'In The Heights' at WAMS - My Review

I had wanted to see In The Heights since I saw a bit of it on the Tony Awards. My wish came true last night at the opening night performance of the Waterbury Arts Magnet School's production on the massive stage at their next door neighbor, the Palace Theater. I now have a new entry on my list of favorite musicals ever.

WAMS Principal/Producer Leo Lavallee welcomed family, friends and students to the performance in the lobby before the show began. My freshman and I had complimentary press tickets; general seating allowed us to choose seats close to the stage behind one of the students videotaping the show for the school. In the program, Mr. Lavallee thanks his faculty team "for their unbridled dedication to making this production an overwhelming success." He also describes the show as an "authentic and exhilarating journey into Manhattan's most vibrant communities..with its universal themes of family, community and self discovery, it can be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds."

I thought that the show took the best parts of West Side Story and updated it to the present. The music is varied and well-written and the story is touching and funny, but at its heart it is a joyous celebration of Latino culture. There is a liberal mixing of Spanish in the lines and the lyrics, and the actors made a valid attempt at accented English. Most of the Spanish was translated to help everyone understand.

Theatre department faculty member Bruce Post directed the show. He writes that he applied for the amateur rights to do the show as soon as it was made available. He knew that it would not be an easy show to perform. Its "a great show, perhaps one of the greatest, and it fits perfectly with our diverse population [at WAMS.]" The students rehearsed for 13 weeks and lost a week due to the blizzard, and they worked very hard to make this amazing musical theatre experience. It definitely shows in the finished product.

The set was simple and featured four stoops to suggest a city street. The background was a screen where carefully chosen artwork done by WAMS students and faculty was projected to enhance the scenes. The 26 contributing visual artist were credited in the program. The artwork was varied and specific to the action; it was very effective. The costumes designed by Adriana Copeland (class of 2013) were colorful and beautifully executed. The musical director was John Mobilio and he conducted the smallish group of adult musicians in the pit that sounded excellent.

And the cast....well, the students at WAMS always impress me with their talent. This time they brought it to a new plateau. The dance numbers, choreographed by Janely Betances, Brittany Biolo and Josh Rodriguez, were outstanding not just for a high school production, but for any show. There were many high energy numbers that featured the entire cast, but there was a credited hip hop dancer chorus, a Latin dance chorus, and three dance captains. Not to mention many talented young men that were impressive dancers. They truly added to each and every production number.

As Grafitti Pete, junior Andy Tapia did a great job, while junior Alexa Campagna demonstrated her moves and her outstanding voice as the cheeky Puragua Gal. Senior Melissa Plaza was a stunner as the ingenue-ish Vanessa and junior Chad Taylor displayed considerable charm as Benny. Sophomore Wilmer Gomez was very good as Sonny.

MacKenzie Huneka nailed the juicy role of beauty show owner Daniela; she was matched only by her sidekick Carla, played by senior Bethany Russo. Their scenes were especially memorable for me. Senior Gabrielle Fernandes played the lead role of Nina with a lovely voice and beautiful acting. Her father was played by junior (only in grade level) Bailey Cummings, who appeared and acted well beyond his years and displayed his amazing tenor voice. His wife Camila was very well played by understudy Alizae Powell on opening night.

As Abuela (Grandma,) junior Danielle Orlando gave an impressive performance that belied her age. She was a pleasure to watch in this key role. Junior Zach Carter proved once again that he is fearless onstage. Perfectly cast as Usnavi, he sang, danced, spoke Spanish and owned the stage in this wonderful lead role. He was amazing as always.

Kudos to each and every student involved onstage and behind the scenes of this terrific production, as well as the faculty and staff at WAMS who made it happen. This is an affordable way to see a "new" hit musical.

In The Heights continues at the Palace Theater on Sat. April 6 at 7:00pm and on Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students at the door.  Vamos!

Upcoming Performances at WAMS

The Fantastics May 3 and 4 at 7:00pm

Earth Day Concert May 9 at 7:00pm

Choral Concert May 16 at 7:00pm

Band/Orchestra Concert May 21 at 7:00

Dance Concert May 23 at 7:00pm

Madd Solos May 28 at 7:00pm

Into The Woods November 8, 9 and 10 (yeah!)