Headlines about the colourism in In The Heights have dominated all week. Both Cody and Violeta wrote about it yesterday. This week on Show Your Work, Duana and I discuss how Lin-Manuel Miranda, who’s been like an unofficial patron saint of Show Your Work (Hamilton is many things, among them a production about work) did not do the work where representation was concerned for the adaptation of his own musical.
How did this happen? What were the work and strategic lapses along the way? And what will be the work of LMM going forward, in practical terms, if he is to live up to his apology and his pledge to do better? Because now it’s more than just saying it, now it’s actually about him using his capital and spending it on pushing for the kind of change that he’s been advocating for. At a new level. Because what we can do with our work capital is always in flux. For someone like LMM, the more influential and powerful he becomes, the more he has to *spend* on his flex.
At the same time, having these conversations doesn’t mean that In The Heights should be cancelled. On this episode, we also discuss why In The Heights still has value, why it can both be seen and interrogated, as imperfect as it is.
And finally, this is the penultimate episode of the season. So as we head towards our final pod before our summer break, we want you to set the lineup for our next episode. Tell us what we should talk about. Is it Bennifer? Is it the Sussexes and the Royals? Is it Black Widow? You make the call! We will do the work that you give us!
As always, thanks for listening and subscribing!
