Review: IN THE HEIGHTS Bursts with Contagious Energy

Cebu, Philippines--Despite technical challenges, the cast and crew recently pulled through the Cebu premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical “In The Heights” at the Saint Theresa’s College of Cebu Auditorium.

The vibrant culture and everyday life of the Latinx community in New York City shone brightly in this maiden production of Golden Sun Performing Arts Center (GSPAC). The two-hour hip-hop musical, a precursor to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s more popular “Hamilton,” burst with infectious energy from its all-Asian actors--cast against type--and eight-piece band conducted by Magno Aquino.

Winner of four Tony Awards, including Best Musical (2008), “In the Heights” follows three days in the lives of Latinx immigrants in the northern part of Manhattan. In the delightful mix are Usnavi de la Vega (Stephen John Ramirez), who owns a local bodega and dreams of settling in the Dominican Republic; Vanessa (Gail Noel), a budding fashion designer who plans to move to downtown; Nina Rosario (Sushmita Figues), Kevin (Jan Michael Lao) and Camilla’s (Eula Dawa) sole daughter who’s having a tough time adjusting to college life at Stanford; and Benny (Grant Bacaltos), a taxi dispatcher and Nina’s love interest.

The others in this tightly-bonded community, who care for occasional gossip and are obsessed with winning the lottery, are Carla (Caith Aniñon) and Daniella (Rae Basiga), hairstylists at a local salon; Sonny de la Vega (Joaquin Codilla), Usnavi’s disjointed teenage cousin, who works part-time at the bodega; and Abuela Claudia (Doris Nelsa Banaynal), a Cuban immigrant who is the neighborhood’s revered grande dame.

Notably, the cast comprised GSPAC alums of its summer workshops covering voice, dance, acting, and theater production modules.  Many of them were also making their community theater debuts.

At the salon: Gail Noel, Rae Basiga, Sushmita Figues, and Caith Aninon

However, the venue’s poor acoustics made it difficult for the audience to immerse themselves entirely in the stories unfolding on stage.  Bacaltos’s lapel even conked out in the middle of a performance; he had no choice but to switch using a handheld microphone, which was too obtrusive.

Though the cast’s energy and dancing were contagious, and the commitment to telling these immigrant stories was palpable, the actors playing Usnavi, Nina, Vanessa, and Sonny quickly stood out.  Ramirez had the swag moves, but his stage charisma, singing, and rapping made his performance unmissable. His Usnavi exuded genuine warmth and was very much relatable. Figues, on the other hand, embodied the pride of her community, who had to reconcile her dreams of graduating from the university and her family’s economic realities. She sang “Breathe” with conflicted emotions, circumscribing self-identity and unmet expectations. [An interior design student, Figues, also designed the functional sets, i.e., like life-sized drawers, the bodega’s store shelves, and the salon’s mirrors and chairs, were slid downstage to highlight some scenes.]

What made Noel’s Vanessa distinctively her own was her touch of quirkiness in the character.  With pastel pink-dyed real hair and tattoos all over her body, Noel made a bold and fun choice. She sang her songs with utmost commitment, too. Lastly, Codilla played Sonny as authentic as possible—being a teen at an awkward age himself. His Sonny was like the “Energizer Bunny,” whose stage energy was non-stop. His good command of the English language came in handsome, too.

Others in the youthful cast were Revan Sinadjan (Piragua Guy), Ghyllianne Caballes (Graffiti Pete) [This guy can move!], Priya Lauron (Nina understudy/ensemble), Vera Malasomma (Carla understudy/ensemble), Cassandra Vince Macatangay (Ensemble), Jasmine Jaca (Ensemble), Kiara Pepito (Ensemble), John Creer (Ensemble), Rhayne Pada (Ensemble), Felix Gochan (Ensemble), Leah Gabatanga (Ensemble), and Nheil Euan (Ensemble).

The Company

Also part of its creative team were Dhancel Faye Andaya, Arianna Reyes, and Janil Abadilla (costume/hair and makeup); Francis Casing (lighting design), MJ Zuniega (sound design), Alfie Mosqueda (choreography), and Edward Invento (voice/choir direction).

Guam-based Miren Sofia Jordana, along with Everild Catugal, directed this production. Jordana had a clear sense of the Latinx culture as written.  Although hers was an all-Asian production, her explicit agenda to celebrate the uniqueness and diversity of this close-knit ethnic group was apparent.

Also, props to the show’s producers, GSPAC, for hiring a live eight-piece band, even though the production only ran for a few performances. Miranda’s music, similar to his “Hamilton,” marries various music genres: hip-hop, salsa, and pop ballads.  Having live band players allowed occasional shifts in tempo, dynamics [loudness or softness], and flexibility, which ably aided the Cebuano actors, especially the leads, in their characters’ relatable portrayals.

By curtain call, the cast and the band members received rapturous applause from the audience; many even stayed for photo-ops, indicating that the production resonated with theatergoers despite its technical mishaps. 

Regional theater productions in Cebu have been thriving, and they’re not merely copycats of what has been running in the Philippines’ capital, Manila. Our New Year’s wish is for these productions to be staged in alternative, well-equipped venues, ideally enhancing theater-going's communal and immersive experience.

Photos: Carl Joshua Cabasisi

To post a comment, you must register and login.