BY CYRUS PATELL
U-HALL FACULTY FELLOW
Last Thursday night, a group of U-Hall students joined Faculty Fellows Patsy Cooper, Warren
Frisina, and me for an outing to see the Broadway musical In the Heights at the Richard Rodgers Theater. The show was conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda while he was a sophomore at Wesleyan -- yes, take heart, you aspiring playwrights! Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the show, which came to the attention to the producers of Rent and Avenue Q, and it shares some of the shows' irreverence and twenty-something orientation.
Full of wonderful singing and dancing, In the Heights is a cultural hybrid : it's bilingual, with dialogue in both English and Spanish, and it blends a number of musical forms, mixing traditional Broadway show tunes with hip-hop and salsa. As is often the case with cultural hybrids, one side dominates a little bit: the bilingualism is tilted toward English, so a non-Spanish speaking viewer will never feel ill-at-ease, though there are Spanish puns and in-jokes for those who get them. Most of the verbal hip-hop is delivered by Usnavi, a bodega-owner who is played Manuel himself, and even for this fortysomething it's one of the most appealing aspects of the show, which otherwise features a surprisingly large number of fairly standard sounding Broadway ballads delivered by characters singing solo in the spotlight. Don't get me wrong: they all sound great, but this is a show designed to build on, rather than challenge, the conventions of the Broadway musical.
And that's probably why the show has been a hit. The last Latin-flavored musical on Broadway, The Capeman, which opened twenty years ago, seemed to have all the ingredients for a hit: music by Paul Simon, book by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, choreography by Mark Morris, and Mark Anthony in the lead role -- but it bombed, probably because it challenged the conventions of the Broadway musical too directly. And, frankly, that show was a case study in why many of those conventions exist: because they work! You can read Manuel's thoughts on The Capeman in this interview from the Gothamist.(By the way, the cast album from The Capeman is wonderful and highly recommended.)
I loved the way that In the Heights dramatizes the vibrancy of New York's street culture and its neighborhoods. A nice touch is a representation of the George Washington Bridge, which fills the central backdrop of the stage: it reminds us of the hegemony of the automobile in the U.S. since the late 1920s (when the bridge was constructed), which New York has resisted. It's neighborhoods like the one depicted in the show that have given New York its unique flavor.
The show also shows us that a Latino neighborhood like Washington Heights is in fact a confluence of different cultural traditions: Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, even Mexican. In fact, if you're planning to see the show, you might brush up quickly on what those four flags look like: it'll help you track which characters come from which traditions, though you can also pick that up by listening carefully to the stories they tell.
For the most part, the show sugar-coats things: there's a little bit of interethnic tension, but not much; and a little more interracial tension, which in the end is not fully resolved. But this is not West Side Story, which is a tragedy driven by interracial feuding. Sad things happen during In the Heights, but they are part of the bittersweetness of change -- of lives, cultures, and neighborhoods. The show, in the end, is all about the idea of home: where it is, what it means, what it owes you, what you owe to it.
Word to the wise: if you're at all interested in the show, try to see it while Miranda is still performing it.
If you've seen In the Heights (whether as part of our group or at another time), please add a comment below. What about it moved you? What did you like (or not like) about it. What should future audience members be on the lookout for?
As an incentive: one lucky commenter will be chosen to receive the special Broadway Cares holiday CD that we heard about after the show. We'll be picking the winner at 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday, so please get your comments in by then!
Meanwhile, check out this video, "Ten Minutes with Lin-Manuel Miranda":
Comments (9)
I absolutely loved In the Heights (I cried). I think Lin-Manuel Miranda is really talented, so much so that Stephen Sondheim has tapped him to translate some of the lyrics for the upcoming revival of West Side Story. And the actress playing Vanessa (Karen Olivo) is going to be Anita. It's a little In the Heights-fest that is carrying over into other shows. How cool is that?
Another fun fact: Miranda wrote a rap parody of "Tradition" from Fiddler on the Roof called "Tradizzle"...
Posted by Aari Reich | November 16, 2008 2:21 PM
Posted on November 16, 2008 14:21
In the Heights was my first musical, and I absolutely loved it. As a music performance major, I focused on the show's selection of songs, and I really enjoyed the Latin flavor that was infused with the traditional Broadway show song. The rapping was also a nice touch to this urbanized, modern musical that is easy to follow and relate to.
After I saw this show, I felt like watching as many musicals as I could. It is a very heartfelt, touching, and invigorating musical, and I highly recommend it to anyone.
Posted by Jiyuh Kim | November 16, 2008 6:39 PM
Posted on November 16, 2008 18:39
This was the best musical out of the three I've watched so far. It's very distinctive than other musicals in the way that it is very realistic and modernized, but at the same time the musical keeps its beat up through the music and the passion you can see through all of the cast's emotion and body movement. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the rapping that was involved, it was a pleasnt surprise added to the heartwarming storyline behind it. This is not only a great musical but it inspired me to keep striving for success. It's A MUST-SEE!
Posted by Stella Choi | November 16, 2008 9:24 PM
Posted on November 16, 2008 21:24
Really enjoyed the show. The music was great and the dance choreo. was fantastic. The story could have used a little fine tuning, subplots felt hapharzardly strung, and then the whole lottery thing? but i highly recommend it for the song & dance, and of course that fireworks-lighting display!
Posted by Eden P. | November 16, 2008 10:50 PM
Posted on November 16, 2008 22:50
At the start of the school year, I already had tickets to Spring Awakening and In the Heights in hand. Of the two, I was much more excited about Spring Awakening because I'd already heard so much about it (sex on stage?!!). Sadly, I wasn't blown away by Spring Awakening, and thereafter I didn't have a very high anticipation for In the Heights. However, by the end of the opening song, I was hooked, and it has become a surprising favorite in my playlist. In the Heights has a different attraction than Rent, Wicked, and The Lion King, which I already knew would blow me away. I feel like I could relate to Nina's story, and that I know the characters in my own life. And yes, Abuela Claudia reminds me of my own grandmother, and I was bawling along with the rest of the audience after she passed away >
Posted by Victoria | November 17, 2008 7:53 PM
Posted on November 17, 2008 19:53
I was on the edge of my seat the entire show! In the Heights was so colorful and exciting, you couldn't help but want to get up and join the dancing. Of course the excellent acting and choreography goes unsaid. I absolutely loved the scene at the club where they were all salsa dancing.
The story itself is fairly predictable-the girl who is too good for the boy, the lottery ticket that solves all the money problems in the end, even the grandmother’s death. But in the end the clichés didn’t detract my enjoyment. The mixing of musical genres is done artfully; it would appeal to anyone. This is definitely a musical that should be on everyone’s list. I would have happily paid full-price to see it (…err collegetix price that is).
Posted by Melanie Wen | November 18, 2008 12:38 AM
Posted on November 18, 2008 00:38
Other than hearing from others that In the Heights was a great show, the only thing I knew about it was that it won the 2008 tony for best musical. I wasn’t really expecting much though because I had listened to a little bit of the music and wasn’t too impressed. After seeing the show, I completely changed my mind!! Although the story is somewhat predictable, the music is catchy and fun, the choreography is innovative and entertaining and overall the show is just great! The whole cast is amazingly talented; their energy jumps off the stage and they are so captivating. I highly suggest that if you haven’t already, go see this show! (and before Lin-Manuel Miranda leaves.)
Posted by Kayla Greenspan | November 18, 2008 4:12 PM
Posted on November 18, 2008 16:12
Other than hearing from others that In the Heights was a great show, the only thing I knew about it was that it won the 2008 tony for best musical. I wasn’t really expecting much though because I had listened to a little bit of the music and wasn’t too impressed. After seeing the show, I completely changed my mind!! Although the story is somewhat predictable, the music is catchy and fun, the choreography is innovative and entertaining and overall the show is just great! The whole cast is amazingly talented; their energy jumps off the stage and they are so captivating. I highly suggest that if you haven’t already, go see this show! (and before Lin-Manuel Miranda leaves.)
Posted by Kayla Greenspan | November 18, 2008 4:56 PM
Posted on November 18, 2008 16:56
In the Heights was a really enjoyable musical. I especially liked the choreography as well as the blending of musical genres. The story played out somewhat like a soap opera, but was amusing to watch nonetheless. I had only great expectations for the show and was not disappointed.
Posted by Thuy Nguyen | November 18, 2008 9:26 PM
Posted on November 18, 2008 21:26