In the Heights Wins Actors' Equity Outstanding Broadway Chorus Award

The ensemble of In the Heights has been awarded the second annual ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus from Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs ACCA. The award honors the distinctive talents and contributions made by the chorus of a Broadway musical and will be bestowed in a ceremony on September 23 at Equity's headquarters in New York City.

The winners, all of whom were part of In the Heights' chorus on the musical's March 9, 2008, opening night, are Michael Balderrama, Blanca Camacho, Tony Chiroldes, Rogelio Douglas, Jr. Rosie Lani Fiedelman, Joshua Henry, Afra Hines, Stephanie Klemons, Nina LaFarga, Doreen Montalvo, Javier Muñoz, Krysta Rodriguez, Eliseo Román, Luis Salgado, Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Rickey Tripp.

Of the eight chorus musicals in the 2007-2008 season, four were nominated for the award: In the Heights, Xanadu, Cry-Baby and South Pacific. The criteria applied by the ACCA, all of whom are Equity members who have worked under chorus contracts, included what was required of each chorus by the director, choreographer and musical director and the caliber of skill used to execute those requirements. The committee then deliberated on the technical skill of the chorus actors and the contributions the entire chorus made to the overall production.

The chorus of Legally Blonde won the first Outstanding Broadway Chorus Award last year.