In The Heights

It was an absolute pleasure to be invited to see ‘In The Heights’ at the Forum Northallerton. Crash Bang Wallop Youth Theatre have a reputation for producing great shows and this was no exception.

The story explores the lives of characters who live in the New York City Latino neighbourhood, Washington Heights. The musical score explores the cultures of hip-hop, merengue, salsa and soul music.

In the hispanic community of Manhattan's Washington Heights, bodega owner Usnavi (played with such energy and feeling by Joe Morton) is dating Vanessa, a beauty salon worker (played effortlessly by Holly Hilton).  He dreams of opening a bar in his home country, the Dominican Republic.

Lucy Strong and George Manley bring the characters of Nina and Benny to life in such a strong, charming and loveable way. Benny is a shy young man who has worked for Nina's parents for years, but her father opposes their union because he wants Nina to finish her education at Stanford University. She doesn't want her father to bankrupt himself paying for the expensive school, but her father is prepared to sell his car-service business. Seb Carr-Smith and Lauren McDonald brought Kevin and Camila to life and watching them perform together, it was like they actually had been married for 30 years!

"Abuela" Claudia, who raised Usnavi after the death of his parents was played by Robyn (Esther) Lane. The portrayal was so heart-warming to watch. The character wins $96,000 in a numbers game but doesn’t tell anyone apart from Usnavi.

It is impossible to write about everyone but I would like to mention Chloe Richardson as Piragua, Leah and Josie Chambers-Sims as the Graffiti Twins and Abigail Robertson as Daniela. You all stood out to me alongside the people named above and gave stand out performances.

The set looked great and was complimented really well by a very innovative and contemporary lighting design.

The orchestra, under the baton of Alan Owens were superb. So nice to be able to watch a live show accompanied by an orchestra who were clearly enjoying themselves just as much as the cast were on stage.

Dan Brookes as Director and Producer, Alice Carr-Smith as Musical Director and Emma Greenhalgh as Choreographer led a great team of backstage and technical staff which ensured everything ran smoothly.

Everyone involved with this production should be EXTREMELY proud of themselves. It was a fantastic show (as shown by the standing ovations) and I can’t wait to be invited back to your next show.

Well done one and all!

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