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Lin-Manuel Miranda career timeline: From 'In the Heights' to 'Hamilton' to Hollywood

Learn about all the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning phenomenon's acclaimed stage and screen projects, plus his new musical Warriors opening in spring 2027.

Sophie Thomas
Written bySophie Thomas

Lin-Manuel Miranda is basically a modern-day Shakespeare. The multi-award-winning writer may be best known as the creative brain behind Hamilton, but he's been writing and starring in musicals for over 20 years. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a tour-de-force who's changed the face of theatre.

Miranda is now having a banner year: An Off-Broadway revival of In the Heights will premiere just before his newest Broadway musical, Warriors, debuts in the spring, all while Hamilton continues to take the globe by storm. Plus, he's been announced to direct Octet, a star-studded film adaptation of Dave Malloy's acclaimed musical. In honor of his hot streak, we're taking a look back at how Lin-Manuel Miranda established himself in the Broadway scene and became a global superstar.

Get Hamilton tickets now.

Check back for information on In the Heights tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Check back for information on Warriors tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

2000: In the Heights debuts

2002: Meet Thomas Kail

2003: Freestyle Love Supreme

2005: Work on In the Heights continues

2007: In the Heights opens off Broadway

2008: In the Heights opens on Broadway

2008: Working

2009: Hamilton takes the White House

2009: West Side Story revival

2012: Bring It On: The Musical

2012: Merrily We Roll Along

2013: Hamilton at New York Stage and Film

2014: Miranda's first Emmy win

2014: 21 Chump Street

2014: tick, tick... BOOM!

2015: Hamilton opens off Broadway, then on Broadway

2016-present: Disney calls

2018: Fosse/Verdon

2019: Hamilton in Puerto Rico

2019: Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway

2021: Two Hollywood hits

2024: Warriors cast album

2026: Miranda directs Octet

2027: Warriors on Broadway

2000: In the Heights debuts

Lin-Manuel Miranda debuts the first version of In the Heights at Wesleyan University, when he is a sophomore in college.

2002: Meet Thomas Kail

Director Thomas Kail joins the project, and they start workshopping In the Heights together. It begins a long collaboration between Miranda and Kail that would also come to include Hamilton.

2003: Freestyle Love Supreme

Miranda co-founds Freestyle Love Supreme, an improv hip-hop troupe that performs around the world. Other founding cast members in Freestyle Love Supreme include future Hamilton stars Christopher Jackson and James Monroe Iglehart.

2005: Work on In the Heights continues

Miranda and his collaborators take In the Heights to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut, where they further workshop the show.

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2007: In the Heights opens off Broadway

The musical runs at the 37 Arts Theater from February 8 to July 15, 2007. Miranda plays the lead role of Usnavi, and the musical wins two Drama Desk Awards.

2008: In the Heights opens on Broadway

In the Heights opens on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The musical wins four Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score. In the Heights plays over 1,100 performances, running from February 14, 2008 to January 9, 2011.

2008: Working

Miranda contributes new songs to a revised version of Stephen Schwartz's 1977 musical Working, which premieres at Asolo Repertory Theatre.

2009: Hamilton takes the White House

Miranda performs an excerpt from Hamilton at the White House Poetry Jam for the first time. It will eventually become the musical's opening number, "Alexander Hamilton."

2009: West Side Story revival

Miranda translates some lyrics to Spanish for a revival of West Side Story, which opened at the Palace Theatre on Broadway. The cast recording won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

2012: Bring It On: The Musical

Miranda co-wrote the music (with Tom Kitt) and lyrics (with Amanda Green) for Bring It On: The Musical, which runs at the St. James Theatre on Broadway for a limited run.

2012: Merrily We Roll Along

Miranda stars as Charley in a New York City Center Encores! production of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.

2013: Hamilton at New York Stage and Film

Hamilton, then called The Hamilton Mixtape, premieres at New York Stage and Film.

2014: Miranda's first Emmy win

Miranda wins an Emmy for the musical number "Bigger!," co-written with Tom Kitt and performed by Neil Patrick Harris at the 67th Tony Awards.

2014: 21 Chump Street

Miranda's 14-minute one-act musical, 21 Chump Street, premieres at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

2014: tick, tick... BOOM!

Miranda returns to the stage in the Encores! revival of Rent creator Jonathan Larson's musical tick, tick... BOOM!, starring as Larson himself.

2015: Hamilton opens off Broadway, then on Broadway

Hamilton opens off Broadway at The Public Theater and then on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in the same year, going on to win 11 Tony Awards in 2016 at a ceremony dubbed "the Hamiltonys." The show also set a record high for Tony nominations with 16.

Hamilton is still enjoying its Broadway run and is considered to be one of the most successful musicals of all time.

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2015: Hamilton opens off Broadway, then on Broadway

2016-present: Disney calls

In 2016, Miranda writes music for the Disney film Moana, kicking off a string of collaborations with Disney. Moana earned him an Academy Award nomination, and his songs include "How Far I'll Go," "You're Welcome," "Shiny," and "I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)." He's also written songs for Disney movies including the live-action The Little Mermaid (with Alan Menken), Encanto (Oscar nomination), Vivo (also voices the title character), and Mufasa: The Lion King.

Miranda also starred as Jack in Disney's Mary Poppins Returns (Golden Globe nomination), and Disney co-produced and distributed the filmed live capture of Hamilton on Broadway.

2018: Fosse/Verdon

Miranda executive produces Fosse/Verdon, an FX miniseries about the relationship between two Broadway icons: choreographer Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and performer Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams). The show, and Miranda as producer, was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

2019: Hamilton in Puerto Rico

After multiple years away from the part, Miranda reprises the role of Alexander Hamilton for a two-week run in Puerto Rico.

2019: Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway

Freestyle Love Supreme, an improvised Broadway show featuring Miranda's FLS troupe, opens at the Booth Theatre for a limited run. The show plays an encore run in 2021 following the pandemic shutdown, and Miranda appears at select performances during both runs.

2021: Two Hollywood hits

The film adaptation of In The Heights, directed by Jon M. Chu, was released on June 11, and Miranda cameos as the Piraguero, or Piragua Guy. He makes his directorial debut this same year with a Netflix film adaptation of tick, tick... BOOM! starring Andrew Garfield.

2024: Warriors cast album

Miranda unveils his newest project, co-written with Eisa Davis: a concept album for Warriors, adapted from the same-named book and action film about NYC gangs. The album features the voices of Broadway stars, including multiple Hamilton alums, alongside hip-hop icons like Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, and Ghostface Killah.

2026: Miranda directs Octet

In April 2026, Miranda finds his next directorial project: a film adaptation of Octet, Dave Malloy's 2019 musical about a support group for internet addicts. The cast includes Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Zegler, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Phillipa Soo, Gaten Matarazzo, Jonathan Groff, Tramell Tillman, and Paul-Jordan Jansen. A release date has yet to be set.

2027: Warriors on Broadway

After initially saying he and Davis wouldn't turn the Warriors album into a full-fledged stage show, popular demand made them reverse that decision. Warriors debuts in spring 2027 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre under Jenny Koons's direction, with dates and casting to be announced.

Check back for information on Warriors tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

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2027: Warriors on Broadway