In The Heights Review
In The Heights is a musical focusing on the lives of those living in New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood. Centered around a Spanish culture, the music is composed of salsa and meringue, but is also infused with hip-hop and soul. The Broadway show was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 2008 and won Best Musical.
The characters are engaging. The singing is mesmerizing. The dancing is brilliant. The plot is unlike that of any other show. The integration of Spanish language gives the story credibility and the humorous moments break up the intense scenes so there is never a dull moment.
The characters were absolutely amazing. Of course, the actors and actresses playing them are half the reason for this but I firmly believe that the writing completely drove this show to be as great as it is. Each of the main characters has their own objective, making for many separate storylines all incorporated into one. You would think this could be difficult to follow, but each story is so wonderfully intertwined with the other that it makes it easy to understand what's going on at every moment of the show.
We first meet Usnavi, the owner of the corner store where everyone seems to go at least once a day. All of his songs are in rap-form accompanied by a hip-hop beat that makes for a great sound. Every time that Usnavi raps, dancers would set the scene moving to the beats perfectly, hitting each step at a different note. Usnavi's dream is to go back to him homeland of the Dominican Republic but he doesn't have the means to do so. Usnavi's love interest, Vanessa, works at the salon next door to Usnavi's store. She also dreams of getting out of the Heights, but only as far as downtown. She is out of luck when it comes to money as well. Her mother is an alcoholic, leaving Vanessa mostly responsible for the rent to where they live now. Then there are Daniela and Carla, Vanessa's boss and co-worker and non-stop gossipers. Daniela always knows who's dating who, who's sleeping with who, and so on. Carla is her sidekick. You never really see Carla without Daniela.
The two have great comedic timing. Daniela has some of the funniest lines in the show, almost always following a naive or incorrect comment made by Carla. Daniela and Carla must face facts that their salon isn't doing well in the Heights and they need to relocate to the Bronx, far away from the corner they have always known.
Then there is Nina, the Heights' pride and joy and the first to go to college at Stanford University. However, she comes home for summer with a jarring surprise. She has dropped out of school. Nina's struggle throughout the show is with her parents, who want her to go back to California. The only thing in their way is money. She also struggles to make them accept Benny as the man she loves. Benny, the only African-American in the neighborhood, has worked for Nina's father Kevin's business, Rosario's Car Service, since he was a child and was always seen as part of the family until he starts to spend a lot of time with Nina. Benny wants to be accepted by the Latino community and especially by Nina's father. He also wants to have his own car service. Kevin wants his daughter to go back to school so badly that he will do just about anything, even sell his business. Nina's mother, Camila, is a fiery woman who at times is overruled by her husband but that never stops her from getting her views across. Camila wants what's best for her daughter as well but isn't sure she wants to give up her life's work just yet. Abuela Claudia is like a mother to everyone in the neighborhood. She is a kind old woman who wants the best for all of her "children." What's great about her character is that she is actually played by a very young woman but you would never know until you open the playbill!
Last, but certainly not least, is perhaps the funniest character of the show, Usnavi's younger cousin Sonny. Sonny works at Usnavi's store and has the best lines of the show, hands down. He tries so hard to impress all the ladies but they all think of him as the "cute younger brother" type, never letting him forget it. Every time he opened his mouth, the audience roared with laughter. His lines were timed perfectly and gave even the most serious scenes a little comic relief.
The characters all struggle with money. One of the concepts holding together the character's individual plots is the $96,000 lottery. The characters dream of what they could do with the money, all having very good reasons for wanting it. I was on the edge of my seat through out the whole show and not just so I could see better, but also because I was so anxious to see what was coming next. Would Usnavi and Vanessa get together after the Fourth of July fireworks? Would Nina and Benny be able to be together? Would Kevin and Camila find a way to pay for Nina's schooling? What will become of The Heights once they all leave?
A love for Spanish music, hip hop dancing, and Broadway in general will draw audiences to the theater, but its the reality of the situations driving each character to reach their goals that will keep people wanting more.