The Aisle Seat: “In the Heights’
In his first trip to a movie theatre since the Big Lockdown began, your correspondent takes delight on the new film musical from the creator of Hamilton.
What better way to stagger out from Covid’s dim cave into bright sunlight than by going to see the new film musical In the Heights.
Adapted from a 2005 Broadway musical with songs by Lin Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and book by Quaira Alegra Hudes, it’s a burst of energy seldom seen since La La Land (2016) — but even better. Even viewers who, like me, are not especially enchanted by musicals will find this one a treat.
Strung almost end-to-end by some swell songs and fierce inventive dancing (sparking memories of Busby Berkeley and Fred Astaire), the film takes place in the largely Dominican neighborhood of NYC’s Washington Heights. The narrative unfolds mostly through the eyes of Usnavi de la Vega (Anthony Ramos), the immigrant owner of a corner store and one of several spokes around which his lively neighborhood turns.
Navi, as he’s known, was brought to the city as a tyke by his late father and his abuela (Olga Meridez). Now approaching thirty, he yearns to return to the Dominican Republic and open a bodega on the beachfront property his father once owned before coming to America. And it looks like he’s about to get his wish, even though it means leaving…
