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| (from top left in circle) Naomi Morgan, Iris Elton, Jennifer Paz and Tanesha Rass in In the Heights (Mark Kitaoka) |
In the Heights
Issaquah: through October 26, 2014
Everett: October 31 – November 23, 2014
Did you know that In
the Heights is a dance musical?! It is! It’s also a rap musical, and a hip
hop musical, and a heartwarming story of the residents of Washington Heights,
New York City, bonding through song, and an electrical blackout.
Did you know that the cast of Village Theatre’s production
of In the Heights is insanely good?
It is! Village has brought back some ex-Seattle residents along with a few
guest visitors that ratchet up the talent on stage to unbelievable…heights.
(Yup, I said it.)
This musical is so much fun. The music reflects the Latin
influences of Washington Heights and even though people are struggling and
low-income, they still have self-esteem and drive and dreams of making it. We
meet corner-store proprietor Usnavi, who wants to leave the Heights and open a
store in the Dominican Republic, home of his deceased parents. In the meantime,
he takes care of his father’s store and his cousin, Sonny, and his adopted
grandmother nearby.
The other story is about Nina, the smart girl who managed to
get a scholarship to Stanford University, but has had to drop out after working
two jobs and losing the scholarship due to dropping grades. Her family owns a
car transportation service and a young worker, Benny, consoles her about having
to disappoint her parents.
Local talent Eric Ankrim directs a cast that includes Perry
Young as the lead Usnavi. Young has spent a good deal of time as Usnavi on the
national tour of the musical, so that is a huge plus. Young is supremely
capable of rapping, singing, dancing and acting like a goof in love.
Usnavi’s love interest, Vanessa, is played by Naomi Morgan
who starred as Mimi in the 5th Avenue’s production of Rent, and
plays Vanessa as a bit more vulnerable and unsure of herself than the touring
versions. Vanessa’s chip on her shoulder then seems easier to knock off.
Nina is played by Tanesha Ross who handles the ranges of her
character’s emotions beautifully, and has a great voice and sweet chemistry
with Kyle Robert Carter, another national tour import playing Benny. Nina’s
parents are played with verve by Jose J. Gonzales and Pamela Turpin.
Sonny is played by hysterical Justin Huertas whose comic
timing is impeccable. Their neighborhood grandma is played by Corinna Lapid
Munter who has mostly been seen at the 5th Avenue, and here gives a
huge performance (grandma has to be a belter) and wears so much old-age makeup,
she’s barely recognizable.
In smaller roles, a couple of hairdressers are played by
Iris Elton (Daniela) and Jennifer Paz (Carla). These two talents imbue their
roles with panache, both of them coming back to Village Theatre from NYC to
hang with us in Seattle again for a while. Another very tiny but crucial role
is that of a shaved-ice dealer and Joseph Tancioco shows his stunning voice and
his joy of being on stage.
But above and beyond that, there is dancing. National tour
dance captain and now local resident and choreographer Daniel Cruz applies his
own style to numbers he knows from the inside out. He elevates what is already
a fun dance show into a fantastic, evocative dance-stravaganza. He also plays a
small role as the spray-can artist.
Along with a real, dancing ensemble (Rylan Bonnevie, Desiree
Boyd, Arthur Cuadros, Vince-John Frijas, Rianna Hidalgo, Jenna Lindberg,
Nathaniel Padre and Shelby Willis), Cruz infuses the funk and the fun along
with sometimes moody moves that shade the emotions of the score. This is the best choreography we’ve seen on
about any stage this year!
All the usual technical supports are terrific as usual, with
set and lights by Tom Sturge, costumes by Melanie Burgess and Kelly McDonald,
sound by Brent Warwick, and a wonderful band headed by top-notch music director
R.J. Tancioco. With Ankrim at the helm, it all comes together.
The show is a pleasure from start to finish. Due to the stellar
cast and the great dancing, it’s better than the national tour, seen in Seattle
in September 2010. It’s also unique in terms of the ethnicities seen and
celebrated on stage and for the styles of music also not thought of as
traditional musical theater songs. Make tracks to Village and you may have so
much fun you will plan to go a second time!
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