If You Ask Me: In the Heights at DTC Bridgeport
By Tom Holehan
Connecticut Critics Circle
The exuberant revival of Lin Manual Miranda’s In the Heights is currently blowing the roof off the Downtown Cabaret, where the musical is being very well served.
Following the Bridgeport theatre’s excellent production of Sweeney Todd last month, the Cabaret is clearly on a roll. Make tracks now.
Long before his Pulitzer Prize winning smash Hamilton took Broadway by storm, Lin-Manuel Miranda conceived and wrote the book and lyrics for the Tony Award winning, In the Heights. With book by Quiera Alegria Hudes, the musical is a slice of life set in Washington Heights, a predominantly Dominican community where members pursue their personal vision of the American dream.
Narrated by Usnavi (Manny Gonzalez, charming), a struggling bodega owner carrying a torch for Vanessa (Juliana Rivera), the shampoo girl at the local salon, we are introduced to several diverse characters in the neighborhood.
Chief among them is Abuela (a warm and generous Jane Prieto) who has raised Usnavi since his parents died and serves as the neighborhood’s matriarch, Nina (Olivia Rivera), a college student who has returned from Stanford University with a secret and Benny (Everton George), in love with Nina and employed by her father as a driver in his car service.
Under Ben Tostado’s electric direction, In the Heights is brimming with life and moves like lightning. The talented Rivera also serves as choreographer here and her company is obviously up for the challenge. I love that the cast is not made up of dancer-perfect specimens, but actors who actually look like real people from Washington Heights.
The opening title number, led by Gonzalez with effortless brio, starts the show on an upbeat jolt of joy. It is followed by the beautiful ballad, “Breathe,” sung wistfully by Rivera. As the heart and soul of the musical, Prieto is the neighborhood “mom” everyone would love to have in their corner. Truly, there is not a false note in any of the casting at DCT.
Caveats? Very few. It’s always disappointing when live music is replaced by recorded tracks (the program notes that the show is “musically directed by” Mark Ceppetelli), but the good news is that the tracks are excellent and I’m willing to bet most of the audience has no idea the music isn’t live.
And you know a show is fairly perfect when I’m going to point out how bad I feel for Jesus De La Rosa Reyes, playing Piragua Guy, saddled with a really awful shaved ice truck prop. Resembling a wooden box grafted onto a shopping cart, it draws attention for all the wrong reasons. Luckily, Reyes has a glorious singing voice (“Piragua”) and you soon forget his unfortunate prop.
David Kievit’s scenic design nicely delineates the various storefronts in the neighborhood and the skyline backdrop is simply glorious. Christian Hall’s lighting seems a little busier than necessary but still works and Thomas Gordon and Krista Rocco’s costuming defines the characters to a tee. All said, this is a most successful revival.
In the Heights continues at the Downtown Cabaret, 263 Golden Hill Street in Bridgeport through November 24th. For further information visit www.dtcab.org or call the box office at 203.576.1636.
Tom Holehan is one of the founders of the Connecticut Critics Circle, a frequent contributor to WPKN Radio’s “State of the Arts” program and the Stratford Crier and Artistic Director of Stratford’s Square One Theatre Company. He welcomes comments at [email protected]. His reviews and other theatre information can be found on the Connecticut Critics Circle website: www.ctcritics.org.
