joy. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune) <\/p>\n

\"\"Emilia Vial, in the ensemble, poses for the cameras during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Vial also learned the role of Daniela. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Cast members of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d and Musical Theatre West employees pose for a group photo during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune) <\/p>\n

\"\"Andrea Dobbins, ensemble and dance captain, poses as she walks through the red carpet during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Berto Fern\u00e1ndez, Piragua Guy, laughs and smiles with photographers as he walks down the red carpet during the Musical Theatre West Red Carpet Opening of \u201cIn the Heights\u201d on April 11, 2026, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Fern\u00e1ndez also learned the role of Kevin. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"SamuelSamuel ChackoPhotojournalist<\/p>\n

Samuel Chacko is an award-winning photojournalist from Long Beach, California. Samuel currently works as a freelance journalist for multiple publications and he is a class of 2025 Cal State Long Beach graduate. Samuel loves watching sports (the Ravens and the Yankees) and taking photos.
Check out more of Samuel\u2019s work here: https:\/\/samuelchacko.com\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Music Theatre West premiered its production of \u201cIn The Heights,\u201d on Saturday, which follows a New York City…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[95776,131,133,132,116897,116898,49041],"class_list":{"0":"post-268166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-in-the-heights","9":"tag-long-beach","10":"tag-long-beach-headlines","11":"tag-long-beach-news","12":"tag-mtw","13":"tag-musical-theatre-west","14":"tag-red-carpet"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}