In The Heights
An effervescent, bubbly and beautiful musical extravaganza.
An effervescent, bubbly and beautiful musical extravaganza.
Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) is a local bodega owner in Washington Heights - a man who saves every penny as he hopes for a better life back in the Dominican Republic. He is ecstatic about the fact that he has enough to buy back his father’s old bar in that part of the world, a place that holds nothing but good memories for him. Yet his excitement is tempered somewhat as he begins to realise what he’ll leave behind - a home, filled with a collection of exciting and extravagant characters. That feeling isn’t helped by his best friend Nina (Leslie Grace), a Stanford student who is back for the holidays and whose presence not only reignites her old romance with Benny (Corey Hawkins), but also expands on Usnavi’s nostalgia for this place. It’s also not helped by his upcoming date with Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), who Usnavi has longheld feelings for. As the Heights descend into chaos due to a blackout, Usnavi has to decide whether to leave forever and chase his dream across the seas, or to stay and build his dream right here in Washington Heights.
In The Heights has an undeniable sense of fun about it. You’ll be hard pressed to resist it’s vitality, and it will breathe a huge sense of joy and relief through your very soul. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame, it brings much of the same lyrical styling, but feels even more connected to it’s latin roots.
Anthony Ramos is far and away the standout, delivering a star turn in his first real lead role. With an incredible voice and physicality, and the ability to deliver the required emotion even in the musical numbers, he’s an anchor that holds this piece together. That being said, the supporting cast is uniformly incredible also, with Barrera, Grace and Hawkins all performing admirably alongside Jimmy Smiths, Stephanie Beatriz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Dascha Polanco and more. Indeed, it may even be the young Gregory Diaz IV as Sonny who stands out the most, certainly delivering the most laughs in our screening.
Director John M Chu brings the same bombastic sensibility that he brought to Crazy Rich Asians, and through his eyes this neighbourhood in New York is bursting with colour, sound and music. It’s a tremendously fantastical depiction, but for this content it works.
The film occasionally stumbles, particularly when it has to cut elements from the stage version, or shoehorn in updated causes, but for the most part this is an irrepressibly enjoyable time in the theatre. , the experience of watching it unfold on the big screen, that is truly unmissable.
