Mālama Arts Brings Lin-Manuel Miranda Musical to Hilo Palace Theater in 2026

Mālama Arts opens its community production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" at the Hilo Palace Theater on March 20, running across two weekends through March 29 in what marks one of the most ambitious stagings the Hilo-based nonprofit has undertaken.

Performances are scheduled for Friday, March 20 at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 21 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 22 at 2:30 p.m., with the second weekend repeating the same pattern on March 27, 28, and 29. Doors open one hour before showtime; seating begins 45 minutes prior. The production runs approximately 120 minutes with an intermission.

Tickets are available now through the Hilo Palace Theater website. Student tickets are $15, general admission is $20, and Priority Reserve seats, which are selectable at the time of purchase within the orchestra section's first four rows, are $30. All ticket prices increase by $5 on the day of the show. All sales are final; tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

The cast and an ensemble that includes keiki have been working on the script, music, and choreography since a first table read on Jan. 25. Direction falls to Jennie Kaneshiro, with choreography by Mana Hoʻopai and music direction by Rachel Edwards. The show carries music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, and was conceived by Miranda. It won four 2008 Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography, and Best Orchestrations.

The show centers on Usnavi, a bodega owner raised by his neighborhood's matriarch after his parents, who immigrated from the Dominican Republic, died when he was young. He faces a choice between returning to the Dominican Republic or remaining in the Washington Heights community that shaped him. As the Hilo Palace Theater press release put it, Washington Heights "is 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."

That tension carries a specific resonance for Hilo. Young people living here will have to make similar decisions, navigate similar struggles, and celebrate similar accomplishments to the characters in the show, a dynamic that Mālama Arts has consistently centered in its programming.

The nonprofit, a 501(c)(3) based in Hilo, defines its mission as a commitment "to mālama (care for) the people of Hilo and Hawaiʻi Island by fostering creativity and connection through the performing arts and arts education." In addition to full productions, the organization hosts a monthly play reading series. Those interested in supporting the "In the Heights" production can find contribution options on the Mālama Arts website.

"In the Heights" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.