Still Riding the In The Heights High

It's been a week since I saw the 2008 Tony Best Musical, In The Heights. The show is not like the classical Broadway musicals such as Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables. It has pop, Latin, and even less traditional, rap. I won't write a full review since I don't think I have the capacity to, anyway. For a review by a real professional, see the NY Times review at: http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/theater/reviews/09heights.html. But in sum, the Heights is referring to Washington Heights, an area in the North of Manhattan adjacent to the George Washington bridge. This area is called the barrio by the Latin American immigrants that inhabit the place. The musical is, then, a montage of the lives of these immigrants with the main character, Usnavi in the middle of it all. Usnavi himself is played by the brains of the entire musical--concept, music, and all--Lin-Manuel Miranda.

From a layman's point of view, then, I really loved the musical because it was a freakin' show, man! The music was so festive since it had the Latin American flavor. Then it breaks out into rap with playful lyrics and witty dialogue. Sure, the storyline can be soap operatic, but it is Latino after all! The story might be a bit thin, but the storytelling was certainly entertaining. And the dancing! The dancing was unbelievable, you just wanted to jump onto the stage and join the party. It was so infectious that the audience seemed like they wanted to have a dance party right there when we stood up after the show.

In The Heights reminds me of Rent, except it was funny and much, much more upbeat (naturally!). There were little things that just made the audience crack up, like when his Abuela was telling how Usnavi got his name. His father got the idea when he was just getting off the boat from the Dominican Republic. The father sees a ship docked and says he's going to name his son after that. And Usnavi reacts, saying, but that's US NAVY! So it's not that funny when I'm telling it, but it was.

I just had a really good time watching it. Another bonus was I have this illusion that Lin-Manuel Miranda flirted with me during the show. While he was rapping the lines directing you to Washington Heights, ending with "I hope you're writing this down I'm gonna test you later," he was looking at me (yes, I was in the front row, won the lottery). So you're thinking, he probably looks at that seat every night, but come on, let me have my moment.