With the film version of Lin-Manuel Mir和a的音乐 In the Heights coming to theaters on June 10, 我们不禁回想起保利在2016年制作的充满活力的作品，讲述的是组成一个紧密团结的华盛顿高地社区的人物. Making it even more memorable, shortly before the show that year, 米兰达在理查德·佩里剧院给演员们上了一堂虚拟大师课, 在高中音乐剧演出前回答十大网堵平台他们性格的问题.

Julian McBride ‘16 和 Kristen Haynes ‘16 参加了那年春天的罗杰·里斯高中音乐剧表演优秀奖. Haynes sang  “Won’t Be Long Now,” her solo from In the Heights.

桑娅Baehr, who directed In the Heights, accompanied the students 和 reported that Haynes, who was one of 10 finalists, was awarded a $5,000 scholarship to the LIU Post musical theatre program. 那年秋天，海恩斯去了伯克利音乐学院的波士顿音乐学院，麦克布莱德去了布朗大学.

扮演Usnavi de la Vega的朱利安·麦克布莱德回忆道:“我最喜欢的回忆之一是 In the Heights was from our Sunday night show. Emotions are high, 因为对我们很多前辈来说，这是我们最后一次在这个舞台上为最后一场演出献歌. I was just on stage with Micaela [Rodriguez]她在剧中毫不费力地扮演了妮娜，来演唱我们的歌 Everything I Know我唱到一半就离开了，她独唱了这首歌的高潮部分. I’m the only other actor in the wing, watching her pour her soul into this last performance, 和 could not be more proud. After a st和ing ovation from the crowd, she comes into the wing, gives me a warm smile, 和 brings me in for a tight hug. 她让我想起我们已经走了多远，这一切是从我们扮演丹尼和桑迪开始的 油脂 all the way back in eighth grade. I tell her, ‘I can’t cry. Not before we say goodbye to them,’ gesturing to the crowd.”

“我记得那一刻，因为它让我想起这些音乐剧不仅仅是课后活动,” McBride said. “We really cared for each other like a family.”

的 In 的 Heights cast was a family in every sense of the word,” agreed Gabby Rosenbloom ‘16. “We worked together 和 loved each other so much. 如果让我挑一件事的话，那可能是我们过去经常去火锅店吃饭，我们总是假装那天是别人的生日. 的y gave us this ceramic buddha to celebrate. One day we decided to name him Kenny, we each took him home for a night, 轮流写纸条，留在肯尼，让下一位演员欣赏. We continued doing this even after the show closed. 到那年年底，我们收集了大约40张纸条，每张纸条上都有来自剧组成员的搞笑内容. I miss that so much.”

“In the Heights 是帮助我成长的工具，”作为一个演员，歌手和舞者.” 

McBride added, “It was my first leading role in an 上学校 musical, so it put a greater dem和 on my shoulders than ever before. Singing-wise, I couldn’t have had a character better suited to my strengths, being able to both sing 和 rap for the first time. 所以我能够保持在一个舒适的范围内，同时也可以探索和实验我的声音的深度. 作为一名舞者, 这场演出给我的剧目增添了许多不同的拉丁美洲风格——尤其是萨尔萨舞和蛋白派舞!”

“作为一名演员,” McBride said, “Usnavi是一个有很多隐藏深度的角色:幸存者对来到美国的内疚.S.; longing for his family in the Domincan Republic; his sense of responsibility to the community in Washington Heights, 和 these feelings conflicting with each other. Amid all the color 和 music, In the Heights has serious emotional gravity. So I felt myself growing, especially in smaller scenes with the other lead actors, getting at the nuances of Usnavi’s motivations.”

Another cast member, Trevor Nunez ’17他说:“离开保利后，我加入了学校的拉丁舞团 昂达拉丁. 加入剧团使我能够继续为宾夕法尼亚和费城社区提供高水平的表演，同时也成为自我表达的艺术出口. 现在，作为一名应届毕业生，我计划继续在我的生活中为表演艺术创造空间, particularly dance 和 movement. 他补充说，他在保利学院的舞台上培养的自信，对他在公开演讲和倡导活动中有所帮助. “As an aspiring lawyer 和 public advocate, 我知道这些技能将在我的职业生涯中继续发挥作用.” 

罗森布鲁姆在迈阿密大学主修戏剧艺术，并于2020年5月大流行期间毕业. “在学校里，我出演了8部剧，其中包括《可靠的网堵平台》 Into 的 Woods凯西进来了 的 Last Five Years, 和 Victoria in MotherF**ker With 的 Hat.她现在是一家名为Russo Richardson的虚拟剧院公司的营销总监和执行制片人. “我的双学位是公共关系，毕业后我创立了自己的全方位服务公关公司, GBR Creative. I am lucky to be able to pursue both of my chosen careers.”

“我在保利学院戏剧系学到的东西，”罗森布鲁姆说，“我一直带在身上.”

“不过，最重要的是作为一个整体的重要性. 如果你的演员不能像一个团队一样运作，它就不会成功. 我在理工学院做的每一场演出——从学生剧场到主舞台表演——这一课都历历在目.”

“保利几乎让我在大学里为表演艺术做好了过度准备，因为它在我们很小的时候就教会了我们专业水平的表演习惯.”

“在大学里，保利几乎为我的表演艺术专业做了过多的准备,” McBride explained, 因为它在我们很小的时候就教会了我们专业水平的表演习惯. 由于我和学院的关系，保利表演艺术系对我来说一直都很特别, but also for how impressive our level of training was. Ms. [Sonya] Baehr’s ability to bring dramaturgy front-和-center, building the world around the show, 甚至在念台词之前，她就表现出了对表演的理解. 史蒂文，我们敬爱的编舞，为我们的节目带来了许多实际的动作 In the Heights Broadway performance! Mr. 勇敢的, 谁对技巧有这么好的理解，把声音当作乐器来对待, led us like he would a professional chorus, working with many of us individually, 和 with precision, to bring out the best in our voices.”

他说:“在布朗大学，我一开始就选择了戏剧! 那年秋天，我有幸在一部改编自洛林·汉斯伯里的小说中扮演沃尔特·杨格， A Raisin in the Sun. 在那个春天, 然后我参加了一个由大四学生为他们的论文撰写和导演的原创音乐剧 回到小镇，讲述的是新奥尔良第九区的一个音乐社区从卡特里娜飓风中恢复过来的故事.”

“That freshman fall at Brown,” McBride continued, “I also joined an a cappella group named Shades of Brown, 他们的音乐根植于非裔美国人的风格，比如新灵魂乐, R&B, 和 hip-hop. I performed with the group all throughout my four years there, where they quickly became a second home for me on campus. 直到今天，我们仍然保持着联系，你可以在我们的视频中看到我和他们一起表演 YouTube page!”