1st National Tour of IN THE HEIGHTS Continues Score-Driven Charm

IN THE HEIGHTS' 1st National Tour arrived in Phoenix Tuesday night with all its strengths intact. The delightful production manages to reach must-see status despite a few flaws.

IN THE HEIGHTS electrified New York when it opened off-Broadway in 2007. It presented another step in musical theater evolution, perhaps the best attempt yet to feature current pop music. Credit Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show's composer, conceiver, and original star. His innovative score somehow fuses Latin hip-hop, rap, Salsa, Meringue, and other styles without leaving behind a Broadway sound and feel. Its appeal to both regular theater attendees and first-timers is unprecedented. Miranda puts it best, "People who don't like musicals and people who don't like hip-hop come into the show with their arms crossed. But they leave with their heads bobbing." IN THE HEIGHTS transferred to Broadway in early 2008 and received 13 Tony nominations with wins for Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Choreography.

Yet, as the shock of Miranda's breakthrough style fades, it is clear how much his marvelously tuneful score carries the load for a limited book populated by characters we've seen before. There's the smart, but discouraged young female lead (Nina) rescued by the charming, ambitious dreamer (Benny.) Daniela, the neighborhood gossip, is a equal parts Yente (Fiddler on the Roof) and Anita (West Side Story,) while narrator Usnavi combines Fiddler's Tevye, Evita's Che and Mark from Rent. Even a small character like Piragua Guy brings to mind Rent's Squeege Man.

More familiar are the numbers themselves. The opening montage blends Fiddler's "Tradition" with the title song from Rent. The Sassy one-liners of "No Me Diga" quickly call to mind West Side Story's "America," and Nina's "Breathe" could be from anything by Jason Robert Brown. "Breathe" serves another purpose. The 11:00 power ballad is moved to 8:15 making sure audience members know they haven't accidentally slipped into a Marc Anthony concert. These nods to current and past Broadway standards become a game of figuring out what each new number draws inspiration from. Eye-rolling at first, then compelling. When a city-wide power outage blacks out the stage and twenty cell phones open to provide the only illumination, the reference to Bob Fosse's opening moments of Pippin is so clear that it can't be unintended. No longer is the familiarity eye-rolling, but a Latin valentine to musical theater tent poles.

Perhaps, the strict adherence to a Broadway format is the key to the show's success. Miranda's music moves from great to exceptional because he makes it all fit within a fixed genre. Good Latin hip-hop, rap, etc. can be found on the radio. Miranda's achievement is to bring that sound to the theater without losing (much) of its street cred.

Add stellar performances and choreography and suddenly IN THE HEIGHTS is a solid treat. Genny Lis Padilla's belt threatens to knock the back wall off the auditorium and Rogelio Douglas Jr.'s charming Benny is like Ben Vereen playing Pierpont Finch (How to Succeed...) However, the star of this show is and always will be Usnavi. Originated by Mr. Miranda, it is an athletic role to say the least and any performer that can make it through the evening is worthy of praise. At the Tempe opening, Kyle Beltran delivered the goods. But some audiences will receive the bonus of seeing Mr. Miranda himself return to his acclaimed star vehicle. Before this week, he had not performed the show for 18 months. His unannounced participation in the Tempe run is likely a "pick-up rehearsal" for Miranda. He takes over Usnavi full-time on the tour's next stop, a lengthy run in Los Angeles.