So it's that time of year... the Oscar awards are bringing unknown stars into the limelight as the sleep-deprived theater kids at home watch anxiously, wondering if they will ever get the chance to stand up on that stage. But for now, they focus their attention and energy towards completing their own upcoming productions, musicals, and plays.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend a friend's production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-award winning musical, In the Heights. And as my school had performed its major production in November and I had a somewhat free period of time on my hands, I happily obliged.
Now, you may know about my obsession with Lin-Manuel Miranda from his most recently famous musical phenomenon, Hamilton, a story about the one and only founding father, Alexander Hamilton. I had heard about another musical that Lin had done awhile back, but as I was only recently discovering Hamilton, I ignored it thinking that nothing could be better that the 46-song soundtrack I played over-and-over again on repeat. Right? WRONG!
Although the style of the music widely differs from the beat of the revolution in Hamilton, In the Heights offers you sneak peaks of Hispanic culture and music (if you haven't ever had a chance to experience it before) and the music of the people who have worked so hard to build something out of nothing.
So, without further ado, here is my review of the musical, In the Heights!
***CAUTION: Spoilers found ahead (obviously) :) ***
Plot
Lin based this musical more off of his heritage , and it really shows in the music and the plot of this musical. In this musical, Lin played Usnavi, a young and hopeful shopkeeper who sets the scene for us in the opening number about a struggling Hispanic neighborhood in Washington Heights in Manhattan. The plot shows a week in the life of the tight-knit group of people who are all facing the struggles of New York in the summer. We meet a number of colorful and inspiring characters such as Abuela Claudia, the neighborhood mother-hen who is always inviting people in to chat or eat some of her delicious food, Nina, a bright young student who was accepted to Stanford college, Benny, an African-American who works at Nina's father's taxi dispatch, Vanessa, the charming and stunning hairdresser with big dreams, and Sonny, Usnavi's cousin who's always good for some comic relief.
These characters encounter many challenges throughout the whole musical, such as a neighborhood-wide blackout, the selling of Nina's family's taxi dispatch, and the tragic passing-away of the well-loved Abuela Claudia. Despite all of these things, they make it to the end of the musical with a brighter outlook on things than the beginning.
Just a few things I want to talk about...
1. Nina and Benny
Some may call their romance cliche, but I call it sweet and endearing, and a nice reminder that chivalry is indeed not dead.These two lovebirds encounter each other much throughout the first act, and end up getting together in the second. One of the heartwarming things I loved was when Nina first arrives at the taxi dispatch from her disheartening year at Stanford (after losing her scholarship), and Benny cheers her up during the musical number "Benny's Dispatch". Honestly, I was rooting for them the whole musical. But I'll have to be honest when I say that I was confused by Benny's attitude. One minute he's smiling and cheering Nina up as if nothing's wrong, by leading her on a neighborhood tour, and the next thing you know, he gets unnecessarily mad at her about her father selling his own dispatch to help her pay for her college tuition. C'mon Benny, getcha head in the game! I was, however, pleased to see that their relationship survived at the end of the musical.
2. Vanessa and Usnavi
I'll admit, when I first noticed Usnavi's affection towards Vanessa, I wasn't really sure whether to root for it or not, because at first sight I perceived her as a snobbish, stunning model who didn't really have any ambitions...
but boy was I really wrong on that note. Vanessa almost reluctantly accepts Sonny's extended offer from Usnavi to go dancing later on with him, but his ridiculously excited response is almost too cute to handle (mostly cause I can picture Lin while he would be performing it). He's rapping so fast it's almost too hard to understand him. Although I was't as anxious for this relationship to reach it's point, I was pleased to find out that Vanessa tried to keep him from boarding a plane to the Dominican Republic (and ultimately in the end, he did stay).
Music
Like I said earlier, when I first listened to the soundtrack I wasn't expecting much, but you think I would've learned by now that you should never underestimate a musical. Each person is such a brilliant singer in their own way with their own individual moments and talents, and the combination of hip-hop and salsa music makes it ridiculously catchy. Even though theres half the amount of songs in this musical than there is in In the Heights, it's still worth it. I absolutely LIVE for the moments when the whole cast is singing together- Almost all of them are singing different parts at the same time that individually do not sound like they mix, but it's absolutely amazing! If you want to find out what I mean, listen to this one song with the video below, at the end of the first act (if you don't mind spoilers):
Message/Theme
Some people say that this musical lacks real depth or meaning when compared to the other, more "out-there" musicals such as Spring Awakening, but I disagree. Almost every Hispanic character in the cast or their parents has either immigrated from a country in the Caribbean, and they often lament about how much easier it would have "stayed in Puerto Rico, with my people". Especially Abuela Claudia, who sings a whole song entitled "Paciencia y Fe", which translates to 'Patience and Faith", about the struggles she faced when she immigrated to the US in 1943, such as the lack of communication skills and the pressure from "superiors" to do well in order to main her position at her job.She talks about how she wanted to give up a thousand times over, but her mother was right their beside her, telling her "Ten paciencia y fe", "have patience and faith", which I think is exactly what the American dream is all about, and it's all that all of these characters are struggling to accomplish. To have their businesses stay afloat, to finally get their dream job, or to finally attend school and receive a real education. These are unique opportunities that it would be hard to find in the countries that they immigrated from.
A few final notes (since I don't want to spoil anything), there is some suggestive material in this musical and some swear words which may bother some people, but honestly I didn't see anything that I felt was out of place or completely outrageous. If you have ever even seen one musical in your life, you will know that it is almost never like a perfect fairytale storybook you'll encounter in a library's children section. Most of the time it's a reflection of the struggles or triumphs faced by people in these real situations at some point in time. Take Newsies, or Les Miserables for example.
Obviously I did not talk about every detail of the musical in this article,and since tickets to the Broadway musical is pretty expensive or you may live far away... If you want to listen to the soundtrack (which in my opinion you SHOULD), it's right here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2i7U_tJ6Ab...
If it was nominated for 13 Tony awards, and it won 4 Tony awards and one Grammy, then it's definitely worth giving a try.
