In the Heights — In the Heights
Reviving the Spotlight: Bringing Back the Magic of High School Theater at WHEELS!'
On October 23, 2023, the Washington Heights Expeditionary School (WHEELS) hosted a performance of the Broadway musical "In The Heights" by members of the Broadway community. As the director of WHEELS' after-school theater program I have been leading efforts to revive the program since its discontinuation due to the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.
We recognizing the financial challenges of attending Broadway productions, but we wanted the students to experience the magic of theater, so we sought an alternative approach. Drawing inspiration from a summer reading of a musical, I organized a volunteer cast, including Broadway professionals, for an unrehearsed performance of "In The Heights" at our school auditorium.
The cast featured individuals such as Luis E. Mora, Belen Moyano, Lillian Andrea De León, Danny Bolero, Jasmine Romero, Stephen Velasquez, Paola V Hernandez, Valeria Aceves, Jonté Jaurel, Angelo Rios, Gabriela Rivera, Isabella Araque Toledo, Ana Gretchen Solis, Janina Rosa, Brett Tubbs, and Anthony Martinez.
This event has ignited enthusiasm among our students! They are feeling ready for the challenge of reviving their high school musical for the upcoming productions this school year.
Broadway for Arts Education remains committed to enhancing student lives and local communities through distinctive events, serving as a source of inspiration for the next generation of artists. Experience a glimpse of the performance in the clip below!
Program Coordinator, Teaching Artist and Storytelling Director – Luis Mora has over a decade’s experience working with young people grades K-12. Through his career as a teaching artist, he has worked for a multitude of arts organizations including: Inside Broadway, Broadway Musical Theatre Inc., The Roxy Performing Arts Center, EM Arts, and Casita Maria Center for the Arts. At the latter, he took on the position of arts education doordinator, where he supervised over 25 teaching artists in all disciplines related to the arts. Although he is proud of every young person he has worked with, some stand out, as they have gone on to attend and graduate from prestigious arts programs and pursue successful careers in the arts. In addition to a career in arts education, Luis is a practicing artist as a musical and theatrical performer. He has participated in multiple readings, workshops, cabarets, concerts, regional theatre productions, national tours, and Off-Broadway shows. Luis is bilingual, as he is a proud Colombian-American. His work in both education and performance have the common thread of being focused on representation for people of color and immigrant communities. His thoughts on representation have been published online and in print in the first volume of Musical Theatre Today.
