From the creator of Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and the director of Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu), the vibrant musical In the Heights is set in the vibrant tight-knit community of Washington Heights and follows an ensemble of characters during one specific summer, with bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) as its heart and soul. With impressive song-and-dance numbers that cover everything from hip-hop to Latin to pop, culture and individuality merge where the daily grind of everyday life inspires hopes and dreams, as they all figure out what home really means to them.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, Broadway star and actress Daphne Rubin-Vega (who plays Daniela, the owner of the neighborhood salon and life partner to Carla, played by Stephanie Beatriz) talked about translating In the Heights from stage to screen, why the film is “like a thousand little paper cuts of goodness,” shooting the fantastic “Carnaval del Barrio” performance sequence, being a part of a trio of neighborhood divas, collaborating with this creative team, and being a part of the original cast of Rent, which is still so popular so many years after its initial debut.
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COLLIDER: I loved this movie, I loved your performance in it, and I loved all of the performance numbers. When you read this script, did you get a sense of how well the stage show was being translated for film?
DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA: I’m gonna be really honest with that and say I had never read a script or even written one with any idea of what it’s going to look like or be, so it was pretty amazing and intense at our first table read. Every day was ultra thrilling, but at our first table read, Jon [M. Chu] was trying to explain to us what drapes falling from the sky would be like, or how whenever we moved there would be animated fairy dust to follow us. He was seeing the unseen at that point. I couldn’t imagine it. I don’t even try to. I just hope for the best, I really do. When we sat at the table read, I got more grounded by hearing the story, but there were still so many other elements. This was an incredible surprise that really maximized every element, like the music. Every instrument is played specially, the orchestration is special, the choreography is special, the cinematography is special, and just the use of the language of film. There’s so much more that could be told in this story, and yet the story holds its own because it’s not trying to be a replica of the musical that we saw on Broadway. It’s taking the story and owning it in a different genre completely. It’s wonderful when it works. It’s amazing when it works. The fact that it’s shot on location really helps. The fact that the bodies that are dancing are very good at what they’re doing and they’re very different bodies that we’re not used to seeing really shakes it up. It’s like a thousand little paper cuts of goodness.
All of the little fantasy elements are such an interesting addition as well.
RUBIN-VEGA: Yes. It makes sense that you’re grounded in reality, but then a mannequin head starts moving, or the whole pool comes to life. It makes sense in the movies. It’s so beautiful when that works.
It also feels so much bigger, in how much of the community and its residents we get to see.
RUBIN-VEGA: Yeah. It’s interesting, it makes me think about how, during the depression, they used to make these big extravagant movies to get people out of their doldrums and to push fantasy. This film is so intelligently aware of that legacy, and yet it nods to what a dream is. What is the American dream? It’s to live your fullest life and to pursue happiness. This film reminds us of humanity. After a long period of incredible uncertainty, turmoil, and serious isolation, we get to experience collectively and come out that feeling that the world is so adversarial. The world is a safe place here, in this film. It’s not easy. It’s really tough. But with community, one can find safety and power.
Your voice is so recognizable and so iconic. My absolute favorite moment in this film is the performance of “Carnaval del Barrio.” What was it like to shoot that? What do you love about that song and about getting to do that performance?
RUBIN-VEGA: That song represents the triumph of joy over adversity. When we’re mourning and our ancestors are gone we recognize them by standing on their shoulders. That joy in the midst of difficulties is an act of resistance. We know that the achievement of things doesn’t necessarily bring joy. Joy comes from another place. It was so fulfilling to represent that person who reminds people around her of that. And then, as far as the preparation to actually show up on the set and bring your best work to it, it was a culmination of many months of intense work. And so, to have hundreds of us on the set on the day, in the morning, ready to go, on the hottest day on location, while I’m wearing four-inch platforms and the concrete is uneven and the stairs are real and the sweat is real, it was such a great day too. The amount of joy in your heart is not contingent on the amount of obstacles in front of you. To just wait patiently with hundreds of people without too much mayhem because everyone was respectful of the space, even though we were all there having a really good time. When it was time to go, we went, and to be able to achieve that entire number in a day is just a testament to how locked and loaded we were, at every moment. It’s a day that I will never, ever, ever forget. It’s one of those days where, when your brain goes from dementia, you’ll still remember that day.
This whole movie made me want to dance, and I have to admit that I did get up and dance a bit while watching it.
RUBIN-VEGA: I don’t know if you’re Latinx or not, but it doesn’t matter at all. All my life, I grew up looking at people living their best lives in film and pursuing telling stories. I didn’t even realize that it was actually a physical aspect that separated me because I didn’t look like that. I felt that there was something missing in me because I didn’t see that. It wasn’t about me. It was about the fact that I still poured myself into these situations. It didn’t make me feel like only a certain kind of person has that human experience. When you see stories, you can relate to the humanity of it, so I’m glad that it made you dance. That’s the humanity of it.
I love that your character is a part of this trio of neighborhood divas that are just so much fun. What was your relationship like with Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco and how much fun did you guys have together?
RUBIN-VEGA: Oh my goodness! Doing nothing with them was fun. Ad-libbing was fun. I don’t think anyone’s funnier than Stephanie and Dascha, and when they’re together, it’s just nonstop. There’s also a realness. We all come from places and spaces where we had to outlast the negativity to get where we got, so that creates a certain energy in a human being that is irresistible because we’re really happy to be here.
How did you find the experience of working with Jon M. Chu and Christopher Scott and how they collaborated together, as director and choreographer and with their larger creative team? You’re certainly no stranger to the stage and to musicals and to performing, but what was it like to have so many people involved in making this what it is?
RUBIN-VEGA: It was such a beautiful lesson of how the best of the best call on people that know what they don’t know. The more we learn about something, the more we learn that we don’t know about stuff. For example, Chris Scott applied his savvy to include and invite people who knew the best of specific styles of dance, so that they could bring their expertise. He brought in a team of the most amazing dancers, teachers, and co-choreographers that could expand the language into more than a monolithic Latino experience, and bring in all of the different elements from all the different countries that are in the diaspora of this film.
Jonathan Larson was such a trailblazer who shook up Broadway in the greatest way possible, and it feels like Lin-Manuel Miranda is also doing the same thing. Do you see similarities in them as artists and in their work?
RUBIN-VEGA: Absolutely! They both wrote and amplified spaces that were really not recognized in theater. For example, a salsa musical about Washington Heights on Broadway, or a rap musical about Alexander Hamilton makes you go, “What?!” Or a La Bohème-inspired rock opera where the characters are in the East Village struggling in real-time with AIDS, there was no language for that. It was not formulaic. These guys cut the cloth and learned as much, if not more, from their mistakes than their triumphs. The other aspect that not many people have is the innate chops. Before Rent was Rent, it took seven years. In the Heights didn’t start out as what it is today. These things take time, attention, honing, and love. They take a certain amount of attention to make great.
When did you realize that Rent was going to be something that people would still love all of these years later, and that it would be something that you’d always be associated with and remembered for? Did you have a moment when you realized that was just something that was always going to be a part of your life?
RUBIN-VEGA: That’s a layered question. It’s 25 years now and people are still celebrating it and paying homage, and everything old becomes new again. I have lived it to have that experience, which is astounding to me. When Jonathan died, not a day would go by that I wouldn’t think about Rent and the impact of it was not just because it’s a damn good musical, but because we lost somebody. We lost a human during the birth of it, and that experience created something bigger than I could have ever predicted. It didn’t come without trauma and without great loss. There was an actual meaning and a purpose beyond just doing a good show. It almost felt like there was a human sacrifice that occurred. I have often said that I’m an ambassador of love and inclusion. I feel that responsibility as an artist because whatever I do includes who I am. The container is so important these days. I’m just lucky to be in spaces where we represent reality more than really trying to prove that we’re here and representation matters. It’s that reality matters. We’re telling this story that’s just a simple take that talks about reality in a way that is musical.
In the Heights is in theaters and available to stream on HBO Max.
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