Review: In the Heights

Selwyn Theatre, 203-245 Kohimarama Road, Auckland

Final performances: Saturday 28 March, 2pm & 7.30pm

A modern musical set in the largely Dominican-American neighbourhood of Washington Heights in New York, In the Heights is a sentimental yet gritty snapshot of the ties that bind and the tensions that threaten to break them in a close-knit, marginalised community.

With music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes, the show ran to great acclaim on Broadway from 2008-2011, winning four Tonys – including Best Musical – in the process.

Now In the Heights is receiving its New Zealand premiere for an all-too-short run that ends this Saturday.

The show gives the often moribund genre of musical theatre a much needed kick in the arse, with a blend of traditional Latin rhythms and hip hop and a plot that combines universal themes with more contemporary concerns.

The production itself – by staff and pupils of Selwyn College – is a truly remarkable achievement.

The elaborate set – an amazingly detailed and realistic recreation of a city block that was designed by director/producer Duncan Allan and built by Kevin Worth – is a wonder to behold.

The evident ambition of that construction is matched by the number of performers involved.

Wrangling a cast of 50 and a 14-strong band must have been a logistical nightmare but Mr Allan, choreographer Kim Santarelli, musical director Rachel Larcombe and vocal director Josh Clark have surmounted the challenge with aplomb, creating a persuasive sense of a neighbourhood that’s bursting with life.

Although occasionally the gusto with which the band plays threatens to drown out the vocals, the musical numbers are extremely accomplished, with impressive performances from musicians, chorus and lead singers.

The members of the dance chorus, meanwhile, tackle their eclectic routines with panache, delivering a jolt of energy whenever they appear.

And the 12 performers in lead roles are uniformly strong.

Morgan Dalton-Mill, Jodeci Flesher, Francesca Flores-Lim, Elijah Forsyth, Emily Griffiths, Rovertimus Llanes, Anthony Minarapa, Ellen Reid, Komal Singh, Finn Tarrant, Shanti Truong-George and Dylan Van Lier prove adept at essaying comedy and pathos and – while generous to their fellow actors – don’t miss the opportunity to seize their individual moments when they arrive.

Although these core ensemble members all exhibit great charm, technique and presence, Mr Tarrant deserves special mention by dint of his role as narrator requiring him to keep proceedings rolling. He does so with a lanky, loose-limbed grace and, when he gets his flow on during his hip hop numbers, his enthusiasm is irresistible.