CHICAGO — Now showing in the Fullerton Stage Theatre, The Theatre School at DePaul University presents “In the Heights” with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, and conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The production is directed by Lisa Portes and runs through Oct. 12. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

About the play: “In the Heights” tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood — a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change; full of hopes, dreams, and pressures, and where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind. Winner of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Score, this freestyle coming-of-age story blends questions about the future with hip-hop and salsa in the barrio.

Tickets are $15 and student tickets are $5. Subscriptions and group rates (6 or more people) are available. All tickets are reserved seating. Tickets are available by calling 773-325-7900 or visiting the online box office at http://theatre.depaul.edu.

The Theatre School at DePaul University is located at 2350 N. Racine Ave. at Fullerton. The school is easily accessible via the Fullerton CTA Station and the Fullerton (74) bus. Visitors and audience members can park in DePaul University’s Clifton Parking Deck, located at 2330 N Clifton Ave. Please call the box office for more information.

For patrons who are blind or have low-vision, the performance will be audio described on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-performance touch tour. Call 773-325-7900 for more information. The performance on Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. will be interpreted in American Sign Language. For more, call TTY at 773-325-7975.

Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. is USO of Illinois night. U.S. Armed Forces personnel and their families can attend the performance for free. Visit www.tixfortroops.org to reserve tickets or call 773-325-7900 for more information.

Additional special events include a post-show discussion on Oct. 9.

The cast features Victoria Allen (Carla), Madeline Baird (Ensemble), Trevor Bates (Ensemble), Lucy Blehar (Vanessa), Michael Sebastian Buono (Sonny), Denzel Irby (Ensemble), Christopher Jones (Piragua Guy), Craig Ketchum (Ensemble), Juwan Lockett (Benny), Jeri Marshall (Claudia), Lauren Mitchell (Ensemble), Krystal Ortiz (Nina), Paola Sanchez (Camila), Talia Payomo (Graffiti Pete), Jeremy Pfaff (Kevin), Max Stewart (Ensemble), Sofia Tew (Daniela), Gail Tierney (Ensemble) and Wesley Toledo (Usnavi).

The production staff includes Lisa Portes (director), Elyse Balogh (scenic designer), Courtney Schum (costume designer), Dan Friedman (lighting designer), Rachel Boissevain (sound designer), Maureen Kuhl (dramaturg), and Dana Stringer (stage manager).

Portes serves as the head of directing and the artistic director of Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences for The Theatre School. Recent project include “Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West” (TimeLine Theatre), “Ghostwritten” (Goodman Theatre), and “After A Hundred Years” (Guthrie Theatre), all by Naomi Iizuka; “Night Over Erzinga” (by Adriana Sevahn-Nichols), “Ski Dubai” by Laura Jacqmin and “Spare Change” by Mia McCullough (First Look Repertory of New Plays, Steppenwolf Theatre).

Primarily a director of new plays and musicals, her work has been seen regionally at the Kennedy Center, South Coast Repertory Theatre's Hispanic Playwrights Project, McCarter Theatre Lab, A Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., Sundance Theatre Lab, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Santa Barbara Theatre Lab and Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference.

In New York, her work has been seen at Playwrights Horizons, Soho Rep, New York Theatre Workshop, Public Theatre, Flea Theatre and Cherry Lane Alternative Theatre.

Portes mounted the international productions of the Tony Award-winning musical “The Who's Tommy” as its associate director and also served as associate director for the first national tour of “Titanic.” Portes is an artistic associate at Next Theatre and Chicago Children's Theatre. Awards include the Drama League and NEP/TCG Directors' Fellowship as well as a Fulbright/Hays Fellowship. She lives in Bridgeport with her husband, playwright Carlos Murillo, and their two children Eva Rose and Carlos Alejandro.

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