In the Heights review

I saw In the Heights this weekend with my Puerto Rican friend and her BF. My PR friends were very eager to see this cause it is a musical about the latino community in NYC. I was curious and honestly did not know what to expect.

The show started very chaotic for me. Plus I did not care for the rapping of the main character Usnavi (Perry Young). I only half understood what he was rapping. The dancing crowd on the background was unimpressive. I did not care for the ghetto type of song and dance. The songs and singing voices were mediocre for me. I did know know who was who in the show. But as the show progress, it grew on me. The characters were established and their story line became clearer. I began to understand the the rapping of Usnavi. The conflict of each characters started to move me and I began to relate to them. There were some funny moments that made me chuckle. Even the seemed chaotic dancing of the company became more pleasing to me. As I started to appreciate the storyline and the characters, the singing remained undistinguished for me except for Daniela (Tauren Hagans). She had a strong powerful broadway voice. The others were not out of tune but I was just not flabbergasted by their voices. I am not surprise considering that the cast was racially correct looking. Meaning they were all passable as latino as called for by the roles. This may have limited the productions ability to cast other non latino looking actors out there that have far superior voices. Their pool was limited by adhering to a racially correct looking cast. The songs themselves were forgettable except for the "Carnaval del Barrio". It was festive and uplifting.

My latino friends were very impressed with the show. Naturally, I thought. They said it hit home for them. As for me, I was diverted but this show would not rank high in my list of best. I would give it 3 stars out of 5.