If I were a musical doctor and you were feeling not so good, what show can I prescribe? I could recommend taking this past Friday's FLHS spring musical presentation of the Tony-winning musical, In The Heights. The show's side effects would include a feel-good vibe that will make your feet listen to the beat and have a wide grin on your face in the end.
Set three days during the Fourth of July holiday, it takes place in the Latino neighborhood of Uptown Manhattan's Washington Heights. At the center of it all is bodega store owner Usnavi (Patrick Merville), a man who dreams to go live in the Dominican Republic with his Abuela (Grandmother) Claudia (Ashley Champagne). Meanwhile, Nina (FLHS musical favorite Eleni Rosenbloom) returns from California after getting booted from college and falls in love with African-American Benny (Lorenzo Cromwell). Other subplots in the musical involves Vanessa (Erica Arce) trying to fall in love with Usnavi while finding an apartment downtown, a winning lottery ticket and the closing down of businesses in the heights.
Veteran director Marci Finkelstein-Contino makes this uplifting and heartfelt production firing on every cylinder from start to finish. For me, Act I went well, but in Act II, the show takes on a more somber mood as it deals with the coming changes to the heights and a death involving one of the heights' residents. Lin-Manuel Miranda's score has a hybrid mix of salsa, hip-hop, Latin and R&B and has a rocking NYC-flavor to it, but I think that the auditorium's sound system should need more clearing to balance between the orchestra and the cast singing the lyrics. As I told you before in the beginning, Christina Corsini's stunning choreography could make your feet dance even without knowing it. Quiara Alegria Hudes's book plays like a mixture of Do the Right Thing, Rent and the underrated comedy, Walking Ned Devine (1998). Plus, kudos to the set designers for help creating the world of Washington Heights.
Also, attention must be paid to the talented cast. Merveille plays Usnavi as a hip, cool Latin-American version of Spike Lee's Mookie character from Do The Right Thing. In her last role before graduating, Rosenbloom is sensational as Nina and she makes enchanting chemistry with Cromwell. Here's hoping Rosenbloom win hearts and awards on the New York stage in the future. Champagne plays Claudia as a touching mother figure, that she reminded me of one of my aunts. Other standouts in the cast include Arce, Niko Touros as Usnavi's cousin, Sonny, Jonathan Gualotuna as The Piragua Guy and Greisy Genao as Nina's mom, Camila.
When I saw it on Broadway in its original run, I was entertained by it. The production here at Francis Lewis isn't like Broadway, due to low budgets here. So, it's pretty nice to have a school-caliber version of this show.
The show's finale delivers a message that doesn't preach too much in the show but connects to it: no matter who you are, where you come from and what's happening around you, you always find where you really belong. On the basis of this message, it connects with what's going on in our country now, due to the economy and the war between small and big business.
In The Heights is so feel-good enough that I would have recommended it to more patients if the school would have add a extra weekend of performances. You really can't help but enjoy it in the end. Believe me. I did.
Rating: ***
Set three days during the Fourth of July holiday, it takes place in the Latino neighborhood of Uptown Manhattan's Washington Heights. At the center of it all is bodega store owner Usnavi (Patrick Merville), a man who dreams to go live in the Dominican Republic with his Abuela (Grandmother) Claudia (Ashley Champagne). Meanwhile, Nina (FLHS musical favorite Eleni Rosenbloom) returns from California after getting booted from college and falls in love with African-American Benny (Lorenzo Cromwell). Other subplots in the musical involves Vanessa (Erica Arce) trying to fall in love with Usnavi while finding an apartment downtown, a winning lottery ticket and the closing down of businesses in the heights.
Veteran director Marci Finkelstein-Contino makes this uplifting and heartfelt production firing on every cylinder from start to finish. For me, Act I went well, but in Act II, the show takes on a more somber mood as it deals with the coming changes to the heights and a death involving one of the heights' residents. Lin-Manuel Miranda's score has a hybrid mix of salsa, hip-hop, Latin and R&B and has a rocking NYC-flavor to it, but I think that the auditorium's sound system should need more clearing to balance between the orchestra and the cast singing the lyrics. As I told you before in the beginning, Christina Corsini's stunning choreography could make your feet dance even without knowing it. Quiara Alegria Hudes's book plays like a mixture of Do the Right Thing, Rent and the underrated comedy, Walking Ned Devine (1998). Plus, kudos to the set designers for help creating the world of Washington Heights.
Also, attention must be paid to the talented cast. Merveille plays Usnavi as a hip, cool Latin-American version of Spike Lee's Mookie character from Do The Right Thing. In her last role before graduating, Rosenbloom is sensational as Nina and she makes enchanting chemistry with Cromwell. Here's hoping Rosenbloom win hearts and awards on the New York stage in the future. Champagne plays Claudia as a touching mother figure, that she reminded me of one of my aunts. Other standouts in the cast include Arce, Niko Touros as Usnavi's cousin, Sonny, Jonathan Gualotuna as The Piragua Guy and Greisy Genao as Nina's mom, Camila.
When I saw it on Broadway in its original run, I was entertained by it. The production here at Francis Lewis isn't like Broadway, due to low budgets here. So, it's pretty nice to have a school-caliber version of this show.
The show's finale delivers a message that doesn't preach too much in the show but connects to it: no matter who you are, where you come from and what's happening around you, you always find where you really belong. On the basis of this message, it connects with what's going on in our country now, due to the economy and the war between small and big business.
In The Heights is so feel-good enough that I would have recommended it to more patients if the school would have add a extra weekend of performances. You really can't help but enjoy it in the end. Believe me. I did.
Rating: ***
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