'In the Heights' by GetUp Stage Company - My Review

The nonprofit GetUp Stage Company (GUSCO) offers a summer intensive program ends with the production in August. Last year I enjoyed their version of Legally Blonde at Bristol Central High School. This year the venue was changed to a church in New Britain, Trinity-on-Main and the show was In The Heights. The teenaged cast was directed by Lindsey Chute-Dipietro with musical direction by AJ Bunel.

This old church in the heart of New Britain has a lovely little theater space off a large lobby and the cast made good use of the relatively small stage. The set designed by Lea McCabe and Chas McDermott invoked the inner city of Washington Heights, complete with the bodega and the tags of Graffiti Pete. The band, under the direction of Mr. Bunel, sat off to the side of the stage behind a curtain. With the conductor on keyboard, TJ Thompson on keyboard, Meric Martin on guitar along with six other talented musicians, this group sounded fantastico.

The director expressed her gratitude to the large audience that came out to support the young people involved in the production and apologized for the $20 ticket price. I had purchased my tickets (your program actually served as your ticket) from Doreen Gatti-Lopez, who often appears onstage at various productions in the area. Both of her daughters are members of this talented cast; more about them to come. Joining the opening night audience were Naugatuck Teen Theatre vets MacKenzie Huneke (Daniella in WAMS' In the Heights) and Jason Begin.

In the Heights is a great show with a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes and a fine collection of musical numbers by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It is a perfect choice for a teen cast, since only three parts are adults. Some may complain that the rapping gets tedious after a while, and I did in fact miss some of large chunks of the lyrics, but for the most part the sound by Thunder and Lightening Productions was well-executed. Breanna Riollano (the actress who played Whitney last year in Legally Blonde and was excellent here in one of those adult roles as Camila) designed the lighting and pulled off an impressive display of fireworks. The director and Jasmine Clemons worked together on the joyous choreography and the dancers pulled it off. I would guess that they wished, as I did, for a few more male dancers to add to the production numbers.

I was extremely impressed with the level of talent of these kids, and especially the young ladies in the leading roles. Nicole Lopez was a believable Abuela Claudia, grandmother to the barrio. She displayed a wonderful singing voice and fine acting ability. Her real-life sister Alana Lopez was outstanding in the important role of Nina, the bright Stanford student who returns home with a secret. This young actress had a wonderful stage presence and another wonderful voice.

Nina's friends from the hair salon were played by Shelma Morales (as Daniella) and Chastity Halloway (as Carla) and they both were priceless. Tori Russo played the Piraguera, the vendor of the same Piragua that was on sale in the lobby during intermission. In the role of Vanessa, Rhianna Schab used her amazing voice to perfection.

The young men in the important roles were very good. Zach Cote used spray cans onstage as Graffiti Pete and gave a fine performance. Nina's devoted father Kevin was well-played by Jordan Ward. Joshua Morin played the role of Usnavi's sidekick Sonny and Mike Garcia was endearing as Nina's love interest Benny. Steffon Sampson was able to shine in the challenging leading role of Usnavi.

The multi-ethnic cast probably did not all speak Spanish and did a good job with the Spanish lines and lyrics. The ensemble contained many fine dancers, including Watertown's Kristen Vanderlyn. They all did a great job backing up the principal actors.

These teens worked hard this summer to put together this enjoyable musical. Kudos to all of them and the adults who work with them on a job well done.