Last night I had great plans to do something like 5 loads of laundry. I had even gone so far as to strip the bed, sort the colors/white, find the fabric softener sheets, haul out the 5 lb bottle of detergent, sort out the change to find all the quarters, and place the two baskets of dirty laundry by the apartment door. I was committed to doing the laundry. I had a plan.
Plans change.
About mid-day an e-mail went around the Big J with a free ticket offer to a newish Broadway show, In the Heights. Hello? Free show? Yes please!
I knew next to nothing about it, aside from it being a new musical set in the Washington Heights section of New York during the present day. I'd heard the radio ads and it had been peripherally on my radar, but since Broadway ticket prices are so expensive these days and I don't have a lot of time or money, I hadn't investigated it further. (Plus, I loathe mid-town. Don't get me wrong. I love Broadway and theater -- but the hordes of people there are worse to navigate than the subway and Grand Central during rush hour -- and that's saying quite a bit.)
The show was totally relatable, especially if you've spent any time in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, have friends from P.R. or any Hispanic/Latin background, or have worked in NYC. My Spanglish was good enough to understand the mix of English, Spanish, hip-hop rap, NY patter, and slang. The set made it look like it was a typical corner in NY, with its bodega, beauty shop, and apartment walk-ups. Two of the leads were actors known for their appearances in Center Stage and Charmed (among other shows), and the mix of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, African American, and other ethnic mixes were hysterical. There were a lot of "in" jokes that I don't think that the vast audience got, seeing as it's April break and a great deal of out of town school groups are here from the mid-West and the deep South, but those of us who did were crying with laughter. The dancing was a phenomenal mix of Latin, hip-hop, and modern street dancing, and the music was infused with an infectious Latin flavor. (Click here for the Musical Montage)
Apparently the show has quite an evolution. A few colleagues and I were talking about it today, and one of my office mates knows the lead, who was also the show creator. There are a bunch of articles at The New York Times site (see here, here, here, and oh ... here).
Yes, there were moments when the plot was contrived, the songs and staging were calculating, and a few of the characters were weak and their voices weren't as strong as the others. But, it's like t.v. -- suspend belief and buy into the story. If you want to go to a Broadway show set in the current "real" New York, this is it.
For those who need to know about ratings, I would consider it PG-13 for some language, both English and Spanish; suggestive situations, including implied sexual relations (not shown), "dirty" dancing; and some revealing clothing, i.e. short skirts, bared mid-riffs, exposed arms, etc. However, I saw and heard worse every day in school, many many years ago, and see it everyday going to work. If you're prudish, it might be a problem.
If you get a chance to see the show, I recommend it. Avoid the Disney-fication of Broadway and go see ...
In the Heights
Vamanos!
