In the Heights

Another show closing on Sunday! I resisted In the Heights for such a long time. Every time I heard any of the rap from the show, it just sounded unbelievably corny. I had also seen original cast member Karen Olivo in the Hair anniversary concert and HATED her. She had this lisp that drove me completely insane, and her take on “Easy to Be Hard” didn’t work for me in the slightest. Of course, I went on to love her in West Side Story. And I went on to love In the Heights. Whoops!

I saw it for the first time about a year and a half into the run. Star and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda was already gone, but most of the original cast was still in the show. Except that there were understudies on in about five major parts that night. Still, I loved it. It’s kind of a silly show—the dramatic structure barely exists, the best music is frontloaded in the first act, and it never really seems to know where to focus--but it’s so dynamic and charming that it really won me over.

I wanted to go back and see it again before it closed, particularly to see Miranda, but also for Olga Merediz and Andrea Burns who I had missed before. All three were fantastic, and I have to admire the two women not only for having stayed with the show since day one but for appearing to still be having a total blast with it.

Unexpectedly, I also discovered that I don’t actually hate the character Nina. I just hated Mandy Gonzales. Who knew?! Once managing to be shrill and shriek at the same time, it seems that not only can be Nina played as sympathetic, but her songs actually aren’t all the low points in the show. Mesmerizing. Arielle Jacobs has only had the part on Broadway for two months, but she’s a blast. Sweet but determined, with a lovely singing voice and a ton of charm.

I’ll be sad to see the show go not just because of it's own merits, but because it leaves us with a sad bunch of Best Musical winners still playing on Broadway: the profoundly overrated Billy Elliot, the execrable Memphis, the totally pleasant if uninspiring Jersey Boys, and the war horse that will not die: Phantom. It’s enough to make me want to start a campaign to bring back Hairspray. At least Avenue Q is still around, even if it did have to move off-Broadway!