“In The Heights,” “Encanto,” “Moana,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Hamilton,” “Mary Poppins Returns,” and “Tick, Tick…Boom!” Shall I keep going? These are all movies and musicals where Lin-Manuel Miranda has worked his magic. Everything Miranda has worked on has been a major hit.
In 2002, Miranda and John Buffalo Mailer worked with director Thomas Kail to revise “In the Heights” and take it to Broadway. The production won four Tony awards, a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and Miranda’s performance as Usnavi nominated him for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Not to mention, it ended up becoming a major film in 2021.
From 2011 to 2014, Miranda co-wrote the music for “Bring It On: The Musical” with Tom Kitt and Amanda Green. It was nominated for Tony Awards in the Best Musical and Best Choreography categories.
Then came the game-changer. Who writes a rap musical about the life of a U.S. founding father and turns it into a cultural phenomenon? Miranda. While on vacation in 2008, Miranda read Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton and decided to write a musical inspired by it. Miranda earned a 3% royalty on each performance of Hamilton, earning him $12.7 million by July 2017. The man is always making magic!
So, for future reference, if you want to make a hit musical, just call Lin-Manuel Miranda; he’ll make it happen.
