Sam Edwards (Stage Manager) writing cues into the script

Coming soon to the Eva O. Howard Theatre, two-time Tony award winning musical, In the Heights By Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes.

The musical takes place in Washington Heights and follows a community made of immigrants mostly from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The story follows four main protagonists; Usnavi, the owner of a small convenience store famous for its coffee, portrayed by Skylar Campbell; Vanessa, a young woman with aspirations of moving to the heart of New York City, portrayed by Brooklyn Trapp; Benny, a simple man working a nine to five with an over-inflated ego, portrayed by Zac Belward.. and, Nina, a young woman returning from Stanford for the summer with a secret, portrayed by Kaleia Simons-Cook.

“The show is not carried on the relationships but on the individual. The show really allows for character development,” Kaleia said, describing the show.

Written as his college thesis, Lin-Manuel Miranda took inspiration from his own life as an immigrant from Puerto Rico. “Life isn’t, you know, all rainbows and sunshine there’s struggles you go through,” said Joanna Nicolas, a fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda. “You go through ups and downs and you know, you’re gonna crash sometimes.” This show displays the struggle of immigrants in the U.S, a story that is not often told. Even so, the original actor playing Sonny (Robin de Jesús) in an interview shared that it was his first time playing a character who wasn't a criminal.

““It brings awareness but it also brings a solution, which is love. No matter what culture, love always brings us together.””

“This story has a lot of arcs, a lot of like, grief moments where you can see everyone is going through a certain type of struggle, and through the story you see their progress on how they’re slowly starting to see the light at the end of the bridge,” said Hussien Hamada, a member of the ensemble.

It has been said that this show is very intricate because the vast similarities in storyline of different paths to identity and finding where you belong.

“I like to describe this show as a whole bunch of mini musicals within this really big musical,” said Raeff Fontaine, who plays Kevin, Nina’s father. “It’s this little storybook that opens and closes of this community.”

Parallelism carries strongly throughout this piece having songs from act two mirror those of act one. Another theme in this musical is cultural strength and community; the familial bonds shine unequivocally throughout the show.

Ethan Blanchard playing in the orchestra

A congregation of actors came to the consensus that a definite subject that is demonstrated throughout the piece lies in the idea that no matter how permanent it seems, home is forever evolving and ever changing. “A big part of the show is that redirection of how you identify home,” said Kaleia Simons-Cook. A wish of the cast is that the audience walks away with an evaluation of their close relationships and new sense of importance towards them.

This show is one unlike other musicals, for it strips away the glitz and glam of theatre to reveal the reality of life. It shows that there is no formula to life. “It’s not a perfect picture,” said Hussain, “You can see the disappointment you can see everything that you would try to run away from. You can see that at the end of the day they still got together. And it's kind of, again, understanding that yes, there is that struggle but with struggle comes the light. And you can’t get to light without understanding and going through the struggle.”

From the 14th to the 16th of March, you can support the cast and crew who have worked very hard to get this show running. Your tickets can be purchased at Victoria School at the Box Office for $20, or via phone at 780-392-3534.

“It brings awareness but it also brings a solution, which is love. No matter what culture, love always brings us together.”

-Grace Tunski and Danica Wilson, The Victoria Voice School Newspaper

Image: Victoria School of the Arts