(The packaging is inventive and artistic in nature. Fumbling through it you take the first disc and hastily insert the mysterious thing into your stereo. Having hit the ‘Play’ button and adjusting the volume knob, you sit back on your floor, close your eyes in peace and patiently wait for the first sounds from May 30, 2008. You hear the beginning pitter-patter of rain outside your window, and then a soothing voice permeates your room – suddenly you’re immersed in the dawn of the mix. 1. “White Winter Hymnal” – Fleet Foxes)
We embark on this musical voyage with an antiphrastically employed song title. That is, this was a summer trip and a “winter hymnal” might seem like a misplaced opener on a mix about such a trip. On the contrary, the steady guitar strumming, the language of a journey, and the reference to “strawberries in the summertime” all feel like the perfect backdrop for getting packed-up and heading into the car on a hot day in May. It would be appropriate on a soundtrack for that part in the family movie where the Volvo station wagon is pictured racing along the open road, suitcases piled high on its luggage rack. The point is this: “White Winter Hymnal” is beautiful in its revolving spaciousness. In other words, there are carnivorous drums, reverberating vocals, consistent tambourine taps, and a complimentary electric guitar riff, all of which cycle back on themselves in this gorgeous piece of repetition. And the wheels turn…
The First 2008 Broadway Musical for SURF – this will be the day’s climax
I don’t want to imply that my trip to New York was epic, but I want it to sound epic because that’s how it felt. All the work I had done to get the grant money and to construct the research project had lead up to my first day on the job. This was the culmination of a lot of effort, and only more work lay ahead of me. Scarier still was the fact that I didn’t know what was really in store for me. I had envisioned hours in the library, tapping away on my laptop, and reading mundane facts about Broadway history. I had expected to be furiously scribbling notes during each show we were going to, unable to enjoy myself. (In a sharp twist of musical styles, the music becomes stress hassled and anxious. 2. “Stress” – Justice)
But there was also an eager anticipation. This was exciting – going to Manhattan by myself, getting around on my own, learning the city, seeing Broadway performances every night, getting individually tutored by one of the premier professors in the academic field of the performing arts… I knew it was going to be a great experience, though logistical concerns can often cloud the more welcome meditative thoughts. (A return to sweeping gestures and vast soundscapes. 3. “Chromakey Dreamcoat” – Boards of Canada). As I sat on the twenty dollar Chinatown bus with post-rock occupying my headphones, the daunting task of having to navigate the NY subway system with a suitcase and two backpacks troubled me. I always over-pack, but I figured I had to have clothes for anything: dressy, casual, workout, rainy, cold, hot. The backpacks also held my laptop and the research I had done up to that point. Eh, anyway, I can get caught up in these menial concerns, like packing technique.
I tried to read my professor’s book, Performance in America: Contemporary U.S. Culture and the Performing Arts. This was informative and a good way to prepare for the task ahead, but the bus ride was a nervous one.
So, after arriving amidst the confused hubbub of Chinatown (Oh my God, he said something about China, that means: 4. “Chinese Translation” – M. Ward), successfully negotiating a couple subway lines, finding my hotel, an hour or two of credit card issues, a handful of frantic phone calls, and a whole lot of sweat – after all of that, I am finally settled in, ready to meet up with David for the first time in New York at the Dean and Deluca across the street from the Richard Rodgers Theater where IN THE HEIGHTS was and still is showing.
In the Heights is the brainchild of Lin-Manuel Miranda. He composed the music, wrote the lyrics, created the show, and he stars as the lead character Usnavi (the character’s name is actually an immigration themed pun explained in the show). Mr. Miranda, who accepted the Tony for best musical (his rap-speech was incredible), started his journey with In the Heights as a Puerto Rican-American growing up in the Latino (Here we go with the damn themed music. I mean, it’s good, but a little heavy handed? 5. “Oye Como Va” – Tito Puente feat. Santana) community of Washington Heights, the setting for this musical. The show was conceived during Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sophomore year at Wesleyan University based on his childhood experience, and upon graduating he took the show to New York for a successful Off-Broadway run.
This Broadway production was a fabulous entry point into the research project. Unlike any musical I’ve seen, In the Heights incorporates the music of “the streets.” Hip-hop and rap were featured prominently, along with musical arrangements in the tradition of salsa, mambo, meringue, habanera, mariachi, and many other Latin styles, which successfully accentuate and compliment the culture and heritage of the characters’ Latino community (This is an interesting fusion piece. 6. “Doin’ Time (Marshall Arts Remix)” – Sublime feat. Pharcyde). This also gave the musical its unique identity, setting it apart from everything else one may
have seen. Whereas West-Side Story pioneered a similar type of musical appropriation, In the Heights takes it to the next level. Indeed, perhaps most interesting is the show’s use of the newer genres, such as rap and hip-hop, which are so prevalent in today’s culture. Obviously, the lyrics are safer and the beats are “watered-down” but this actually works to the show’s advantage. Plot points, witticisms, slam-rhymes, emotional confessions – the rap and hip hop template opened doors to a novel way of telling the story. This also enforces the sense of an urban environment without unnecessarily engaging in some of the musical genre’s more negative aspects (whores, drugs, violence, etc.) – subject matter the show only wants to hint at (graffiti, the Black out, clubbing). Mr. Miranda makes it clear that the gang and thug mentality that rap music has often touted is most certainly not the answer in tough times (It might be the answer when you hear this though. 7. “Black Mags” – The Cool Kids). In fact, he uses rap to tell a different story. The message of In the Heights and its music is uplifting. A nihilist might complain that rap and hip hop, genres of the gritty street, weren’t meant to serve such a message, especially in such a sunshiny way, but all I can tell you is that it works.
The set is incredible. It all takes place on an intersection in Washington Heights, where people can look out of their apartment windows and see the action below. The community is the protagonist, and the urban set-design highlights this point. All sorts of characters are present, each representing certain Latino archetypes – the street vendor, the hairstylists, the taxi-operators (Yes, more Latin music. 8. “Tamacun” – Rodrigo y Gabriela). These roles are set up to make fun of their own stereotypical qualities but to also reveal deeper stories for each. The street vendor thrives during the
Black Out, but he craves friendship; the hairstylists have to move away from their gossip-haven to Brooklyn for financial reasons, but they feel like they are abandoning family; the taxi-operation is a family business, the profit of which goes to their daughter’s college fund – the college she has just dropped out of. While many of the plot elements focus on money issues, definitely central to a poorer neighborhood, laments of each character and their emotive qualities come from that person’s relationship to the community. The communal relationships are powerful themes that fuel a lot of the momentum of the musical. Every character’s unique personal story is part of the community’s aesthetic, and everyone is involved.
The narrative is different, but so is the choreography (Dancing? Dancing. Evil dancing. 9. “Satan Said Dance” – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). I’m no expert on dance, but second row seats can reveal how incredible the movement on stage really is. A fantastically urban set and the subsequent innovative ways to navigate it resulted in a visually spectacular performance. All the space was used with an incredible amount of energy. Moreover, the choreography was Latino as well, drawing inspiration from various Caribbean dances and even urban traditions. This only helps to show how the different cultures might be disparate in origin yet are united in the “hood”: the dancing is cohesive yet individualistic per character. David actually pointed out that in this case, dancing was an operational tool to advance the story. Beyond reflecting the emotion of the characters, their artistic interaction with the space often told a story of their own.
The various nuanced way these different aspects of the show have been approached mirrors the complexity of the characters’ identity within the community (Time for some beautiful Spanish music. 10. “Antillas” – El Guincho).
Certainly, identity is a central theme for In the Heights and it explores this theme beautifully. However, there were some weaker points in the show. Especially in contrast to the fantastic younger characters like Sonny (Ron De Jesús), the older cast seemed to be lacking something. Abuela Claudia, played by Olga Merediz, while central to the show’s message, is a disappointing role. The character is one-dimensional and often cloyingly preachy or melodramatically burdened. Kevin (Carlos Gomez) and Camila (Priscilla Lopez), the parents in the show, were also somewhat flat. Carlos Gomez had trouble with his solo number, unable to hit some of the higher notes, and their characters seemed unbelievably stubborn, which elicited a fair amount of disinterest in their storylines. Finally, the “Hand of God” facet of the show was a tad frustrating. Much of the story’s advancement came from things outside of the characters’ control. For instance, the Black Out, which helped unite the community, seemed like a lucky change of events. SPOILER: The death of Abuela Claudia is the reason Usnavi stays, and before her death she had actually won the lottery. If one were to think too analytically, this seems to suggest a degree of fate to the show, since a lot of the action is out of the hands of the main players, which minimizes some of the character-struggles.
Despite its very few flaws, I was blown away by In the Heights (Let’s conclude with something kind of Latin. 11. “Qué Onda Guero” – Beck). At the end of the night, it was a fun first show, with a great songbook, and a remarkable story – both within the show itself and about the show’s journey to Broadway. This first taste of NY set the standard for my trip, and I was no longer nervous, but excited. After discussing the show with David, I called it a night, ready to wake up and see more.
1. “White Winter Hymnal” – Fleet Foxes
2. “Stress” – Justice
3. “Chromakey Dreamcoat” – Boards of Canada
4. “Chinese Translation” – M. Ward
5. “Oye Como Va” – Tito Puente feat. Santana
6. “Doin’ Time (Marshall Arts Remix)” – Sublime feat. Pharcyde
7. “Black Mags” – The Cool Kids
8. “Tamacun” – Rodrigo y Gabriela
9. “Satan Said Dance” – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
10. “Antillas” – El Guincho
11. “Qué Onda Guero” – Beck
We embark on this musical voyage with an antiphrastically employed song title. That is, this was a summer trip and a “winter hymnal” might seem like a misplaced opener on a mix about such a trip. On the contrary, the steady guitar strumming, the language of a journey, and the reference to “strawberries in the summertime” all feel like the perfect backdrop for getting packed-up and heading into the car on a hot day in May. It would be appropriate on a soundtrack for that part in the family movie where the Volvo station wagon is pictured racing along the open road, suitcases piled high on its luggage rack. The point is this: “White Winter Hymnal” is beautiful in its revolving spaciousness. In other words, there are carnivorous drums, reverberating vocals, consistent tambourine taps, and a complimentary electric guitar riff, all of which cycle back on themselves in this gorgeous piece of repetition. And the wheels turn…
The First 2008 Broadway Musical for SURF – this will be the day’s climax
I don’t want to imply that my trip to New York was epic, but I want it to sound epic because that’s how it felt. All the work I had done to get the grant money and to construct the research project had lead up to my first day on the job. This was the culmination of a lot of effort, and only more work lay ahead of me. Scarier still was the fact that I didn’t know what was really in store for me. I had envisioned hours in the library, tapping away on my laptop, and reading mundane facts about Broadway history. I had expected to be furiously scribbling notes during each show we were going to, unable to enjoy myself. (In a sharp twist of musical styles, the music becomes stress hassled and anxious. 2. “Stress” – Justice)But there was also an eager anticipation. This was exciting – going to Manhattan by myself, getting around on my own, learning the city, seeing Broadway performances every night, getting individually tutored by one of the premier professors in the academic field of the performing arts… I knew it was going to be a great experience, though logistical concerns can often cloud the more welcome meditative thoughts. (A return to sweeping gestures and vast soundscapes. 3. “Chromakey Dreamcoat” – Boards of Canada). As I sat on the twenty dollar Chinatown bus with post-rock occupying my headphones, the daunting task of having to navigate the NY subway system with a suitcase and two backpacks troubled me. I always over-pack, but I figured I had to have clothes for anything: dressy, casual, workout, rainy, cold, hot. The backpacks also held my laptop and the research I had done up to that point. Eh, anyway, I can get caught up in these menial concerns, like packing technique.
I tried to read my professor’s book, Performance in America: Contemporary U.S. Culture and the Performing Arts. This was informative and a good way to prepare for the task ahead, but the bus ride was a nervous one.
So, after arriving amidst the confused hubbub of Chinatown (Oh my God, he said something about China, that means: 4. “Chinese Translation” – M. Ward), successfully negotiating a couple subway lines, finding my hotel, an hour or two of credit card issues, a handful of frantic phone calls, and a whole lot of sweat – after all of that, I am finally settled in, ready to meet up with David for the first time in New York at the Dean and Deluca across the street from the Richard Rodgers Theater where IN THE HEIGHTS was and still is showing.
In the Heights is the brainchild of Lin-Manuel Miranda. He composed the music, wrote the lyrics, created the show, and he stars as the lead character Usnavi (the character’s name is actually an immigration themed pun explained in the show). Mr. Miranda, who accepted the Tony for best musical (his rap-speech was incredible), started his journey with In the Heights as a Puerto Rican-American growing up in the Latino (Here we go with the damn themed music. I mean, it’s good, but a little heavy handed? 5. “Oye Como Va” – Tito Puente feat. Santana) community of Washington Heights, the setting for this musical. The show was conceived during Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sophomore year at Wesleyan University based on his childhood experience, and upon graduating he took the show to New York for a successful Off-Broadway run.This Broadway production was a fabulous entry point into the research project. Unlike any musical I’ve seen, In the Heights incorporates the music of “the streets.” Hip-hop and rap were featured prominently, along with musical arrangements in the tradition of salsa, mambo, meringue, habanera, mariachi, and many other Latin styles, which successfully accentuate and compliment the culture and heritage of the characters’ Latino community (This is an interesting fusion piece. 6. “Doin’ Time (Marshall Arts Remix)” – Sublime feat. Pharcyde). This also gave the musical its unique identity, setting it apart from everything else one may
have seen. Whereas West-Side Story pioneered a similar type of musical appropriation, In the Heights takes it to the next level. Indeed, perhaps most interesting is the show’s use of the newer genres, such as rap and hip-hop, which are so prevalent in today’s culture. Obviously, the lyrics are safer and the beats are “watered-down” but this actually works to the show’s advantage. Plot points, witticisms, slam-rhymes, emotional confessions – the rap and hip hop template opened doors to a novel way of telling the story. This also enforces the sense of an urban environment without unnecessarily engaging in some of the musical genre’s more negative aspects (whores, drugs, violence, etc.) – subject matter the show only wants to hint at (graffiti, the Black out, clubbing). Mr. Miranda makes it clear that the gang and thug mentality that rap music has often touted is most certainly not the answer in tough times (It might be the answer when you hear this though. 7. “Black Mags” – The Cool Kids). In fact, he uses rap to tell a different story. The message of In the Heights and its music is uplifting. A nihilist might complain that rap and hip hop, genres of the gritty street, weren’t meant to serve such a message, especially in such a sunshiny way, but all I can tell you is that it works.The set is incredible. It all takes place on an intersection in Washington Heights, where people can look out of their apartment windows and see the action below. The community is the protagonist, and the urban set-design highlights this point. All sorts of characters are present, each representing certain Latino archetypes – the street vendor, the hairstylists, the taxi-operators (Yes, more Latin music. 8. “Tamacun” – Rodrigo y Gabriela). These roles are set up to make fun of their own stereotypical qualities but to also reveal deeper stories for each. The street vendor thrives during the
Black Out, but he craves friendship; the hairstylists have to move away from their gossip-haven to Brooklyn for financial reasons, but they feel like they are abandoning family; the taxi-operation is a family business, the profit of which goes to their daughter’s college fund – the college she has just dropped out of. While many of the plot elements focus on money issues, definitely central to a poorer neighborhood, laments of each character and their emotive qualities come from that person’s relationship to the community. The communal relationships are powerful themes that fuel a lot of the momentum of the musical. Every character’s unique personal story is part of the community’s aesthetic, and everyone is involved.The narrative is different, but so is the choreography (Dancing? Dancing. Evil dancing. 9. “Satan Said Dance” – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). I’m no expert on dance, but second row seats can reveal how incredible the movement on stage really is. A fantastically urban set and the subsequent innovative ways to navigate it resulted in a visually spectacular performance. All the space was used with an incredible amount of energy. Moreover, the choreography was Latino as well, drawing inspiration from various Caribbean dances and even urban traditions. This only helps to show how the different cultures might be disparate in origin yet are united in the “hood”: the dancing is cohesive yet individualistic per character. David actually pointed out that in this case, dancing was an operational tool to advance the story. Beyond reflecting the emotion of the characters, their artistic interaction with the space often told a story of their own.
The various nuanced way these different aspects of the show have been approached mirrors the complexity of the characters’ identity within the community (Time for some beautiful Spanish music. 10. “Antillas” – El Guincho).
Certainly, identity is a central theme for In the Heights and it explores this theme beautifully. However, there were some weaker points in the show. Especially in contrast to the fantastic younger characters like Sonny (Ron De Jesús), the older cast seemed to be lacking something. Abuela Claudia, played by Olga Merediz, while central to the show’s message, is a disappointing role. The character is one-dimensional and often cloyingly preachy or melodramatically burdened. Kevin (Carlos Gomez) and Camila (Priscilla Lopez), the parents in the show, were also somewhat flat. Carlos Gomez had trouble with his solo number, unable to hit some of the higher notes, and their characters seemed unbelievably stubborn, which elicited a fair amount of disinterest in their storylines. Finally, the “Hand of God” facet of the show was a tad frustrating. Much of the story’s advancement came from things outside of the characters’ control. For instance, the Black Out, which helped unite the community, seemed like a lucky change of events. SPOILER: The death of Abuela Claudia is the reason Usnavi stays, and before her death she had actually won the lottery. If one were to think too analytically, this seems to suggest a degree of fate to the show, since a lot of the action is out of the hands of the main players, which minimizes some of the character-struggles.Despite its very few flaws, I was blown away by In the Heights (Let’s conclude with something kind of Latin. 11. “Qué Onda Guero” – Beck). At the end of the night, it was a fun first show, with a great songbook, and a remarkable story – both within the show itself and about the show’s journey to Broadway. This first taste of NY set the standard for my trip, and I was no longer nervous, but excited. After discussing the show with David, I called it a night, ready to wake up and see more.
1. “White Winter Hymnal” – Fleet Foxes
2. “Stress” – Justice
3. “Chromakey Dreamcoat” – Boards of Canada
4. “Chinese Translation” – M. Ward
5. “Oye Como Va” – Tito Puente feat. Santana
6. “Doin’ Time (Marshall Arts Remix)” – Sublime feat. Pharcyde
7. “Black Mags” – The Cool Kids
8. “Tamacun” – Rodrigo y Gabriela
9. “Satan Said Dance” – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
10. “Antillas” – El Guincho
11. “Qué Onda Guero” – Beck
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