Playbill of The Week: In The Heights

8/53

Dedicated to my Grammy, Mary Ardell

"Thank you for everything I know"

So I may have skipped a few weeks. Sometimes life gets the best of you. So this week's Playbill is somewhat of a treat, it's creator was just up for an Oscar, and for me it brings up memories that are comforting yet sad. Get ready for In The Heights.

I saw In The Heights with my mom and Grammy, now Grammy was almost always ahead of me on the theatre knowledge. Without her I would have never seen my first show, I would have never gone to Thoroughly Modern Millie, I would have never fallen in love with Spring Awakening. And I'm not sure I would have seen In The Heights. She read newspapers, she watched all the morning shows, she listened to the radio. All those 'old school' ways of learning about things, instead of just seeing them on twitter. We went to the 37 Arts Theatre and entered the lottery, my mom and I both won and got 2 $25 dollar front row seats, with Grammy sitting right behind us. I had no idea what to expect from the show. Still Off-Broadway a month away from its transfer. I didn't know the music, I barely new any of the cast members; I knew Priscilla Lopez, and had no idea who Lin-Manuel Miranda was (I know right!?) So we sat there reading the bios and trying to figure out how hip-hop was going to fit into a Broadway musical. Then the opening song, In The Heights began and it was something completely new.

Song after song was just as magical as the one before. This show had such an energy behind it. There was so much passion behind the performances, so much love, and so much art. Lin's lyrics floated through the theatre so effortlessly, bouncing off the walls and ringing in the rafters. When Mandy Gonzalez started singing 'Breathe' I felt the most connected with a character than I ever had before. I felt her pain and her confusion. And then her voice, ay dios mio. Then Karen Olivo walked onstage with this beautiful raven hair, legs for days and a belt that made you feel alive. Chris Jackson was so charming as Benny, a beautiful smooth voice, with an even smoother demeanor. The cast seemed like a small neighbourhood that you'd come across, they were friendly, awkward, and played around with each other on stage. They felt like a family.

One of my favourite songs from the show is 'No Me Diga.' Andrea Burns is comedy gold in that scene. The girls gossip and gab and give a fun, hilarious portrayal of these salon ladies. When she says 'Well that's a shitty piece of news' I lose it every single time. I still laugh like a hyena every time I hear it. One of my other favourites is 'Fireworks', I am a sucker for a good ensemble song, you know the one where everyone comes together singing different motifs from the show, in beautiful harmony right at the climax of the story. It pulls at my heart strings every single time, and Lin wrote one of my favourites.

There's a few moments in the show that brought all of us to tears then, and continues to bring me to tears now. In the show a character ends up passing away. And from that sprouts two absolutely beautiful tragic moments. One being 'Everything I Know' a song that Nina sings, basically she talks about how this person was always there, she saved the entirety of her childhood in binders and picture books. The second moment is when Graffiti Pete is vandalizing Usnavis shop, Usnavi threatens to call the cops and gets him to leave, then Sonny pulls down the garage to show what Pete was working on and it's a portrait of the character that passed away. In that moment the entire theatre audibly gasped. Everyone was in shock. And everyone was crying.

For anyone that doesn't know, my Grammy recently passed away. I know that people die, I know that people leave us, but there's always that thought at the back of your mind that it can't happen to my family, they're immortal. And when it did, I didn't know how to cope. And honestly I went back to 'Everything I Know.' Here's a few things I know, my Grammy loved this show, she thought it was beautiful, and on long road trips to New York I have even heard her rap along a little bit. I also know that she in particular loved that song. I don't know if it was because she knew that that song could have been written by me about her, it is exactly how I feel about her. She made all of her grandkids scrapbooks of their lives, she kept every picture, program, newspaper article. It's comforting for me to know that whenever I listen to a song, or see a show I will automatically be reminded of her. It's something special we shared, and she will always be a part of me because of it.

With Lin-Manuels success with Hamilton I'm glad that people are finding out about In The Heights. Yes it won Best Musical at the Tonys, but I still know so many people that have never heard it. It's a beautiful story about family, love and people just trying to make a living. It's about hard work, it's about immigrants, it's about life. Lin wrote a gorgeous score with important lyrics that resonate with everyone. No matter what colour, race or religion. You can see this show and see your own family and your own story. Struggle, love, life is felt the same by everyone, and Lin proves that with this show. Hopefully the movie version, being produced by Jay Z will be just as monumental as this Off-Broadway production. I thank Lin for what is definitely one of my favourite memories in a theatre, and I hope we get many more shows from this man.