This Tony Award Winner of Best New Musical of 2008 is a new sort of musical, with an old sort of heart.
The Mood of the Musical
In the Heights focuses on the residents of a community of Washington Heights. As the events of a summer day unfold dreams are both diminished and determinedly realized.
The great strength of this show is the realistic feeling behind the individual characters and the collective community, and in this truth the audience is allowed a glimpse into the hearts and heads of a group of people and their hometown.
The Set
The set has been designed to perfectly capture a street of shops and apartment buildings in a typical neighborhood of New York City. This sets the atmosphere for the slice-of-life stories which start to be shown.
The Characters
Usnavi, played by the writer of the shows music and lyrics Lin-Manuel Miranda, owns and runs a store, which seems to be used daily by most of the local residents. Among the customers who enter the store during the opening number is Vanessa, a local hairdresser who dreams of moving to a more affluent neighborhood and who is unaware of Usnavi’s romantic feelings toward her.
Also introduced in the store are Kevin and Camila, who own the local cab company and are waiting for their daughter Nina’s return from her first year at university in California. When Usnavi realizes that someone who bought a lottery ticket from his store has won a life-altering amount of money, the scene is set for dreams to be revealed. Various residents and their dreams are introduced, ant it becomes clear that the neighborhood is on the brink of desertion by many of its stalwart inhabitants.
The Music
The music of this show is more rooted in rap than that of traditional Broadway musicals. However, the staging and sentiment of the songs provide foot-stomping show-stoppers, which both entertain and evoke emotion.
The songs and the stories of this show combine to create a sincere sense of feeling, which mounts and builds well, establishing the groundwork for the moving last number.
Criticism and Compliment
The production is not flawless. Parts of the plot seem rushed or slightly forced, and some of the musical numbers do not entirely hit the mark.
However, overall, it is a satisfying show with soul and spirit. Especially native New Yorkers will recognize something familiar and sincerely genuine about aspects of the show, and non-New Yorkers are treated to a show which exhibits a slither of daily neighborhood life and the combined sense of community and individuality behind it.
