In the Heights

A young man moves on the stage, and sprays a can of paint in the air while dancing.  He fluidly moves his way to the awning of a building, where he writes his name, but then gets chased away by the store's owner.

The opening scene of In The Heights, lends a different feel to traditional theater, especially anything coming off of Broadway.

Hip-hop, rap, and traditional latin music styles are rare from the stage. However, when they are well done, they lend a fresh voice to musicals, and lend an air of reality to the barrio. With In the Heights, you hear a little of everything, salsa, meringue, and even a little soul music.

Washington Heights, is a mix of peoples from Hispanic cultures, and in this story it centers on a hair salon, a taxi service, and of course, a corner grocery store that sells coffee, which is always hot and sweet.

Usnavi, played by Kyle Beltran, runs the local grocery. He was orphaned at a young age, and practically raised by "Abuela" Claudia(Elise Santora), the soul of the barrio, who everyone considers to be their grandmother. Beltran does an excellent job, and has just the right voice for the part. He comes across as the somewhat shy, gawky, young man that he is portraying, but not overdone, as can be the case.

On July 3^rd, someone buys a winning lottery ticket from Usnavi, and things look up for everyone, as they dream about what they will do with the money, if the ticket is theirs.

The songs come fast, with little spoken dialogue, which actually helps things to move more smoothly, and to transition well.

A talented cast makes for this to be a highly enjoyable evening.  You can feel the emotion, and the humor. When tragedy strikes, although it was expected and somewhat predictable, it still is moving, simply because of the reactions of the cast, and the way the scene is set.>

The ending, also somewhat predictable, is rather emotional none the less, and lends itself to feelings of hope for the remaining cast, and though the barrio is headed for change, some things will stay the same and life will go on, in the expected ways.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening and well worth the time, and gives musical theater a new face, and a new direction to go in.