MUSICAL: In The Heights

After sweeping the 2008 Tony Awards, the musical, In The Heights, has been playing on Broadway to sold out crowds and redefining the modern musical. A touring production hits the road at the end of October.

The show, set in the north of Manhattan in a neighborhood known as Washington Heights, tells the stories of the people of the community. Predominately made up of people from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, the characters represent several generations all struggling to attain the American dream and, while each defines "success" a little differently, the desire and hope felt by each is the same. Written in a mixing of Spanish and English, the show captures the immigrant experience with heart, humor, and reality. Many of the songs, "Inutil," "No Me Diga," "Sunrise," and "Paciencia y Fé," among others, use both languages heavily.

Another underlying theme is the fact that a winning lottery ticket was sold by lead character, Usnavi (named after the ship that saved his parents while immigrating - US Navy), at his corner bodega. The whole cast fantasizes about what they would do with the winnings, while the barrio's resident grandmother, Abuela Claudia, wonders what she can do with it, as she has the coveted ticket. At the same time a power outage resulting in Usnavi's store being looted, the local salon moving downtown, and the owner of the car service business selling it so his daughter can go back to school all add to the drama.

The story and music, written by the original Usnavi, Lin Manuel Miranda, in his dorm room at Wesleyan University infuses a mix of merengue, hip-hop, rap, salsa, and a few good ole broadway ballads for good measure. One of my favorite scenes was set in a salsa club where the dancing was music made me feel as if I had been transported to Havana! (A subsequent blackout utilizes cell phones in a neat piece of choreography.)

Check out this performance from the 2008 Tony Awards while you're waiting for the tour to come to your city! It's a combination of two songs from the show, the leadoff anthem, "In The Heights," and the rousing "96,000."

Sergio del Limónar