Jay Z continues to diversify his portfolio as part of his deal with The Weinstein Company, which now includes a role as producer for the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights musical.
According to Playbill, the announcement was made by producers Harvey Weinstein and Scott Sanders at a pre-Oscars party Sunday (February 26) as a group of actors performed a medley of the songs from the musical.
Miranda, who is widely known for the success of his Hamilton musical, crafted In the Heights while in college at Connecticut’s Wesleyan University. It first hit the stage off-Broadway in 2007 with Miranda in the lead role of Usnavi, a Dominican store-owner in Washington Heights.
With the film adaptation, Miranda is not planning on reprising his role, but might join the cast as a different character. The movie will be directed by Now You See Me 2‘s Jon M. Chu and the screenplay will come from Quiara Alegría Hudes, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for her play, Water by the Spoonful.
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In the Heights won multiple Tony Awards in 2008, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
Jay Z helped produce the revival of Anniein 2014. He is currently working on Time: The Kalief Browder Story, a docu-series telling the story of a teenager who was wrongly incarcerated for allegedly stealing a backpack. Browder spent three years at Rikers Island before his release. He committed suicide after being freed from jail.
