Having made its way around Broadway and the movie theatres, 'In The Heights' now brings its celebration of community to the heart of Sydney.
It’s strange to think that two Lin-Manuel Miranda musicals will be gracing the Sydney scene simultaneously, but it’s true. One, the highly acclaimed 'Hamilton'. The other, a quiet achiever called 'In The Heights'.
Based on a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, what some may not know is that 'In The Heights' was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s debut musical. It toured Broadway. It was adapted into a movie. It’s won four Tony Awards. And it’s pretty damn fantastic.
Dripping in colour, this bubble of joy transports us to the predominantly Latino neighbourhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan to meet three generations of dreamers.
There’s Nina, the smart one who 'got out', her immigrant parents who own Rosario’s car service, Benny her love interest, Usnavi the bodega owner, Sonny his baby cousin, Vanessa who works at the salon, and Abuela Claudia the matriarch of Washington Heights.
On the bill Usnavi (Ryan Gonzalez) is the protagonist, but as the story progresses it’s refreshing to see that he doesn’t receive any more stage time than his peers, reinforcing the beautiful adage that everyone is an integral member of this vibrant community.
In response, the stage is masterfully divided into five backdrops – effectively displaying the entire neighbourhood landscape in one view. The beauty behind this fixed set is that it makes light work of transitions and increases the pace of the story – no doubt in an attempt to squeeze everything it can into two and a half short hours.
To its detriment though, we miss out on some of the atmosphere and character development of the movie adaptation, such as the sights and sounds of the train as Vanessa (Olivia Vásquez) belts out ‘It Won’t Be Long Now’, the flicker of the light at the end of ‘Carnaval del Barrio,’ and the ambitions of Usnavi and Vanessa.
At times it feels like a flurry, subtle nuances going over the head, but between Gonzalez’s exemplary annunciation across Miranda’s signature rap style, Vásquez’s dominating vocals, and Olivia Dacal’s emotionally driven performance as Nina, it’s a delight to keep up.
But what’s even more impressive is how the cast and ensemble take the diversity of dance and musical styles in their stride. From salsa to soul, hip hop to merengue, rap to street, they’re masters of the move – with stand-out songs being the group numbers.
‘96,000’, ‘The Club’ and ‘Carnaval del Barrio’ all radiate in the personalities of the ensemble, the harmonies of the cast, the brilliant colours of the wardrobe and the clever rhyming schemes of the lyrics – giving me chills in a celebration of not one, but every member of this performance.
