A Utah theater review by Ben Christensen
From the very first verse rapped by Usnavi de la Vega (Ben Wille), Hale Center Theater Orem’s production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights pulses with energy. Set in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, In The Heights is the story of a community pulled in different directions. Usnavi, a bodega owner, dreams of returning to the Dominican Republic. Vanessa (Shae Robins MWF) is a hair stylist who just wants to get out of the Heights. Nina (Xandra Wille) tried to get out but returns home sheepishly when she loses her scholarship at Stanford. And Benny (Keith Evans), the neighborhood’s token white boy, wants nothing more than to fit in. Like the characters, the play’s music—a mish-mash of hip-hop, salsa, and other styles—comes from many different places and pulls in different directions.
The ensemble cast of this production really brings the show alive. Ben Wille did not strike me as a phenomenal singer, but his rapping skills are legit (and I say this as a long-time aficionado of hip-hop) and his portrayal of the lead character is endearing. Xandra Wille has an amazing voice that brings to life her character’s stress at feeling the weight of an entire community on her shoulders. Keith Evans impressed me not only in his easy transition between rapping and singing, but also the quirky body language he uses to make his character stick out like a sore thumb—as he should. Elijah Thomas, who plays Usnavi’s cousin Sonny (MWF), has a superb sense of comedic delivery.
Considering that the majority of the characters are of Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Cuban descent, I was happy to see the proportion of Hispanics to Anglos in the cast much more representative of Utah Valley’s population than you typically see in Anglo-dominated Utah Valley theater. Honestly, I had a hard time telling whether some of the actors were genuinely Spanish speakers or if they simply did a good job of picking up the accent, as only one stood out to me as clearly not a native Spanish speaker. Someone with a better ear for accents than I might notice that the accents don’t quite match up with the characters’ backgrounds—I suspect Central America is more represented than the Caribbean—but to my amateur ear (I’m an Anglo who speaks Spanish as a second language), the Hispanic accents add a layer of authenticity to the play.
If you’ve been to Hale Center Theater Orem before, then you know it’s a relatively small stage, surrounded on three sides by the audience. When the full cast of about twenty is on stage, it can feel crowded, but director Christopher Clark uses that to his advantage, reserving those moments for high-energy dance numbers and scenes that are meant to be chaotic. It helps that the actors make good use of the walkway leading to the entrance and even the audience area. Choreographer Jennifer Hill-Barlow also makes good use of the space, with dance numbers moving in full circle to be seen by audience members on all sides, and extending out beyond the small stage. Different scenes are established minimally, using just a couple of set pieces to create each space. One of my favorites is a metal fire escape that is rolled onstage for one scene.
Go see In The Heights at Hale Center Theater Orem. You’ll get a glimpse into another culture, enjoy some great music, and feel more alive than you did before the show.
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Hale Center Theater Orem presents
In The Heights
Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, book by Quiara Alegía Hudes, conceived by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Oct. 3 through Nov. 23, evening performances at 7:30pm, Saturday matinees at 3:00pm
http://www.haletheater.org/theater/
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