The first time I saw a production of “In the Heights” was in December 2009 after the national Broadway tour launched just two months earlier, and it arrived to Chicago to play the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
The Tony Award-winning musical starring the riveting story based on the show creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s own life experiences growing up in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood left my heart warmed and the songs and characters stayed with me long after the final bows.
When “In the Heights” was opening on Broadway, it was then 28-year-old playwright Miranda starring in the lead role, while at the same time, he was already hard at work on his next stage hit “Hamilton,” which raised red curtains and box office revenue in 2015.
Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire is launching the 2024 season with a regional theatre staging of “In the Heights,” following the lead of Paramount Theatre in Aurora which staged a very successful regional production in Fall 2013.
Now playing through March 17, the magic and music of Miranda and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes returns as directed by James Vásquez and choreographed by William Carlos Angulo with music direction by Jeff Award Winner Ryan T. Nelson.
A fast-paced, two-and-half-hour romp, with the story all taking place over just three days, here’s how “In the Heights” is described in the audience Playbill: “Washington Heights: a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. Through struggles and triumphs, it also shows us that despite the challenges we face, we must hold onto our dreams and traditions as we strive towards a better future. It’s a reminder that even amid change, the human spirit and resilience can shine through.”
“‘In the Heights’ is about family, both chosen and not,” Director Vásquez explains in his director’s note in the Playbill.
“It zooms in on a neighborhood, maybe totally unlike our own, and celebrates the lives of this little community. But by the end, we’ve been welcomed into that neighborhood — that family — and as theater does so beautifully, it brings us all together and leaves us all feeling a part of something special.”
This new production of “In the Heights” stars the wonderful Joseph Morales, who played in the first Broadway National Tour of “In the Heights” as Usnavi and also performed in the title role in “Hamilton.”
He is surrounded by an equally talented cast with co-stars Paola V. Hernández as his love interest “Vanessa” (Miranda’s wife in real life is named Vanessa), Addie Morales as Nina, Yasir Muhammad as Benny, Crissy Guerrero shining in the grandmotherly role “Abuela,” Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel as the strong motherly force Camilla opposite Rudy Martinez as her husband Kevin. Lillian Castillo, as beauty shop owner Daniela, is comic timing perfection.
For anyone who has never visited Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, it is a stage venue that is a “theatre in the round” design. Or more apt, it’s a square from the audience seating vantage point.
In today’s 2024 stage landscape, theaters around the country are scaling back for scenic design, or at least working hard to stay within budgeted means.
Throughout the decades, the Marriott artistic team has devised imaginative ideas to convey sets and scene changes with minimal use of large structures and it has always worked.
However, for this show, scenic designer Arnel Sancianco is faced with the dilemma of how to transport the audience to the inner city neighborhood of street stoops, storefronts and believable fire escapes, but all are depicted in what is such a trapped stage space with only the four aisleways to spill into.
Though adequate, the charm of the neighborly streetscape is diminished for this Marriott telling.
Fortunately, lighting, costuming and props help pick up the slack and the audience still shares the celebratory feeling of having just purchased a winning lottery ticket.
Tickets start at $60 at 847-634-0200 or www.MarriottTheatre.com.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.
