Miranda warmed up in his old shoes in recent days, jumping into two performances (the matinees June 19-20) of the Tempe, AZ, engagement. Miranda was Tony-nominated as 2008 Best Actor in a Musical for his turn as the charismatic Dominican owner of a neighborhood bodega in Washington Heights, in upper Manhattan. The show won the Tony Award as Best Musical.

The actor — who will also star as Usnavi in the film version of the musical — also conceived the show and wrote its hip-hop, pop and Latin-influenced music and lyrics, winning the Tony Award for Best Score.

"To be honest, I've been itching to play with the tour cast since we began their rehearsals last fall," Miranda said in a May 10 statement. "It has been a joy to watch Kyle Beltran and the rest of this company make this show their own, and to win over audiences all over the country. I'm excited to play at the gorgeous Pantages Theatre, which I had the privilege of visiting two weeks ago. I can't think of a better way to prepare myself for the demands of playing Usnavi in the movie version of Heights. Most of all, I can't wait to get back on that stage, in Usnavi's shoes."

Miranda wrote the first incarnation of In the Heights during his sophomore year at Wesleyan University, CT.

The musical is a snapshot of a couple of days in the lives of friends, lovers and family in the changing neighborhood of Washington Heights, where people with roots in the Caribbean feel the pull of two cultures.

For more information about the tour or the current Broadway run, visit www.intheheightsthemusical.com.