Lin-Manuel Miranda Surprises Mass. High School Performing ‘In the Heights’

After weeks of exhausting rehearsals, Revere High School drama teacher Kristina Menissian told Boston.com that the video provided the boost students and faculty needed.

“[The students] were screaming … just in shock, and then they watched it a million times more,” she said. “And then they posted it everywhere they could. Just super excited, what we needed for the morale boost.”

Menissian says that she received the video unprompted from the acclaimed writer and director.

“Normally I order T-shirts shirts through a local business, and because this show is such a huge show musically, set-wise, and costumes … we contacted the official merchandizing site for ‘In the Heights,’” Menissian said. “And we told the gentleman on the phone just about our story and the kids.”

“He kept asking us questions about it, which was a little odd. … And by the end of the conversation, he said ‘I don’t know if you know, but I’m Lin’s brother-in-law … let me see what I could do,’” the drama teacher recounted. “We weren’t expecting anything, but it was just cool to talk to him. Then about two weeks later, he sent the video. And I held on to the video for probably another week and a half, and [I] knew that the week before our show week is just a tough time.”

Menissian said the department decided to perform “In the Heights,” a musical about the Latino community in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, specifically, because 70% of Revere’s student body is Hispanic, with many of the young people having faced similar obstacles to characters in the show.