In the Heights

Odd that there hasn't been an official announcement, didn't Nathan Amzi get one when he returned briefly?

In other news Eve Polycarpou has tweeted that she's leaving on the 10th April too.

New Abuela starts on the 10th, new Graffiti Pete on the 15th. They've added it to the cast list now.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to the barrio on Saturday evening for what was very close to being a sold out performance.

Sometimes approaching a show with as much anticipation as I had for In The Heights can lead to a sense of disappointment but that wasn’t the case here. In The Heights didn’t just live up to my expectations, it blew them out of the water!

What a joyful assault on the senses this is. The Olivier awards for choreography and music are thoroughly deserved but the success and vibrancy of this show also lies in the energy and talent of the cast. That certainly came across loud and clear in 96,000 on TV last night.

While it’s perhaps as a whole, immersive experience where the real triumph of In The Heights lies, there’s no doubting that there’s plenty of powerhouse vocals and terrific individual performances to enjoy. Lily Fraser, Joe Aaron Reid, Christine Allado and Norma Atallah all shine but Philippa Stefani as Daniella stood out the most for me, stealing every scene in which she appears.

There’s only a handful of shows I tend to see more than once, however I will definitely be paying a return visit to In The Heights. I saw The Railway Children the previous day and could happily sit through that again too so maybe a double header at the Kings Cross Theatre is in order. Fair play to the backstage crew who enable the transition between the two shows several times a week.

If In The Heights is representative of a fresh new direction for musical theatre, then bring it on!

On the ITV highlight their performance is at about 48 mins.

Shame they cut the song down for time, if only they could have done a medley like the US cast did for the Tonys of In The Heights and 96000!

I don't think matinees do very well for them in general....when I went it was only half full, if even that to be honest. But then i've heard of close to full houses for some evening performances.

Spoke too soon... David isn't on today.

I saw the current Piragua Guy (Vas somebody) play it once.

Today Vas is on as Kevin!

Ok interval thoughts, I am stunned by just how good it is! It is easy to see they deserved both the choreography and music awards last night... but the David role definitely is not worthy of a win unless he does something amazing in Act 2. Sam deserved a nomination for lead actor too!

The dancing and staging is amazing, and they way the show flows is great! Gabriella is on as Nina and she is insanely talented and suits the role perfectly but the standout for me at the moment is Philippa as Daniella, who is hilarious and amazing in the role. I can see why Victoria got amazing reviews! Also one of the best Act I finales I have ever seen!

Cant wait for Act II!

I was perplexed when he was nominated, so you can imagine how I felt when he subsequently won.

Sam should definitely have got the nod, probably over David Haig.

Was unknowingly there with Daniel earlier, if only I had checked this board sooner!
Also worth mentioning is that Reiss was on for Graffiti Pete. He didn't do quite so many flips (I'm not entirely sure if he even did one to be honest) but he was still just as energetic and very awesome to watch.
Cleve had to double up in ensemble and I think during Carnaval del Barrio (the part where they link hands and dance) he and Reiss looked very uneven/ lonely due to there being four girls on the other side, and the dude who's usually on their side being the Piraguero (I honestly cannot remember his name for the life of me) obviously doing his stuff in the middle, but justified it perfectly with their dancing. I also think he missed one of the cues/forgot a step but I can't be sure because they played it off so smoothly.
Vas was on as mentioned and I liked him very much, although I didn't get much of a particular character off of him. He really plays rage extremely well, and his singing is extraordinary, however I feel like he sounded like an opera singer at parts, and his accent sounded a bit Italian too. But apart from that he really shines.
Skip? Slip? was on for Benny and he had amazing chemistry with Gabriella (who was absolutely gorgeous as Nina, she is so adorable). He has a very good singing voice and it fits perfectly with the character and blends nicely with Gabriella's, and he's also a great actor/has the best comedic timing. He comes off as a little less suave but a little more slick. The only problem I had was he kept on slipping back into (I assume a natural) London accent, which you could really hear in dialogue, and at one point he just completely dropped the accent altogether. It didn't bother me that much though, because his performance more than made up for it.
Whoever was on for Piragua Guy (It's on the tip of my tongue!) surprised me. He has a totally different air about him, which I like. His singing voice is extremely powerful and he looks genuinely happy as well (all of them do-who wouldn't?) He changed back into his ensemble garb for one song but I can't remember which one.
Here are a list of things that they played off extremely well, but me being the sadist I am found grossly hilarious:
-I think Sam actually smacked Reiss right in the groin with his tea towel. Either that or Reiss just knows how to play off pain because that "Ow" rung in my ears for a full minute after.
-During Alabanza, A MASSIVE TORRENT OF RAIN decided to descend making poor Sam almost inaudible, I assume, to the back rows, but I think he used it to his advantage and channel his emotions.
-When they're revealing Graffiti Pete's mural, I assume Sonny is supposed to help him but he stood staring while Reiss turned over the panel and then when he grabbed the other panel (you could tell he was struggling) Cleve went over and the music had finished by the time they put the panel up, and even then the panel was slightly on a diagonal and I was afraid it was going to fall.
-At the end when they're rearranging the steps so the cast can climb up them they nearly knocked over and flattened the fire hydrant and the girl who plays Carla (as you can tell I'm rubbish at names) just went "Oh no."
All in all it was absolutely great. It's refreshing to see a cast you normally wouldn't. Worth noting though, the back rows were all fairly full, but I was nearly alone in the front row (the only other people in it were at the other end.) Platform One looked a little more full. At interval a lot of people from the back rows asked if they could move into the front row, which they were allowed to do.

Huh! I must have missed you because I was too! I was A36, the whole of Act One there were about 5 empty seats to the right of me, so you were probably near the other end  Girl in the weird tights with the Star Wars backpack and the absurdly bright yellow Macintosh.