Creative Instigator: Nerding it Up with "In the Heights" Writer and Star Lin-Manuel Miranda

Back before we even kicked off auditions for "In the Heights" at Bronx Prep, I wrote this article about taking students to see the original Broadway cast in a reunion concert, and how excited we were to be putting on a show that spoke so directly to students' lives. An hour or two after the post went live, I got a message from the show's Tony-award-winning creator, writer and star--the kids' (and my) idol: Lin-Manuel Miranda. He thanked me for the article, which he said gave him a "thoroughly Mr. Holland's Opus-esque ugly cry," and offered to come visit us in the Bronx. (Of course I read his message in the middle of rehearsal and got teary-eyed in front of 50 students. Thanks, Lin.)

In his message he shared that when he directed "West Side Story" as a high school senior, a well-connected parent was able to arrange for Stephen Sondheim to come talk with his theater group. That conversation, he said, changed the course of his life and inspired him to want to pay it forward with my students.

How did we feel about this? To steal a phrase from his Facebook post: Grateful Grateful Grateful Grateful Grateful Grateful. GREAT. FULL.

Lin-Manuel's visit to Bronx Prep was hilarious, thought-provoking, energizing, raw and inspiring... Definitely a day that made us all super proud to embrace our inner theater geeks.

Check out the pictures below and watch a little video snippet HERE.