This year’s honorees for New York City Center‘s 2026 gala have been revealed. Philanthropists Mark Kingdon and Anla Cheng Kingdon will be honored alongside In the Heights creators Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes.
Miranda and Hudes’ acclaimed 2008 musical will serve as New York City Center‘s 2026 gala production, with performances running October 28-November 1 at the Manhattan venue. The run will kick off with the gala performance October 28, where honorees will be celebrated. Following the opening night performance, guests will join the cast and creative team for a celebratory evening of dinner and dancing at the iconic Ziegfeld Ballroom. All funds raised support City Center’s mission of affordability and accessibility.
New York City Center has also revealed that 10,000 tickets to In the Heights are now available available at $28 or less through four initiatives: City Center’s Community Ticket Initiative in partnership with The Brotherhood Sister Sol, R.Evolución Latina, TDF, The People’s Theatre and more; a Lynne & Richard Pasculano Student Matinee; $28 Access Club tickets for audiences aged 40 and under; and an in-person $28 Heights Rush event in Washington Heights this summer.
David Mendizábal (Mexodus) will direct the new staging of In the Heights, with further creative team members to be announced. Casting, also to be announced, will be by The Telsey Office.
The musical, which began as a college project during Miranda’s time at Wesleyan University, served as the now Tony winner’s debut work, playing a 2005 try-out at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and Off-Broadway’s 37 Arts Theater in 2007 before transferring to the Main Stem. The musical would go on to win four 2008 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The work also became a spiritual predecessor for Miranda’s seminal megahit Hamilton, which reunited director Thomas Kail, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, and music supervisor Alex Lacamoire on the creative team, along with much of the cast (Christopher Jackson, Jon Rua, Javier Muñoz, Mandy Gonzalez, and KO—formerly Karen Olivo—are all Heights and Hamilton alum, amongst others).
The musical—which features music and lyrics by Miranda and a book by Hudes—centers on New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood and its citizens, a vibrant immigrant community trying to get the American Dream while navigating a rapidly changing world. Miranda starred as bodega owner Usnavi, the ensemble musical’s protagonist, in the original company. Following the musical’s Broadway success, a film version was released in 2020, directed by Jon M. Chu and featuring performances from Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Melissa Barrera, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jimmy Smits, and more.
For more information, visit NYCityCenter.org.