Lake Zurich Students Represent at All-State Theatre Production of 'In the Heights'

The 2019 Illinois High School Theatre Festival, the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the nation, is proud to feature Broadway's smash hit, In the Heights, as its 2019 All-State production. In the Heights features a select ensemble of high school performers and technicians from throughout the state of Illinois.

This year, six talented Lake Zurich High School students have been selected as members of the cast. Those students include Teah Mirabelli (Cast - Ensemble/Nina Cover), Alex Ketcham (Cast - Ensemble), Emma Belew (Crew - Assistant Stage Manager), Charlie Frampton (Crew - Lights), Ed Pogalz (Pit - Bass) and Emily Groeller (Pit - Percussion). The All-State cast, crew, and pit orchestra are comprised of top student performers, musicians, and technicians from Illinois. Over 350 talented students auditioned for In the Heights. 90 were selected for the final production Company from 49 high schools.

With music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and book by Quiara Alegria Hudes, In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York's Washington Heights neighborhood - a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. In the Heights is the winner of the 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations (Rodgers and Hammerstein).

The 2019 Illinois High School Theatre Festival All-State production of In the Heights will celebrate the festival theme "Take Flight" as it features a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

Rehearsals for In the Heights take place over several long weekends during the Fall of 2018, with final rehearsals occurring the last few days before the actual performances. This year's performance venue is the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the Heights runs from January 10th-12th, 2019. This is a closed event for participants of the Illinois High School Theatre Festival. There are no public tickets available for these performances.

For more information about the Illinois Theatre Association visit www.illinoistheatre.org.