The announcement comes as the new musical makes its Broadway debut Feb. 14 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Miranda conceived In the Heights and penned music and lyrics for the Latin and hip-hop flaired score. Pulitzer Prize finalist Quiara Alegria Hudes wrote the libretto for the musical, which played a previous engagement at Off-Broadway's 37 Arts.

"At Williamson Music we have enormous respect for tradition, while always looking towards the future," Williamson Music president Maxyne Lang said in a statement. "A century ago, Irving Berlin brought the rhythm of the street and the sounds of his world to the mainstream of Broadway, often performing his songs himself. I recognize that spirit in Lin-Manuel, who is bringing hip-hop and an authentic Latin sound to Broadway, and is an amazing performer of those songs too!"

Miranda added, "Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein are two of my heroes; their creative output and business acumen have never been matched. This fall I won the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, and had the honor of meeting the amazing Mary Rodgers; [and now] In the Height, is going into the Richard Rodgers Theater. I've never considered myself superstitious, but Richard Rodgers is hovering around my life, and that's how I like it...And now here I am, signing with Williamson Music, home to so many legendary songwriters and composers — Irving Berlin, Sheldon Harnick, Stephen Schwartz, the aforementioned Mary Rodgers — it's bewildering and humbling. It's also a dream come true."

Williamson will also publish the In the Heights vocal songbook. An original Broadway cast recording is also in the works.

In the Heights, according to production notes, "is a quintessential New York musical about a vibrant and tight-knit community at the top of the island of Manhattan. The music pulses with the hopes and dreams of three generations as they struggle to forge an identity in a neighborhood on the brink of transition." Opening is March 9 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on West 46th Street. For more information visit www.intheheightsthemusical.com.

*

A music publishing company founded by and for writers, Williamson Music was established in 1944 by the legendary duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (both sons of men named William). Today, Williamson Music (ASCAP) and R&H Music (BMI) represent the catalogues of Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Lorenz Hart, Irving Berlin and T. S. Eliot, among others.

Equally committed to contemporary talent, their roster also includes John Bucchino, Ann Hampton Callaway, Joe DiPietro, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, Sheldon Harnick, Michael Korie, Henry Krieger, Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx, Jimmy Roberts, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse and David Zippel.

Maxyne Lang has been president of Williamson Music since it was brought into The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization in 1988.

For further information visit www.williamsonmusic.com.