In the Heights (event)

Back home, I always attended the many touring Broadway performances that ended up in the local theatre. When I found out that In the Heights was to be showing here at Penn State, I was ecstatic. So, on October 18, 2011, I went out with my floormate to see the musical. The first thing I noticed was how poorly designed the Eisenhower theatre was! There was no middle aisle in the orchestra section, so there was no escaping to the restroom in the middle of the performance.

However, this was not a problem for me, because our seats were located on the end of a row. As the lights dimmed, a man came out and welcomed us to the show, mentioning that one of the members of the ensemble was a graduate of Penn State. The set was a section of a street in New York City, with a little bodega, owned by the main character Usnavi. The opening number, performed by Usnavi, uses a mixture of many different types of music, including rap, hip-hop, and latino. I was very impressed with how well the different varieties of music were integrated. The entire show used a mixture of the Spanish and English language. Thankfully, I took Spanish in high school, so I was able to understand most everything that was said in the language. However, the show did a really good job about making the language understandable even for non-Spanish speakers. Almost all of the songs contained a little bit of Spanish, but by using the context and the emotion of the actor, almost anyone could figure out what the Spanish words meant.

One of the best things about this show was the amount of energy each and every cast member had. The show was constantly moving, and not once did I feel bored or like the show was dragging. The cast had a lot of impact on the energetic mood. I could tell every performer loved what they were doing and was having a blast. My absolute favorite character was Sonny, the cousin of Usnavi. Sonny is a young boy who works in Usnavi’s bodega. He was hilarious the entire performance. Perhaps I enjoyed Sonny so much because both the character and the actor, Robert Ramirez, reminded me of someone I knew. However, his comedic timing was perfect. I especially enjoyed the scene where he asked out Vanessa for Usnavi.

Overall, this musical was one of the best I have seen. Compared to the Broadway musicals that I have seen in New York City, this version of In The Heights was spot on. Everything from the set to the acting was right on key and absolutely wonderful. It felt like I was in New York throughout the whole performance. Every one of those actors had the potential to be on Broadway. I would highly recommend the show for anyone, especially if you love theatre.