In The Heights
More than 20 years ago, Zoot Suit, the first Hispanic entry on Broadway, opened to a disappointing reception. Despite vigorous promotion in Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, few in the Puerto Rican or Cuban immigrant communities embraced it. Perhaps that was because it was specifically set in the past in a sleepy, backwater town like Los Angeles.
Now, however, we have In The Heights, a new Hispanic musical describing Washington Heights in the Big Apple, playing for a short time at the Pantages Theatre. Los Angeles has embraced the production and the cast with open arms, and the cast, in turn, has pledged to spend free time communicating with youth in our own immigrant neighborhoods. Surely that will engender enough fodder for another musical!
Opening night (June 23rd) was a star-studded event, capturing even Mayor Villaraigosa in its magic. And the performance included the signature performance of the creator and original lead, Lin-Manuel Miranda as Usnavi. The musical incorporates an exuberant mix of Latin rhythms, hip hop and rap. The location presents a rosy, dreamlike view of a run-down neighborhood poised to face a new enemy: gentrification. We are introduced to a second generation now tenuously striving to hold on to the successes of their parents. Usnavi himself is a tribute to their struggle. His name derives from one of the first images his parents found upon entry, a warship emblazoned with the words, “U.S. Navy.”
Usnavi has inherited the corner grocery store; right across from Rosario’s taxi service owned by the family of the neighborhood success story, Nina (the winsome Arielle Jacobs) a Stanford coed. Usnavi is in love with Vanessa (a salty Sabrina Sloan), who works at the beauty salon next door. Fresh from college, Nina falls for the African-American dispatcher, Benny (charming Rogelio Douglas, Jr.), in a Romeo and Juliet subplot of forbidden love. The whole neighborhood looks after Abuela Claudia (Elise Santora), just as they tolerate the tagger, Graffiti Pete (the exceptional Jose-Luis Lopez). And what neighborhood could be without some comic relief in the form of the Piragua (snow cone) vendor, played by David Baida?
The libretto by Quiara AlegrÃa Hudes weaves the separate elements in the neighborhood to create a moment suspended in time that becomes a fairy tale by Abuela Claudia’s winning the lottery and entrusting the money to Usnavi. Aided by inventive direction by Thomas Kael (the many locations co-exist on the plaza created by Anna Louizos), the sure-fire components are moved along by Miranda’s eclectic hip-hop rhythms and restless choreography by Andy Blandenbuehler, making this musical a welcome addition to the list of enduring plays presenting the early 21st century. Best of all, this high-spirited cast exudes a joie de vivre that you’ll find catching.
Show Creator and Original Broadway Star Lin-Manuel Miranda reprises his role as 'Usnavi' for the L.A. Premiere of IN THE HEIGHTS.
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
