The best musicals do a remarkable balancing act. On one level they transport the audience to a separate world, while at the same time they have universal themes that apply to everyone. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s play In The Heights skillfully performs this delicate balancing act.
In The Heights does a wonderful job of transporting the audience into the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. Thanks to wonderful set design and a great musical Latin-infused musical score, the audience feels as if it is actually peering into a section of Washington Heights. The actors do a great job of mimicking the attitudes and mannerisms of many of the Latinos from that neighborhood. Thankfully, the play manages to poke fun without resorting to stereotypes. While the re-creation of the atmosphere of Washington Heights onstage is impressive, what separates In The Heights from other musicals are these strong universal appeals.
In The Heights focuses on achieving the American dream: family and love apply as much to a farmer in Topeka as they do to the people in Washington Heights. In the play, we see many characters striving to achieve the American dream. For example, Kevin (Danny Bolero) and Camila Rosario (Natalie Toro) run their own car service, hoping to provide for their daughter Nina (Arielle Jacobs); yet, this is not a Pollyanna-ish story. Nina has dropped out of Stanford, crushing the dreams of her parents. This decision causes Nina’s parents great anguish, but in the end, they make a true sacrifice – they sell the car service to raise enough money to send Nina back to college. Local bodega owner Usnavi (Lin-Manuel Miranda) also tries to fulfill the American dream. Thwarted by vandalism, blackout, and bad luck, Usnavi cannot make his bodega successful. In a stroke of luck, his beloved grandmother Claudia (Elise Santora) wins the lottery. Sadly, she dies soon after. Believing he can turn luck into success, Usnavi closes down his bodega to move to the Dominican Republic. However, after a local graffiti artist paints a touching portrait of Abuela Claudia, Usnavi decides to stay. The American dream is not merely about financial success. It is about the struggle and the people you meet along the way. Usnavi realizes that Washington Heights is home, and he happily re-opens his bodega.
In The Heights also examines the difficulties of love. We see these complexities when Nina falls for Benny (Rogelio Douglas Jr.), a dispatcher for her parents’ car service. First of all, there is the complication of different races. Benny is black while Nina is Latino. On top of this, Benny is the Rosarios’ right-hand man at the car service, and business issues creep into their relationship. We see this after Mr. Rosario sells the car service to raise money to send Nina back to school. Benny is furious. He feels betrayed. Mr. Rosario has cost him his job without any consideration. He anger soon turns to Nina, whose irresponsibility caused the situation in the first place. This leads to a nasty fight that leads to a breakup. However, in true Broadway fashion, their love conquers all and they get back together. In fact, Benny is inspired to chase his own American dream and start his own car service, while Nina agrees to go back to Stanford and chase her own dream. Usnavi also deals with his own issues with love, but unlike Benny and Nina, his challenges are not external; they are internal. Usnavi is shy when it comes to women. He loves local girl Vanessa (Sabrina Sloan), but he cannot express his feelings despite his cousin Sonny’s (Shaun Taylor-Corbett) best attempt to prod him to do so. When Usnavi plans to go to the Dominican Republic, this seems to doom any possibility of a relationship. After an epiphany, Usnavi decides to stay in Washington Heights and his love with Vanessa is allowed to grow. I believe this focus on universal themes such as the American dream, family, and love, combined with a unique Latin flavor, makes In The Heights a unique theatrical event worth watching.
Playing in Hollywood at the Pantages Theatre until July 25th,2010.
To buy tickets for In the Heights, click here: Pantages Theatre.
