Just me and the GWB

I first encountered In the Heights at the Tony Awards, and then saw a special about it on PBS, which caused me to rush out and get the cast recording.



I finally got a chance to see it on Tuesday, in Baltimore. It's always odd seeing a show when you're just familiar with the cast recording; there's a fear of being let down after getting to know those voices. (Particularly in this case; Lin-Manuel Miranda, who starred as Usnavi in the original cast, also wrote the music. His performance and the interviews with him that I've run across are just amazing. He's awesome.) (Seriously, go watch his acceptance for when he won the Tony for Best Score.)

There was an insert in the program at the theater; it looks like I saw the show just after it switched casts--or, at least, part of the cast. Most notable: I'd be seeing a new Usnavi (or, in fact, someone who had been understudying the part). (Maybe he still is an understudy, but printing a whole new cast sheet seems a little excessive for a short-term thing. But what do I know?)

Anyway, any qualms I may have had disappeared pretty much instantly. Joseph Morales was phenomenal as Usnavi; I just totally loved him. I loved everyone, in fact, to the point that there were some actors who I liked better than their soundtrack counterparts.

What's fantastic about the show--other than the great dancing and phenomenal rhythms--is how much I, a 31-year-old white chick from the suburbs, could relate to it. It's one of those shows that illustrate that no matter how different people may seem, we're more alike than we think. The story itself isn't anything particularly new or different, but it's just a great, great show.