"In the Heights" is a fresh new musical about the lives of working clase individuals who live in Washington Heights - the "barrio" of NYC. It focuses on different relationships of Spanish-Americans: one about a girl who can't afford her Stanford college tuition, another about a grandmother who wins 96,000 dollars, and also about the lead actor, Usnavi who wants to date a girl he knows. The show is a heart warming tale about family, friends, happiness through tuff times, and about home in general. In my opinion, the best parts of the show were the dancing, the lighting design, and the Spanish-Hip-Hop score. The story was ok, and the only thing I didn't like about the show was that the music wasn't memorable. The only song a sort of remember was the opening number "En Washington Heights." The acting was great as well, especially that of the actors who played Usnavi (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz), and Nina (Mandy Gonzalez).
The coolest part of the show was that I got to meet the cast after the audience left the theater. I got to talk to the actors and I told them about my blog. Lin-Manuel conceived the entire play, and he also wrote the music and lyrics for the production. I had the opportunity to ask him some questions. I asked what his favorite show was (besides the one he was starring in), and how he found his love for Broadway. He said that his favorite show is the "Phantom of the Opera" (mine too!), and by seeing it he found his love for Broadway. He said he remembered seeing the mist and the boat in the "Phantom of the Opera," and thinking to himself , he said that that was what he wanted to do. He wanted to make a new musical, one that would catch the eye of young theater goers like myself, and introduce the rich hispanic culture to the stage. Over all, I give this show a collar's up. I don't think it deserves to win the Tony for best musical, but it probably will get it.
(Lin-Manuel Miranda)
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