Review: I Hear America Singing IN THE HEIGHTS - Phoenix Theatre's Production Is So Dope!

When Lin-Manuel Miranda's IN THE HEIGHTS opened on Broadway in 2008, it accelerated a paradigm shift in musical theatre. The rhyme and rhythm of storytelling found new expression in the meter of hip hop. Life seen through the lenses and accents of diverse cultures proved to deepen the theatrical experience and build bridges of empathy and insight.

Phoenix Theatre has kicked off its 97th Season with a block buster production of Miranda's four Tony® Awards-winning musical, featuring a sensational performance by Pasha Yamotahari as Usnavi, the bard of the block, the chronicler of the community's legacy, the keeper of the community flame.

The block that is Usnavi's hip hop/salsa beat intersects at the 181 Street Station along the A line in Washington Heights, north of Harlem and bordering the Hudson River, made up primarily of Latinos and referred to as the City's Little Dominican Republic. It is a block whose hues and textures are captured in the meticulously designed set, provided by The Music and Theatre Company. It is a block whose rhythms vibrate to the band's powerhouse play under the direction of Alan Ruch (Repeat: The band is awesome!) and whose energy pulsates to the movements of Nick Flores's exuberant choreography.

It is a block where, above one of the most architecturally unique subway stations in Manhattan, small businesses struggle to survive and the lives of the residents ride their own rails of fate.

In the barrio of Miranda's creation, it is the architecture of people's intersecting lives that are set in bold relief, and it is their passions and dreams that are put to the test:

Usnavi, el dueño de bodega, in love with Vanessa but longing to return to his birthplace. Vanessa (Alyssa Chiarello) with dreams of her own to escape the drudgery of her work at Daniela's Salon Unisex and move downtown. Daniela (Lynzee Foreman), the effusive colorist whose enterprise may be less permanent than her perms. Nina Rosario (Noellia Hernandez), who bends to the pressures of studies at Stanford and turns the dreams of her parents (Joseph Micalizio and Micha Espinosa) into a crisis of disappointment and despair. Benny (Christopher Brasfield), whose employ as Mr. Rosario's Car and Limousine dispatcher fails to qualify him for Mr. Rosario's acceptance as Nina's boyfriend. And Sonny, Usnavi's cousin with a conscience and a matchmaker's thirst, brilliantly portrayed in a standout performance by Greg Laucella.

Yamotahari is the star of this show, threading together these story lines with a delivery of Miranda's lines that is filled with urgency, intensity, and conviction. This is a tour de performance by a brilliant artist.

Robert Kolby Harper has directed a winner, unleashing an exuberant display of talent and artistry.

It should be acknowledged, in the interests of fairness, that IN THE HEIGHTS is ("In the Heights' casting controversy comes to Phoenix") as it has been before ("...the latest battleground in the theater community's fight against whitewashing") the subject of criticism for a company's casting decisions. However one feels about this issue, what is undeniable is that Mr. Harper and his ensemble have staged a gem and raised the bar high for IN THE HEIGHTS.

IN THE HEIGHTS continues its run through October 2nd and promises to be one of the memorable highlights of the 2016-2017 Season.

Photo credit to Reg Madison Photography