Vintage Theatre serves up a dazzling production of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical
Lin-Manuel Miranda may be best known for Hamilton, but before that mega-hit there was In the Heights, currently exploding on stage at Aurora’s Vintage Theatre with red-hot summer sizzle. Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for In the Heights when he was a college sophomore, and later went on to win the Tony Award for it in 2008. From college to Broadway, In the Heights is an example of his compelling ability to capture a place and time through the music and lyrics of an entire community, in this case, the Upper Westside of Manhattan.
With the book by Quiara Alegria Hudes and directed by Jonathan Andujar, Vintage Theatre’s Nickelson auditorium is transformed into the barrio, also known as Washington Heights, for a slice-of-life depiction of the lives and loves of a Dominican-American community.
Our storyteller is Usnavi (Teej Morgan-Arzola) the owner of a small bodega in the Heights. It is the hottest day of the year and Usnavi introduces us to the neighborhood and its mix of businesses and the families who own them. Along with Usnavi, another prominent figure in the community is Abuela Claudia (Alicia “Lisa” Young) the matriarchal figure who helped raise Usnavi from childhood.
Over the course of the next three days, we meet Usnavi’s love interest, Vanessa (Karen Gonzalez), and Benny (eden origin) who happens to fall for Nina (Daniela Castorena). Within this mix of boy-meets-girl scenarios, it is the Fourth of July and there is a major power outage causing even further problems for the residents of the Heights.
Amid this chaos, someone wins a substantial lottery prize and vows to share it with Usnavi so he can fulfill his dream and return to the Dominican Republic. However, we are soon confronted with death and the effects it has on the members of this tight-knit community, especially Usnavi.
As morning breaks and there is light, we see the aftermath of the blackout on the community. There will be changes to follow, but Usnavi vows to stay in the Heights along with the others we have come to know over the course of the last three days.
As Usnavi, Morgan-Arzola gives a star-turn performance. He is well-equipped to handle the unique blend of musical styles throughout the performance and has the appropriate dance moves he is called upon to execute. Having recently seen Morgan-Arzola in another impressive role at the Arvada Center as George Gibbs in Our Town, In the Heights proves he is a unique talent with a wide range. On stage, he is a force to be reckoned with and demonstrates a powerful presence in a variety of roles.
In the role of Benny, eden origin brings to life the only non-speaking Spanish character in the musical. origin is called upon to access a wide band of emotion and delivers on every level while moving easily from demonstrating love for Nina to butting heads with Nina’s father about Benny’s intentions to one day to take over his business. This is a strong performance from origin being equally solid vocally as well as on the dance floor. (The actor was recently nominated for a Henry Award for their appearance in Toni Stone at the Aurora Fox.)
Other standouts in the production include Young as Abuela, Karen Gonzalez and Daniela Castorena with well-developed characters and strong vocals.
Director Jonathan Andujar has captured the essence of a robust community during a difficult period when many residents are uncertain about their future. The action is brisk and to the point without being overly simplistic. Andujar highlights each of the important subplots within the production and gives them equal attention, resulting in a full-bodied performance with many layers of emotionally charged dialogue and songs.
In the Heights is a knock-out production currently on stage at Vintage Theatre. It delivers on all points – a strong cast, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and first-rate direction by Andujar. As the summer heats up, it’s the perfect opportunity to drop into another world far from Colorado.
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