IN THE HEIGHTS - 1st US Nat'l Tour Debuts Tonight (10/27/09) in Tampa, FL!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 10/27/09 at 1:51pm

The 1st US National Tour of IN THE HEIGHTS kicks off tonight Tuesday October 27, 2009 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. If anyone is seeing the show tonight or during its run (it ends this Sunday November 1, 2009), please post reviews (set design, performances, orchestra, et al).

Gracias!

[sweetTb'way]

Posted: 10/27/09 at 6:25pm

I'll be there! Soooo looking forward to this!

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 10/27/09 at 6:28pm

People who live far away from Broadway may sometimes wish they could see New York theatre, but very often, us New Yorkers on BWW wish we were able to see the top-notch tours you guys are getting!

Break a leg to the entire cast and crew and may In the Heights live on!

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 10/27/09 at 6:43pm

I wish I could be there, but I can't because like PiraguaGuy2 said I wish I didn't live in NY sometimes.

[bway1261]

Posted: 10/27/09 at 6:47pm

I wish that I didn't have to wait until January to see this. Oh well, it's something to look forward to.

Posted: 10/27/09 at 8:09pm

I probably won't make it over there this week, but I'm definitely checking out the tour when it comes to Orlando in March.

I heard the cast of Wonderland is catching the show tonight - too cool!

[alightinthedark23]

Posted: 10/27/09 at 8:52pm

Good Luck to all of them. I hope they all do extremely well. Kyle Beltran seems very promising from the tour video. Hope all goes well.

[cabaretman24]

Posted: 10/28/09 at 1:43am

If anyone has seen it can you tell me how my friend Natalie Toro was I wish I could be there to see her.

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 10/28/09 at 3:06am

Jacobs looks like America Ferrera

[LiTtLeDaNcEr729]

Posted: 10/28/09 at 9:36am

IdinaBellFoster- that is exactly what I thought throughout the whole show.

I saw the "final dress rehearsal" in Gainesville, FL. I'm not posting a review because I am not a fan of the piece itself to begin with and I simply don't have the time to write out a review. Tickets, however, were $10 for students (for an equity tour), so I jumped at the opportunity to see the show.

[BwayBuff2]

Posted: 10/28/09 at 11:00am

I agree...I sometimes wish I didn't live in NYC because I'd love to see this tour

[gypsymal56]

Posted: 11/1/09 at 11:03pm

Just saw the show in Tampa and wanted to let you guys know what I thought. Really had an awesome time at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Besides the group of some fifteen or so pre-teen girls (and their as equally annoying chaperones in our row), the show was great.

Some background: I haven't seen the show before today, but I've listened to the album countless times as well as watched clips on youtube, bww, etc. Before today, I thought I had seen basically everything.

Seeing In The Heights live on stage was such a different experience from listening to the album in my car, or watching the tony performance. The set, which looked almost identical to the one at Richard Rodgers, was alive with the look, sound, and feel of Washington Heights. I really loved that the set only shifted in very minor ways (table set up for Rosario dinner, club scene) but remained engaging throughout the show. The actors, with a few exceptions, seemed comfortable in their setting. Lighting was awesome, I actually gasped a little at the blackout scene.

I took my mom and close friend with me, neither of whom have seen much, if any, of the show prior. At intermission, the two of them kept mentioning the choreography and asking about Andy Blank. The choreography is, without a doubt, flawless. It moves the story, both literally and figuratively. In a related note, Jose-Luis Lopez who plays Graffiti Pete is delicious.

Kyle Beltran as Usnavi is so believable he had me forget Lin-Manuel ever played him! Kyle seemed the most comfortable on stage, he moved easy and interacted with the cast and set very naturally. His voice is smooth and reassuring and I just adored him. This guy has serious star potential.

Seeing Shaun Taylor-Corbett play Sonny made me fall in love with the character. He is equally funny as endearing. During the carnival scene where Usnavi announces the lotto winnings, I couldn't take my eyes off Shaun as he lurked very melancholy in the background. I really believed it was the end of an era.

Some other pluses: Rogelio Douglas Jr. as Benny
"Paciencia y Fe", which I used to skip when I listened to the recording, actually made me tear up during the show!
Lin-Manuel's recording at the beginning of the show, reminding patrons to turn their cell phones off. In english and spanish!
Having seats in the far balcony, yet perfect view! Felt like we were front row.

Alright, now the not-so-exciting parts:
Arielle Jacobs as Nina was good. She has a very pretty voice. But it was clear she was frightened on stage. At times, she got a little shaky. I don't know if it's directed like this normally, but during "Breathe" she hardly moved. It was like seeing a concert performance, with no type of gestures. I think/hope she'll gain the confidence soon so during the rest of the tour-run she'll be exceptional. I think she has the potential.

Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer as Vanessa was close to dreadful. Little vocal range with a mediocre sounding voice to begin with. I cringed during "Champagne", normally one of my favorite songs. Her acting reminded me of how I ( not even close to an actor of any kind) would pretend to be Vanessa with my theatre friends, exaggerated and a little obnoxious. She, also, has never worn high heels before this production. I mentioned to my mom during intermission that she stomped like a horse, after the show my mom said that's all she could watch during the second act. It sounds minor, but it was so distracting!!

Sorry for the length, I tried to be thorough, I guess I got a tad overzealous. I hope this gives you New Yorker's a nice look at the tour, and everyone else a small taste of what's coming to a theatre near you!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/2/09 at 12:17am

Thank you tremendously for that pretty detailed review. Any comments regarding Isabel Santiago's Daniela? Andrea Burns dominates and steals the show whenever she's on stage in the Broadway company. Just curious to see if Isabel brings the same magic to her interpretation.

[gypsymal56]

Posted: 11/2/09 at 10:26am

Isabel as Daniela was good, but not a particular stand out, for me at least. Give her some time and I think she'll make the character her own, right now her portrayal is mildly derivative. Again, we were in the far balcony so she LOOKED quite like Daniela, curvaceous with big hair! When I looked at her picture in the program post-show, I was shocked at how young she looks! Anyone know her age?

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[gypsymal56]

Posted: 11/2/09 at 10:47am

Just remembered something else. I went in wanting a "No Pare Sigue, Sigue" shirt. I left the show needing one! Alas, all new merchandise for the show. Shirts look like they're screen printed in nothing but primary colors and look cheaply done. Just a heads up incase anyone was looking to buy something when the tour comes their way.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/2/09 at 11:53am

For those who can't wait, you can order online ALL merchandise for IN THE HEIGHTS. The tour AND the Broadway production sell the exact same merchandise. Obviously, the souvenir program for the tour will include photos of that tour's cast.

Not sure if they've since discontinued the "No Pare Sigue Sigue" T-Shirts as they aren't available online anymore (they once were).

http://broadwaynewyork.com/search.aspx?keywords=In%20The%20Heights

[Silence = Death]

Posted: 11/2/09 at 1:59pm

All of the shirts are still on the actual site. The new ones are so plain!

[Brywal88]

Posted: 11/3/09 at 2:12am

I saw the opening night performance of the show and it was amazing...the cast is very good but I agree that Vanessa was the weakest performer. Benny and Nina made the show for me they were so amazing I basically cried.

[NGeorgiaBwayFan]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 9:24am

I didn't want to start a new thread for this, so I just tapped onto the Tampa Thread.

Just a few thoughts about ITH Nat'l Tour in Atlanta w/o comparison to the OBC, because that's not fair.

I think overall it's a strong cast. No real disappointments, and a few stand outs.

Kyle Beltran - making a great start as Usnavi. Confident on stage and giving a strong performance. He has turned the role into his own, and is not a caricature of any previous versions.

Shaun Taylor Corbett is a great Sonny. Funny, good voice, and brought a lot of depth to Sonny.

Isabel Santiago - great voice and presence. The right choice for Daniella.

Rogelio Douglas Jr.& Arielle Jacobs - Great as Benny and Nina, but... I don't know why I just didn't feel the relationship between the characters clicked. They both have beautiful voices and are talented actors. So I don't know, maybe it's just me.

Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer (Vanessa) -- I was really worried about how she was going to be, based on some of the earlier reviews in this thread, but I think she did a great job. Maybe she's settling into the role, because I didn't see any of the problems described in those reviews.

David Baida's piraguero = funny!

Elise Santora (Abuela) has a lovely voice and really gave a great perf, but she didn't seem old enough to be an abuela.

The rest were very well cast in their roles. The dancing was good. Music was wonderful.

The only problems I saw were a few issues of timing -- "No Me Diga" needs some work, and was the only disappointment of any number, but once again, not because of the lack of talent. Just a little polish will fix it.

Also didn't care for Daniel Bolero's "Inutil" He was good in the rest of the scenes, though.

It was interesting to see how the material worked outside of NYC. There were a few lines that didn't get the reactions they got when we saw the show on Broadway, because most of the audience had no point of reference, but it didn't seem to be a big problem. I think that the show is going to do well on the rest of the tour.

BTW, Atlanta Journal Constitution... why did you tip everyone off to the origin of Usnavi's name in your story about the show the other day? I was relieved it didn't kill the joke!

Best Wishes to this cast. Go get 'em.

* edit *
The set was beautiful -- I think identical to the Broadway set and the lighting was very effective. Too bad the Fabulous Fox Theatre has so much lighting on the aisles... kind of took away some of the shock of Blackout. It was only dark on the stage, not in the whole house.

Updated On: 11/6/09 at 09:24 AM

[winter_sky]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 3:51pm

oh hey there, ith tour cast graphic i made.