At 26-years-old, Nico Muhly has an impressive resume; on top of studying at Julliard and being the subject of an extensive New Yorker piece, the musician/composer/wunderkind has worked with Philip Glass, Rufus Wainwright, Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons), Björk and even Brooklyn boys The National. If you're not impressed yet, just take a listen to his latest album, Mothertongue, or his 2006 debut Speaks Volumes--and you'll understand that he doesn't need the big names......

They’ll deny it, but most college students who write plays harbor some secret fantastic hope that their new opus will be hailed as the arrival of a fresh new voice and open on Broadway to triumphant acclaim. It obviously never happens, except when it does: 28-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, originally from Washington Heights, conceived the musical In the Heights as a sophomore at Wesleyan. After graduating, the show, a hip hop and salsa-inflected homage to his......