In the Heights, Signature Theatre, Arlington, VA

 

The cast of In the Heights at Signature Theatre. Photo credit: DJ Corey Photography.

Joyful is the best word I could use to describe the magnificent production of In the Heights, now on stage at Arlington’s Signature Theatre. Others would include exuberant, energetic, colorful, insightful, poignant, romantic, moving, sharp, immersive, life-affirming, and optimistic, epic and intimate at the same time: I could go on and on with adjectives. Conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the musical score and lyrics, with book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, In the Heights seemed to come out of nowhere (it actually went through a number of iterations) before bursting onto the scene, opening on Broadway in 2008.

I knew almost nothing about it when I saw it there (on a half-price ticket), just a few days before it received 13 Tony Award nominations and there were no more discounted tickets! It won four Tonys (including Best Musical and Best Score), and started playing to full houses. It played for 1184 performances in its almost-three-year run. It won a Grammy Award, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and introduced Lin-Manuel Miranda as a singular force. He would go on to create a little musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton and win two more Tonys, be named a bona fide genius by winning a MacArthur Genius Grant, receive Kennedy Center Honors, two Emmy Awards, and two Academy Award nominations. Quiara Alegría Hudes would go on to win her own Pulitzer Prize as well (in 2012, for Water by the Spoonful).

In the Heights put an entire community on the Broadway stage that had rarely been seen there before. Set in the northern Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge, the neighborhood is one that would not be familiar to tourists or, indeed, almost all of the Manhattanites who did not live there. It is a neighborhood that had transitioned from Irish to Latino, a close-knit but diverse group of immigrants from a variety of countries and their children. Though they come from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, and elsewhere, their Latin cultures share one thing in particular: a sense of community.

Usnavi, the central character and narrator of the piece, is the son of deceased Dominican parents who has inherited a neighborhood bodega, which he now runs with assistance by his younger cousin Sonny. Other companies in the community include Rosario’s Car Service, operated by Kevin and Camila Rosario, and Daniela’s Salon. The neighborhood is looked after by Abuela (grandmother) Claudia, who is nobody’s grandmother but also everybody’s.

The Rosarios’ daughter Nina has come back to the Heights after her first year at Stanford. She was the academic “star” of the neighborhood destined to bigger and better things, but she comes home with a secret. She is attracted to Benny, who works at the family’s business and is one of the few non-Latinos among the characters. One of her best friends is Vanessa, who works at Daniela’s salon and whose idea of “getting out” means her own apartment far downtown. Usnavi is drawn to Vanessa but too shy to ask her out, so Sonny takes it upon himself to set them up. Usnavi is contemplating change as well: he wants to go back to where his parents came from in the Dominican Republic.

Complications ensue, as they always do. On one of the hottest days of summer, one of the characters wins a $96,000 lottery prize, an electrical blackout plunges the neighborhood into darkness on a night with fireworks, Usnavi’s store is vandalized, family dynamics are challenged, the residents confront change, and the community creates their own “Carnaval Del Barrio” to celebrate the community and take their minds off the heat. The characters discover their own meaning of “home,” which may be far from what they had believed.

Adriana Scalice as Vanessa, Victoria Gómez as Nina, Carlanmax Benitez as Carla, and Karmine Alers as Daniela in In the Heights at Signature Theatre. Photo credit: DJ Corey Photography.

One of the most unique features of Signature Theatre is the versatility of its space. For In the Heights, scene designer Andrew R. Cohen has remade the entire interior to look and feel like the Washington Heights neighborhood. The audience sits in four separate sections, divided as they would be at a street corner. There is a traffic light hanging from above, a park bench, a fire hydrant, and the fronts of Rosario’s Car Service and Usnavi’s bodega, as well as Abuela Claudia’s apartment building. The actors use the “streets” for their entrances and exits as well as “acting space.” Each section of the audience has a different view and many in the audience are within 6-8 feet of the actors or dancers at times. Costume designer Ivania Stack nails the task of creating costumes from the fairly recent past (less than 20 years ago) that suit the characters by reinforcing their colorful and varied personalities and allow for some extremely athletic choreography. Rui Rita’s lighting design seems to be almost constantly in motion and effectively creates both the blackout and the fireworks that follow. I take issue with the sound design by Eric Norris, which seems to be to be weighted toward the orchestra, at times overwhelming the singers and thereby obscuring some of the lyrics. Miranda’s lyrics are dense and often rapidly-delivered. I knew what they were saying, but if I had not been familiar with the score, I’m not sure that I would have understood all of it.

James Vásquez and Shani Talmore make their Signature debuts as director and choreographer, respectively. The direction by Vásquez is sure and varied, making maximum use of the entire theatre space and engendering a true ensemble of the cast. Talmore’s choreography is imaginative, intricate, and often unpredictable, as well as frequently acrobatic. It is executed with exuberant precision by a very talented group of singer/dancers (or dancer/singers). Musical director Angie Benson earns applause for her work with the vocalists in the show as well as in leading eight others in the orchestra.

At the performance I attended, several understudies were going on for others, something that is not uncommon in our post-COVID world. I have no idea whether they were going on for the first time or the fifteenth and honestly would never have known that I wasn’t seeing the full “original” cast if not for the program insert. The depth of talent and training this show is as strong as in any other professional theatre I have seen. In discussing the cast’s performances, I denote with an asterisk (*) those who were appearing in the roles normally played by others, in order to pay special homage for their accomplishment.

Nicolas Garza* takes the stage with a casual confidence as Usnavi, who serves as our guide to the neighborhood. His boyish charm and “aw-shucks” demeanor suit the character well, especially in Usnavi’s awkwardness toward Vanessa. José J. Muñoz* has an appealingly impish demeanor as Sonny, capturing that transitional stage between teen and adult. He lets us know that his character knows more than others think he does.

Chibueze Ihuoma as Benny and Victoria Gómez as Nina in In the Heights at Signature Theatre. Photo credit: DJ Corey Photography.

Adriana Scalice as Vanessa is free-spirited and determined, ultimately willing to take charge if Usnavi doesn’t. Victoria Gómez displays Nina’s vulnerability, tenderness, and sentimentality. She is the one who has been operating as an alien the “outside world” and returns home to the cocoon of the neighborhood with a different appreciation, delivering a stirring and soaring “Everything I Know” in the second act. She also shares a nice chemistry with Chibueze Ihuoma as Benny, who demonstrates a certain suaveness in pursuing her and a strong backbone in confronting her father. Nina and Benny begin and end the second act with tuneful and romantic renditions of “Sunrise” and “When the Sun Goes Down,” which provide perfect bookends for the day.

Berto Fernández* and Crissy Guerrero deliver strong performances as Nina’s parents. Fernández handles his solo, “Inutil,” with strength and determination, while Guerrero delivers a fiery “Enough,” giving her husband and daughter their marching orders in how to be a family. Karmine Alers and Carlamax Benitez are wholly believable as the sassy salon owner Daniela and her protégée Carla, dispensing gossip with Vanessa and Nina whether at the shop or out and about in the neighborhood. Steven Nicolás Franco* is an enthusiastic and entertaining Piragua Guy and Michael Marrero is a mischievous and sneaky Graffiti Pete.

As Abuela Claudia, Rayanne Gonzalez radiates care, good humor, positivity, and devotion. She testifies the words by which she lives in “Paciencia y Fe” (Patience and Faith). Gonzalez is moving as she recalls all of the emotions of coming to “Nueva York” from her native Cuba, both what she left behind there and what she had to overcome here. I have seen Gonzalez now in several shows (I think the first major role was in Daphne’s Dive, also written by Quiara Alegría Hudes), both plays and musicals, and I am impressed every time.

In the Heights has already been playing for more than a month, but is slated to continue through May 4. I suggest that you rush to purchase your ticket: you do not want to miss this.

Angel Lozada, who regularly plays Usnavi, and the cast of In the Heights at Signature Theatre. At the performance described in this review, Usnavi was played by understudy Nicolas Garza. Photo credit: DJ Corey Photography.