Famously upbeat twit-slinger Lin-Manuel Miranda was on holiday when the news broke, otherwise we're sure there would have been excited messages about it. But the adaptation of his pre-Hamilton, award-winning musical In The Heights has added Corey Hawkins to play the character of Benny.
Marc Klein has been at work on the screenplay, with Quiara Alegría Hudes writing the musical book for the adaptation, which Crazy Rich Asians' Jon M. Chu is preparing to direct. Set during the 4th of July weekend in Washington Heights, Heights follows bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), who is preparing to return to the Dominican Republic. Even as he ponders his future, power blackout, romantic entanglements, financial tension and a winning lottery ticket sets the neighborhood’s inhabitants on a collision course.
Benny is a taxi driver in love with Nina, a young woman the neighbourhood admires as someone who made it out and got into college. But when she drops out of Stanford and returns home to help her family, Benny dreams of marrying her and starting his own business. Trouble is, even though Nina's father Kevin employs Benny, he doesn't see her as an acceptable suitor for his daughter.
This one is coming together in advance of a June 2020 release. Hawkins has theatre experience, and knows his way around a tune, so he feels like the right fit for the character. Last seen in BlacKkKlansman, he'll next pop up in Michael Bay's 6 Underground, which is shooting for an unspecified launch date on Netflix this year.
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