In The Heights
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Cititour.com Review
Who says they're not writing old-fashioned musicals anymore? Lin-Manuel Miranda's salsa and hip-hop rhythms for his maiden Broadway effort may not be the kind usually heard on the Great White Way, but his lyrics and Quiara Alegria Hudes' book demonstrate a careful and devout understanding of the craft of musical theater. Their humor is the kind that's inspired by character rather than camp; their story soars with journeys of love and hope; and, thanks to director Thomas Kail and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, the musical numbers pay off, for the characters as well as the audience.
Miranda also plays one of the principal characters, Usnavi, a deli man from the Dominican Republic who's torn between his affection for his immigrant Washington Heights neighborhood and a longing to save enough money to return to his homeland. He's not the only one who's conflicted. Nina (Mandy Gonzalez) can't bring herself to tell the parents (Priscilla Lopez and Carlos Gomez) who've worked and saved to send her to college that she's flunked out of Stanford.
Their struggles are certainly relevant at a time when many New Yorkers are facing a financial crunch. But what they have that so rarely exists in real life is a close-knit community of people who look out for one another. That includes Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz), the neighborhood's surrogate grandmother, whose death leaves Usnavi solvent but doesn’t solve all his problems. Merediz, however, potently delivers one of the musical's best numbers, "Paciencia y Fe (Patience and Faith)," about her childhood journey from Cuba to New York.
Although the pacing flounders a bit in the second act (two numbers about Abuela Claudia's death and a surfeit of love ballads slow things down), it has such hopefulness and heart — not to mention wonderful dancing — that, like a slightly-down-on-its-heels neighborhood, you can forgive it for being a little rough around the edges.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://www.intheheightsthemusical.com
Cast
Andrea Burns, Janet Dacal, Robin De Jesus, Mandy Gonzalez, John Herrera, Christopher Jackson, Priscilla Lopez, Olga Merediz, Karen Olivo
Open/Close Dates
Opening 2/14/2008
Closing 1/9/2011
Box Office
(212) 307-4747
Theatre Info
Richard Rodgers Theatre
226 West 46th Street
New York, NY 10036
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