REVIEW: In the Heights (Signature Theatre)
The DMV just can’t get enough Heights, huh? Seems like just yesterday Olney dropped the one with original cast member Robin de Jesus (2017) and that 1st Stage won a slew of HHA’s last year for theirs. Not that we should complain. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s debut musical is a technicolor romp of great vibes and an infectious introduction to his signature rappy songwriting. Coupled with our region’s healthy amount of Latine performers, we’re bound for any production to be quite the ride. “But why leave it to chance?” said Signature, who’s big Spring musical project is the 2008 work.
Book/Music
Before there was a hit musical about a parleyin’ grammarian parliamentarian, there was In the Heights. This is a deeply personal work from Miranda, having worked on it since his undergraduate tenure at Wesleyan University, that takes great inspiration from his upbringing in Washington Heights, Manhattan. It’s actually a bit funny to me how Hamilton is considered this breakthrough “hip-hopera” when Heights is right there and did the exact same thing almost a decade prior. The Tony-winning score is rife with Afro-Latine influence, from salsa and soul to Miranda-style raps that rely lots on pattering puns. (This of course means it’s an incredible listen.) The kicker that people tend to overlook in my experience is Quiara Alegria Hudes’ book, which is a classically-structured musical libretto with inventive characters and motivations. Usnavi de la Vega (lit. “from the valley/meadow”, for non-Spanish speakers who want in on the pun) is a Dominican bodega owner who runs the shop with his cousin Sonny, and pines after his longtime crush Vanessa, who yearns to move away from their rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood. But things change drastically for everyone in the barrio when the bodega is found to have sold a $96,000 lottery winner —an amount not that large on the grand scheme of things, but enough to lift any single resident into a new tax bracket. In between this commotion is an additional romance between Usnavi’s best friend Benny and Nina, the “one who made it out” to study at Stanford, and the broader implications of new economic forces taking over the history of the spot. There’s a sparkling mosaic of community in this piece, one that leaves you feeling full of warmth as if you’d seen an old friend for the first time in years. The personal passion in this project of Miranda shines through everything, and it’s blatantly. You’re hard pressed to find a more fulfilling musical to sit through. 10/10
Acting
Bad news for Rayanne Gonzales’ haters: she continues to be one of the DMV’s most jubilant musical actresses, bringing even greater excitement and joy to this rendition of Abuela Claudia (a role she previously won a Hayes award for with Olney.) Her effortless magnetism brings the entire audience face-first into a big hug, seemingly being all of our Abuelas, not just that of the cast. Though it’s not like they needed the extra help: they’re largely excellent. Standing out above all of it is the incomparable Victoria Gomez as Nina. Gomez has floated around our Helen stages for a long time and it’s great to see her in a star turn here at Signature; we would be so lucky to get a Nina with such talent, and with such complimentary charisma to Chibueze Ihuoma’s Benny. Ihuoma is loose and brightly-sung, and himself even foils to the stiffer efforts of Angel Lozada (Usnavi), who I found approachable in demeanor but boxy in both movement and dialogue. Additionally, Nicolas Garza’s Sonny was spunky and full of rebellious wit; but seemingly older than the role would dictate, which distracted me at times. 7/10
Production
You know you’re in for something good when they bring out the diagonal thrust staging.
In fact, Andrew Cohen’s entire design of it is commendable, and in classic Signature fashion, director James Vasquez has made large strides in creating immersion. The main staging area is a street corner that juts into the audience, and (as explained in the Viz section below) is superbly decorated to bring a vox urbana home. Rui Rita’s lighting ranges from “that’s pretty good” to “holy smokes”, especially in the Act I closer “Blackout”, which cleverly mixes the lights of old flip phones (it is 2008 after all) and sparkly, jewelly firework sparkles to illuminate the void. (And there’s a lot to illuminate between Ivania Stack’s pattering costumes and Shani Talmor’s hyper-directed choreography.) 8/10
Viz
Key art has all been very firey and lush, heavily featuring dancers and the George Washington Bridge. To really drive the New Yorkiness up a notch, the entire street corner stage is flanked by fire escapes, worn out small business signs, and is set below street signs and traffic lights (oh, and a large scale model of the bridge). In a way, it’s very reminiscent of 2022’s immersive Guys & Dolls production at the UK’s bridge theatre, though with a specific Latin flair. And yes, it is exactly what one should expect from any production of this. 10/10
Verdict
In the Heights is at Signature in all the ways you know and love, not by delivering something totally new but digging in to what makes the musical fable of community and belonging so great. 35/40
