In the Heights a moving portrait of moving…and coming home

Theater review

by Ruth Isenberg

In the Heights is about movement and about moving. The annual musical performance at the PA Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University is always popular, always fun, and always a showcase for talented singers and dancers. In the Heights checks all those boxes, with energetic dancers at the top of the list.

Co-written by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes, In the Heights is set over a Fourth of July weekend in New York’s Washington Heights. The plot isn’t the point, exactly. Every character is an immigrant, or the son or daughter of an immigrant, and every character faces challenges and opportunities in the vibrant city neighborhood that is their home.

The cast is multi-ethnic, reflecting the makeup of the part of Queens they portray. At first glimpse the set feels stark, but grows more complex as the action unfolds, and reflects the colorful mix of people.

Usnavi, played by Ryan Reyes, is the center that holds the show together. His corner bodega is a hub for the community, and the center of the action. Reyes is an alumnus of the DeSales University theatre program and PSF’s Young Company, and says it is a role he relates to, “not only with my Boricua roots, but also growing up knowing the struggles of running a business alongside my parents and siblings.”

Danny Bolero plays the other main male role, taxi company co-owner Kevin Rosario. Bolero has a long history with the show, having played the replacement role of Kevin Rosario in the original Broadway production and originating the role in the 1st National Tour. “It’s very seldom that there’s a musical that speaks to Latinos,” Bolero says. “My parents, who were Mexican, came here with very little education, my dad worked three jobs, and together my parents worked to get us a house and put us through private school. It’s that same immigrant story that’s in the show. I had to be a part of it.”

The whole cast is outstanding, with special mention of a few of the female roles Ariana Valdes