En Washington Heights!

I have been waiting a long time to do this review..... A few months ago, I planned a weekend away with my fiance Tom, and it actually happened last weekend! I kept everything a secret from him, and he had no idea about what was going on.. And it played out perfectly (other there were fun and games getting there...). We went to see not just 1 but 2 shows - and they couldn't be more different. The second one was Les Mis (click to find out more), but I want to talk about our first-night one, which was the West End premiere of Lin Manuel's Miranda's In The Heights - the show that brought Miranda to our world, way before Hamilton did, about a a Latino community surviving in Washington Heights, a New York barrio!

The original Broadway production in 2008 gave Miranda 4 Tonys and a Grammy, while this particular production at the Kings Cross Theatre won 3 Oliviers this year, having played at the Southwark Playhouse in 2014. 

The Kings Cross Theatre foyer -
completely different to what I'm used to......

Now, after heading underground, entering the foyer (I have to mention now that the Kings Cross itself is unlike any other theatre I have been to) and buying my programme, I realised that over half of the principals were being played by understudies that night! That immediately made it interesting as I have never seen so many on at just 1 performance - and holy crap they were so good! It's funny, as there has been a lot of talk recently of understudies surprising audiences (eg: with Ria Jones in Sunset Boulevard and Natasha Barnes in Funny Girl). 

Going into specific performances themselves, I have to mention Gabriela Garcia (u/s) as Nina and Christine Allado as Vanessa, who both have gorgeous tones, and soared in their versions of Breathe and It Won't Be Long Now, and Josie Benson packed one powerful punch of her performance of Enough as Nina's mother Camila. Other highlights included Jocasta Almgill (u/s), who was hilarious as the gossiping salon owner Daniela (particularly during what ended up being Tom's favourite number, No Me Diga), and Clive September (u/s - though he normally plays the Sonny) as an adorable Usnavi (the local shop owner, and narrator of the story). 

Fitting in with Miranda's electric score (a mix of hip-hop, Latin American beats and standard MT), Drew McOnie's Olivier-award winning choreography was the perfect match, a mix of both classical and street dance, which, like Miranda's genius tunes is totally unique - after seeing him doing this after an electric Dream Ballet in Oklahoma (click here), no wonder he's wanted here, there and everywhere at the moment...! Another small note to mention is the lighting, particularly during the Blackout scene (won't say more than that I'm afraid mwa ha ha!!). 

If you fancy something a little different than the standard musical theatre, than In The Heights could be for you - it's bright, colourful, electric and heartwarming - but you haven't got masses of time, as it closes in October this year!