Sensational ‘Heights’ sizzles in Chicago return

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"In the Heights" runs through Jan. 15 at the Oriental Theatre.

Updated: February 13, 2012 8:24AM

“In the Heights,” the musical about two life-altering summer days among a group of friends and neighbors in a mostly Latino neighborhood in uptown Manhattan, put actor-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Broadway map when he was still in his 20s, earning him 2008 Tony Awards for both best musical and score.

This was no fluke. His show is a terrific, heartfelt, hip-hop-meets-Broadway, street corner homage to the immigrant dream, with all its successes and disappointments, its confused feelings about being both home and away, and its sense of political and financial powerlessness. And in many ways it feels more relevant in the current social and economic climate than it did when it first opened.

Miranda has hardly been resting on his laurels either. He is among the collaborators on the new show, “Bring It On: The Musical,” the story about competitive cheerleading that will play here March 6-25 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. He has created “The Hamilton Mixtape,” a hip-hop song cycle about Alexander Hamilton. And he is working on a musical adaptation of the Chaim Potok novel “My Name is Asher Lev.”

Meanwhile, “In the Heights” has returned to Chicago, making a brief national touring stop at the Oriental Theatre. And the production, staged by resident director/choreographer Michael Balderrama (after the Thomas Kail/Andy Blanenbuehler original) just happens to be sensational ­­— every bit as good as the Broadway edition, and a vast improvement over the show’s first tour here. (As with a good number of Broadway in Chicago shows these days it features a non-Equity cast, but in this case that only means that while the exceptionally talented actors don’t get union wages, the audience still pays Equity-level ticket prices.)

This fact aside, you could not ask for a finer show. “In the Heights” is the work of a young, immensely gifted artist, and Miranda’s bristling score is expertly anchored by Quiara Alegria Hudes’ book and Anna Louizos’ evocative storefront and tenement set that sits in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge. The mostly young performers here are of the ideal age and temperament to bring this story to life with all the humor, pathos and energy it demands.

The musical unfolds over the course of a steamy July 3rd and 4th in the barrio. Holding down the corner bodega is the Dominican-American Usnavi (Perry Young, notable for his excellent diction and easily natural acting), whose parents died young, leaving him and his high-spirited, verbally astute cousin, Sonny (an irresistible Robert Ramirez), under the watchful gaze of the elderly Abuela Claudia (a soulful, clarion-voiced Christina Aranda).

Usnavi is restless, broke despite his hard work and a little stuck. He’s also hot for the local beauty, Vanessa (a fiery, leggy, strong-voiced Presilah Nunez), who is determined to “leave home” and head downtown to a more upwardly mobile part of the city where, as she quips, the brick walls of her dream apartment are exposed “on purpose.”

Meanwhile, Usnavi’s neighbors, the Rosarios, are also facing big problems. Kevin (Benjamin Perez) and Camila (Celina Clarich Polanco), are leveraged up to the edge on their car and limo service because all their money has gone to paying the Stanford University tuition of their high-achieving daughter, Nina (Virginia Cavaliere’s beautiful voice and easy manner are most appealing). But the pressures on Nina were so great that she has lost her scholarship, and breaking that news to her parents is traumatic. Her dad also is unhappy when she starts getting romantic with his taxi dispatcher, Benny (Kyle Carter, who brings a beautiful voice to his fervent performance), the black guy she has known since school days.

Serving as the comic relief chorus here are the sex-and-gossip-fueled ladies of the hair salon, played with grand exuberance and big curves by Tauren Hagans and Katherine Brady. Miranda even gives the fellow with an ice cart (zestily played by Gabriel Gonzalez) his moment in the spotlight, along with the local artist, Graffiti Pete (Roddy Kennedy).

The musical has one great dance-filled number after another, with smatterings of Spanglish throughout the lyrics, and a unique use of dance as a language all its own. The show’s poignant scenes are fierce but never sentimental, while the extravagant dreams of a winning lottery ticket explode in “$96,000.” The stage is awash with joy in “Carnaval del Barrio,” and “The Club” creates real fireworks. It’s laughter and tears all the way home in “In the Heights.”