Being such a bold statement, I'm not making it official yet. I mean, I've seen "Spring Awakening" six times over the last two years, and plan on seeing it at least once when it returns to LA this spring. Perhaps twice, if I can score on-stage seats - which is a completely different and amazing experience. (And if you're Ashley, you were sooooo spoiled that your first time seeing SA was from on stage.)
But this post is about the wonderful show that is "In the Heights".
ITH is a present-day musical set in a Latino suburb of Manhattan, chronicling three days in the lives of a close community as they pursue their dreams and grapple with this idea of "home" and what it means to them. The contemporary score is infused with Latin, salsa, and hip-hop influences, and the choreography reflects this as well.
If you want to know more about the show, there's a PBS documentary on YouTube (in six parts) that does a really amazing job of showcasing the original cast members and their journey to get this show off the ground. I saw this before seeing the show itself, and it made me care about these people and I was able to appreciate their efforts even more. If you have 10 minutes, watch this clip below, and if you're sucked in (like I was), watch the next 50 online as well.
Two reasons why I love "ITH":
The Story
Everyone has different preferences when it comes to storytelling. Take two of my favorite shows, for example. I know some friends who adore "Rent" and others who are kinda turned off by the plot. Same goes for "Spring Awakening" - they'll say the music is great, but aren't particularly impressed by the story. To each their own, of course. But I love "ITH" and these characters.
In my previous post there was the song called "Breathe", and I was quickly drawn to the character of Nina and able to relate to her. What do you do when you have all these hopes and expectations placed on you by your family and community, but you find yourself struggling to meet them and things don't go according to plan? I've been there. Nina had to find her way through her particular situation (dropping out of Stanford), and I could relate to her journey (though my school was different and I didn't drop out).
The other story themes I relate to concern how to maintain your cultural heritage when you're removed from the homeland. The lead character's (Usnavi) parents immigrated from the Dominican Republic (but he was born in NYC); similarly, I was born in SoCal but my parents came from the Philippines. And while they have strong ties still and aren't going to forget their native country, I'm thinking now about what being Filipino means to me - since I never really did - and what parts of my heritage will I carry on with me when I eventually start a family.
Finally, "ITH" has a good deal of humor and fun to it, and I was very pleased with the ending... it's not big and schmaltzy (which is something I could see being said about "Wicked") nor is it dark and bittersweet ("Rent" / "SA").
The Music
"SA" was rocking out to a Duncan Sheik soundtrack - jumping up and down with youthful exuberance (fitting, as the characters are teens)... And "ITH" is grooving to a score that's more at home on a dance floor. And I can roll with both styles. :) Both have their "typical musical" numbers (i.e. slow and sweeping with some emotional climax), but as a whole, their soundtracks are distinctly different. I really dig the freestyling that goes on too - that style doesn't take over the soundtrack either. It's balanced really well, and Lin-Manuel Miranda seems like such an awesome fun talented guy. Here he is, doing a parody of a song from "High School Musical 2" that cracked me up - and if you watch it, you'll see a neat little cameo from "Jesse St. James"...
Anyways - every time I saw "SA", I picked up something new that made me appreciate that show even more. So we'll see what happens when I see "ITH" again this week. I'll go by myself, but hopefully get some friends/family to come out and see it.
3 comments:
Awww... I love good parodies, and that HSM song is soooo ridiculous it needs to be parodied!
So, in your ITH youtube hunt did you see the video of the kid who had his dreams come true thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nV9IRY5A1s
I didn't see that video until now - and that is freakin' awesome. Such wonderful people working in theatre! What a cool thing that kid got to experience - and he's not bad either!
Yes, I realize that I was spoiled. Gosh, it was awesome to be on stage!!
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