Dallas — In 2008 and 2009 respectively, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt each won a Tony Award for Best Original Score. Miranda's musical, In the Heights, also picked up the Best Musical award in 2008 (and he was also nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical). Kitt's show, Next to Normal, didn't nab Best Musical in 2009—it lost to Billy Elliott: The Musical—but the consolation prize was the Pulitzer. (Heights was a Pulitzer finalist the year before.)
That's some heavy medal for two original musicals with dramatic heft: In the Heights (book by Quiara Alegría Hudes) deals with growing up in a tough, changing neighborhood in New York City; and Next to Normal (book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey) is about a woman with bipolar disorder.
Who would have guessed that when Miranda and Kitt cam together for a new musical, it would be about the rough-and-tumble world of high school cheerleading─and based on the film franchise of the 2000 teen flick Bring It On and its four direct-to-video sequels?
"I have fond memories of that movie, but I wasn't interested in doing a movie adaptation," says Miranda. "When [director/choreographer] Andy [Blankenbuehler] told me this wasn't an adaptation of that movie, but a show set in the world of cheerleading, and crossing cultural boundaries, that interested me."
It was the involvement of Blankenbuehler, who choreographed In the Heights (and won a Tony for it) that convinced everyone to be on board with the project. He also pulled in lyricist Amanda Green, and book writer Jeff Whitty (of Avenue Q). Miranda and Kitt would be collaborating on the music.
"He wanted a multi-faceted team, with regard to music," says Kitt. "He wanted a few different artists working on it because the show is going into different cultural areas. In terms of pairing me with Lin, he wanted to take advantage of what we both bring to the table. Even though we have a similar sensibility, we could combine to musicalize this world and make it cohesive and theatrical. Jeff Whitty was attached, so I knew going in it would be a dynamic experience to be a part of."
The result is something that goes beyond anyone's expectations.
Let's face it, recent musical adaptations of teen-marketed movies haven't exactly set the bar high, even with successful teams attached (hello, Legally Blonde). Bring It On: The Musical opened in Los Angeles and has been touring the country, currently stationed at the Music Hall at Fair Park as a strong opening for Dallas Summer Musicals' 2012 season.
Not only is the cheerleading and tumbling choreography breathtaking, it's seamlessly woven into a well-written story filled with humor and heart, with vivid characters you want to root for, even the villains. And yes, the songs are memorable. How often does anyone say that about new musicals?
Miranda, whose Heights is also touring and soon coming to Dallas─and the man himself will appear in the next Nasher Salon on March 5 at the Nasher Sculpture Center─says it was all about the director's instincts in assembling a team he knew would hit it off.
"Andy and I had already developed a shorthand thanks to Heights," Miranda says. "What was helpful is that I know what he wants… I'll start there, and work backwards from the rhythm in his head, which is a fun way to write. This whole thing has a pulse. … It was a very organic process. Andy had a clear vision with what he wanted."
Miranda, who just ended a New York City Center Encores! run of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical Merrily We Roll Along, has had plenty of work since Heights propelled him into the theatrical spotlight. He helped write new songs for Stephen Schwartz's musical Working, had a hand in the bilingual Broadway revival of West Side Story in 2009, and has been developing a one-man song cycle about Alexander Hamilton called Hamilton Mixtape, which he plans to release as an album.
With Bring It On involving a white head cheerleader who is transferred to a school where whites are in the minority, the score involves hip-hop music and choreography, working in the Broadway idiom. But for the composing duo, it still meant some research.
"We listened to a lot of pop, both hip-hop and nonhip-hop pop, and let it filter in," Miranda says.
"The world of high school is a pop world," adds Kitt. "We knew that the score was going to utilize that vernacular. At the same time, we're writing a piece of theater, so even if the songs are rooted in that world, you have to think outside the box and make sure each song is operating as a theatrical song would. We were led by the dramatic moment first, and then lead by our pop instincts. With Lin's gifts with hip-hop and rap, which I appreciate, I love to watch him create in that world. On the other side of that, Lin has a wonderful sense of musical theater in many different styles. We let the show dictate where the show would take it."
That method obviously worked. Bring It On is likely to stand out in the world of "popsicals" for years to come. It was always conceived as a national tour first, and while Kitt says there hasn't been much talk about Broadway, of course that's the hope.
And for the composers, whose previous work has been more heady than head-cheerleader, it confirmed the idea that you should never limit yourself.
"The themes explored in Bring It On are important themes, in terms of passion and dedication and ambition. It certainly touches on things that are important to me, but the way this musical operates is something I haven't worked on before," says Kitt. "I always want to seek out new, interesting projects that give me a chance to do different things as a writer. I never want to put myself into one place and do only certain types of shows. The most important thing is: 'Can I put my voice in this? Can I express myself as an artist?' "
That deserves a big "rah-rah."
◊ Here is our Q&A with director/choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler
◊ Here is Perry Stewart's review of Bring It On for TheaterJones
◊ Here is Mark Lowry's review of Bring It On for the Star-Telegram and DFW.com 
