In The Heights, In My Heart

http://sites.psu.edu/passionfruitparlow/2014/04/08/blog-the-heights/

I have been to New York City several times in my life. My mom, as a practicing podiatrist, must receive a certain amount of credits from podiatry conventions in order to keep her practice. The NYC convention is always held in the end of January, aka when NYC feels like the middle of the tundra. There was this one time in particular though that was special: it was just my mom and I going.

Not that I do not love my brother and dad very much, but they do not like to do a lot. And they especially do not like seeing musicals, even in the national center of theatre. When my mom and I are on vacation, we want to do and see everything we possibly can. We saw West Side Story on Broadway the first night we were there, which left the second night open. Since West Side Story was so amazing, we spontaneously said, “Let’s go see another show!” This random selection of another show led us to seeing what is now one of our favorite musicals of all time: In the Heights.

In the Heights is the story of the people living in Washington Heights neighborhood in NYC. This is about their daily lives, struggles, and interactions. The writer of the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda, based the story around his life growing up in the very same neighborhood. He wrote this show only when he was a sophomore in college. From the resident matriarch Abuela Claudia to the Stanford dropout Nina to the blunt comic relief  of Sonny, the characters seem real and relatable. It is a show for all ages, as it has the middle age adult characters receiving equal time as the young adult characters.

What is also interesting about Lin-Manual Miranda and the show itself is the cultural flair. The goal of the article "New York Critics Hail 'Heights' Composer" by Margot Adler was to introduce the general population to this new and young composer who is so different from the rest out there. The article explains how his experiences and who he is influenced In the Heights. The article also discusses that Miranda is Dominican and Cuban and all of the characters come from Hispanic background. There are often loud horns present in the music, along with a huge injection of salsa influence. Often many of the songs and words are in Spanish as well, which makes the whole experience very authentic. Again, it feels like the audience is a part of Washington Heights. Miranda also included a lot of rap and hip hop, which appeals to a younger generation and with lines like “Keep the bling I want the brass ring like Frodo!” keeps the show light and a little corny.

I love In the Heights because it is lighthearted and while watching it, I felt like I was watching a real neighborhood, unlike many shows that feel so unrealistic. The characters have real struggles and react to situations as people in real life would. It is a feel-good musical, which places it higher on my list than tearjerkers like West Side Story. Since the first time we saw In The Heights, my mom and I have seen it three times, the last of which was with my brother and dad. And they loved it.