Okay, I admit it: my obsession with theater has gotten serious. I told my mom I was only seeing In the Heights on tour at the Durham Performing Arts Center twice, so she wouldn’t remind me about being responsible about saving my money. I saw it three times. Don’t tell her. I was in the front row twice, and the other time I was in the second row. But it was so worth it. I also spent a sizable amount on merchandise. I don’t regret any of it. I loved it. I got to see one of my very favorite musicals three times (for a total of four), and I got to talk to some truly awesome theater fans.
To be honest, I was hesitant at first to even see the national tour. I just saw it on Broadway in December, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, and other original cast members were there. It was so amazing and I was worried that with this entirely different cast, I wouldn’t love it as much. But the second I heard “lights up,” all that worry melted. I was instantly immersed in that world, and I loved every second of it. It was a testament to the material itself – as long as there are quality actors, it will be amazing! I mean, clearly it was amazing enough for me to buy tickets to two more performances. The actors had some big shoes to fill – I mean, it’s tough to take on a role which was originated by the super-talented Lin-Manuel Miranda. I must say, Joseph Morales and the other actors filled those big shoes wonderfully! I didn’t find myself missing those actors I had seen in New York at all.
In addition to the amazing talent on stage, I met some really cool people in the audience. At the Wednesday performance, my first of the week, I was sitting next to an older couple who were a little nervous about whether or not they would like the show. However, they told me that their grandson goes to Wesleyan University (alma mater of Mr. Miranda himself), and he had seen the show in New York and insisted that they see it as well. I told them that it was one of my three favorite musicals, which is saying something because I see a lot of shows. I told them it would be different than musicals they’d seen before, but that In the Heights is high-quality, Tony Award-winning theater. After that, they seemed prepared to see it. I’m happy to report that they really enjoyed it! On Sunday night, I met up with a gentleman who has season tickets at DPAC, had seen the show on Wednesday, and just had to see it again. There were two ladies there who really love theater, and were eager to hear my opinions on In the Heights, especially about seeing it on tour and in New York.
My favorite people I met were an older couple sitting behind me. They were a Cuban-American couple who gave me new insight into the show. Since they are fluent speakers of both English and Spanish, they wanted to know how the show was for someone who doesn’t speak Spanish. I told them that I grew up in an area which had a sizeable Spanish-speaking population, and I had picked up enough to generally understand the Spanish in the show. They said they loved being able to understand the whole thing. I had already known that the actors take care to pronounce things using the specific accents of their characters’ regions, but I learned something new. This couple told me that even the music itself fits the characters’ countries – like when Abuela Claudia sings, the music sounds Cuban. When Daniela sings, the music sounds Puerto Rican. I don’t know the difference between Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican music, but it was so cool to hear, from people who know, about the music in the show reflecting the different characters’ national heritages. I have even more respect for the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda.
I think that now it’s safe to say that I will never, ever, ever get tired of In the Heights.
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