PicksInSix Review: In The Heights - Marriott Theatre

Marriott’s ‘Heights” Bursts With Celebratory Spirit!

PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Usnavi has a dream to escape, like everyone on his block in Washington Heights. And those few hot days in July play out in what is sure to be a blockbuster revival of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In The Heights” that looks and sounds as fresh and vibrant as ever at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire. The strong sense of family unfolds in a neighborhood teeming with a celebratory spirit that is so inherently baked into this show it erupts again and again with uncontrollable passion and hopeful promise. Look no further than the rousing Act II “Carnaval del Barrio” which prompted a thunderous ovation and the waving of flags in the audience. Not the usual Wednesday opening night in Lincolnshire to be sure.

It is hard to believe that Miranda created what would become “In The Heights” twenty-five years ago when he was a sophomore in college. With thirteen 2008 Tony Award nominations and four wins including Best Musical and Best Musical Score, there was no doubt that Broadway had welcomed a new force of nature—a playwright, composer, lyrist and performer whose talents speak for and to generations of performers of Latino decent—and just about everyone else on the planet, as well.

And that other revelatory musical by Miranda “Hamilton” would arrive little more than seven years later.

Director James Vásquez has hit the mark and assembled an astounding cast around the gifted Joseph Morales as Usnavi, who essayed the role on the first Broadway national tour. Conceived by Miranda with a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes, Usnavi runs a bodega with his cousin Sonny (Jordan Arredondo) who is prodding Usnavi to take the next step with Vanessa (Paola V. Hernández). When Vanessa’s best friend Nina (Addie Morales) returns home and announces to her parents Camila (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel) and Kevin (Rudy Martinez) that she lost her Stamford scholarship, Kevin makes the decision to sell the family business to fund her education. All that does not sit well with Nina or her mother and turns into a standoff with longtime employee Benny (Yasir Muhammad), who is Black and in love with Nina. Everyone in the neighborhood knows the score, too, as the delightful gadabout Daniela (Lillian Castillo) who runs the salon with Carla (Michelle Lauto), along with Sonny, begin to stir the pot to get everyone together.

“In The Heights” now playing at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire through March 17, 2024.

Abuela Claudia (Crissy Guerro), a kindred spirit to Usnavi and everyone in the neighborhood, has a windfall that just might bring financial security to those around her. It’s an emotional roller coaster ride when the power goes out during the July 4th celebration and everyone “In The Heights” realizes that the most important thing in life is being there for each other. You will find yourself deliriously swept away by the music, directed by Ryan T. Nelson and conducted by Noah Landis, and the nonstop exuberance of William Carlo Angulo’s choreography, of which one patron of a certain age said to me on the way out, “I wish I could bottle up that energy and take it home!”

I could not agree more.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire
presents
In The Heights
through March 17, 2024

WEBSITE

TICKETS

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PicksInSix Review: Damn Yankees - Marriott Theatre

A DEVIL OF A GOOD TIME!
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Looking to fill your breezy summer evening with the crack of the bat and a stadium-size offering of blockbuster musical numbers mixed with an offer of immortality? All these merge in “Damn Yankees,” the 1955 award-winning hit with book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, lyrics and music by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, choreography by Bob Fosse and starring Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon. “Damn Yankees” received seven Tony Awards, spawned a hit film, and is playing now in a robust and rollicking revival at Marriott Theatre that’s a devil of a good time!

The musical, based on Wallop’s “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant,” holds up well nearly 70 years later even with a cluster of eye rollers in the script that require a special comic touch these days. But all is forgiven when this time capsule begins delivering a string of socko company numbers like “Heart,” “Shoeless Joe from Hannibul, MO,” “Who’s Got the Pain,” and “The Game” in showstopping style. And that’s exactly what happened—twice—at Wednesday’s opening performance with the top-flight talent assembled by director James Vásquez and Tyler Hanes’s Fosse-infused choreography.

Vásquez has stacked the lineup for laughs, too, with Sean Fortunato in a wickedly sardonic performance as the devious devil Mr. Applegate who grants the wish of Joe Boyd (Ron E. Rains) for the Washington Senators to win the pennant. With a slight of hand, a whiff of smoke and a change of name, Applegate creates Joe Hardy (Andrew Alstat) whose youth, power and abilities will pick the hapless Senators out of the cellar and into the World Series for the small price of Joe’s eternal damnation. As the team rises in the standings, the story clings to some detective work by ace reporter Gloria Thorpe (Erica Stephan) whose curiosity threatens to expose Joe before he can finish the job and lead the team to victory.

It doesn’t take long for Joe to realize that he’d rather be home with his wife Meg (Daniella Dalli) than face Applegate’s mounting pressure to stay within the baselines. As Joe begins to waver, Applegate enlists the services of Lola (Michelle Aravena), an irresistible temptress, to woo Joe back on his team. But even Lola’s sexy and sultry advances fail and Lola instead conspires to help unravel Applegate’s plan. As the clock ticks down, things start to heat up in Joe’s world.

In addition to the many memorable individual highlights in the show—Aravena’s playful, coy “A Little Brains, A Little Talent” and the steamy “Whatever Lola Wants” are truly topflight and Fortunato knocks “Those Were the Good Old Days” out of the park—the ensemble’s work throughout, and especially in “Two Lost Souls,” a dark, smoky ode to Fosse that virtually oozes up from the underworld, is phenomenal.   

In a cast of venerable Chicago talent, Lorenzo Rush Jr. stands out as the Senators coach Van Buren who leads the ensemble in “Heart” and plays some solid work with Jonah D. Winston and Michael Kingston. Erica Stephan steps up front and center for the crowd-pleaser “Shoeless Joe” that includes the amazing jump rope talents of Ben Broughton. Heidi Kettenring and Lydia Burke team up on the sidelines as kooky, adoring Senators fans, spreading gaiety and a little fog around on Regina Garcia’s sharp and versatile set. With Jesse Klug’s surreal lighting effects, Michael Daly’s subterrain sound and truly gorgeous 50s era costumes by Teresa Hams, the stage is awash in vibrant color to match the music directing talents of Ryan T. Nelson and Noah Landis’ orchestra, and to make Marriott’s “Damn Yankees” the show to see in Chicago.  

PHOTO|Liz Lauren

MARRIOTT THEATRE LINCOLNSHIRE
presents
DAMN YANKEES
through June 4, 2023

WEBSITE

TICKETS

(847) 634-0200

HEALTH PROTOCALS

For more reviews, visit: Theatre In Chicago

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PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC