Monday, March 10, 2008

Latino musical reaches new "Heights" on Broadway


By Frank Scheck
23 minutes ago


NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -
There were more than a few
doubts raised upon the announcement that the Latino-flavored
musical "In the Heights" would be moving to Broadway, but they
are immediately erased upon viewing its new incarnation at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre.

The latest in a wave of musicals seeking to attract
younger, more aware and more ethnically diverse audiences to
the Great White Way, the show is a joyfully exuberant and
moving experience that should have no trouble thriving once
word-of-mouth kicks in.

Conceived by 28-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also wrote
the score and plays one of the leading roles, the show has an
unlikely setting: a Washington Heights neighborhood featuring
such establishments as a bodega, a unisex hair salon and a car
service operation. Depicting the lives and loves of a variety
of Latino characters over a long, hot Fourth of July weekend,
it bursts with a vitality that only seems more pronounced in
its larger home.

The scene is set with the titular number, a rap ode to the
neighborhood delivered by the bodega owner, Usnavi (Miranda).
We are then quickly introduced to the disparate cast of
characters, including Nina (Mandy Gonzalez), a 19-year-old who
has just returned from her first year at Stanford; the
neighborhood patriarch, Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz); Nina's
loving if overprotective parents (Carlos Gomez, Priscilla
Lopez); the gossipy salon owner, Daniela (Andrea Burns), and
her financially strapped employee Vanessa (Karen Olivo); and
Benny (Christopher Jackson), the car dispatcher who takes a
shine to Nina.

Even the minor characters are given their due in the
proceedings, such as the Piragua Guy (Eliseo Roman), who sings
about providing the sweltering neighborhood with its icy
treats, and Graffiti Pete (Seth Stewart), whose artwork proves
unexpectedly moving in the show's final moments.

Miranda's excellent musical score, incorporating hip-hop
(he proves to be a smooth-flowing rapper as well) and Latin
elements, is consistently tuneful and fun, and Andy
Blankenbuehler's sexy choreography adds to its impact. The
undeniable highlight is the Act 1 finale, set in a dance club
in which the ensemble gets to show off their sizzling moves
only to be hilariously interrupted by a mock blackout.

The largely intact ensemble, composed of seasoned pros and
talented newcomers, has only gotten better since last year's
off-Broadway run, and Anna Louizos' striking neighborhood set
design, dominated by a looming George Washington Bridge, well
fills the expansive stage.

Cast:

Usnavi: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Daniela: Andrea Burns

Carla: Janet Dacal

Sonny: Robin de Jesus

Kevin: Carlos Gomez

Nina: Mandy Gonzalez

Benny: Christopher Jackson

Camila: Priscilla Lopez

Abuela Claudia: Olga Merediz


Vanessa: Karen Olivo


Graffiti Pete: Seth Stewart


Original concept/music-lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda; Book:
Quiara Alegria Hudes; Director: Thomas Kail; Set designer: Anna
Louizos; Costume designer: Paul Tazewell; Choreographer: Andy
Blankenbuehler; Lighting designer: Howell Binkley; Sound
designer: Acme Sound Partners.


Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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