The other day, I learned that Carenna has been selected to play and sing as Nina in the recreation of the Broadway Musical "In the Heights" to presented this coming February at United World College in Maastricht, Netherlands. Ditas hopes she will be able to fly there so she could watch her daughter sing and act as the lead female singer of Lin-Manuel Miranda first musical.
Ditas
informed me that during the audition, Carenna sang the song,
"Everything I Know" with emotion and tears in her eyes. Carenna
remembers about her Lola and the story line in the musical is also about
her abuela ( Lola or Gradma). The song is Nina's Gratitude to her
abuela (Lola) for the money she gave her ( winning in the Lottery) so
she can go back to College in Stanford. While singing the song Carenna
remembers her Lola so her tears were real, not just acting. The short
video below showed how she reacted when she learned she got the part of
Nina,
I cried too when I found out the above audition story. Carenna's abuela(Lola) passed away last August 10, 2020. Here's her actual audition video, singing Everything I Know.
For those of you who are not familiar with In the Heights Musical, here's a brief summary from Wikipedia.
In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City.
After a 2005 tryout in Waterford, Connecticut and a 2007 Off-Broadway run, the show opened on Broadway in March 2008. It was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards and won four, including the 2008 Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Choreography awards. A film adaptation of the musical was originally set for release on June 26, 2020. However, it has been delayed to June 18, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Story: Nina has just returned to her Washington Heights neighborhood from
her freshman year at Stanford, unsure if she plans to go back; her
parents struggle to keep their small business alive and Benny, their
young employee, does his best to help the company stay afloat; Benny becomes Nina boyfriend.
Usnavi operates a tiny bodega( grocery store), and his love interest, Vanessa, only dreams of finding a studio apartment in the coveted West Village. When the winning lottery ticket, a power outage, and romantic tension all hit the ‘hood, the long-time friends and neighbors make discoveries about each other, about themselves, and about the place they all call home.
Here's Carenna's reaction when she learned she got the part of Nina
Here's a 2-hours video of the Highland Players Production of the Musical if you have the time. The signature song "Everything I Know" is at 1:38 of the video. Enjoy! Here's more information on the Highland Players ( High School in La Mesa, Ca)
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