CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, July 04, 2017

Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'In the Heights' making stop at Benedum

TribLIVE: The Pittsburgh CLO is bringing “In the Heights” to the Benedum stage July 7-16.

Prior to writing and starring in the Broadway hit “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda burst onto the scene with his Tony Award-winning show “In the Heights.”

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This show is very special to me. It's been three years since I started playing in our school's Pit Orchestra. This year, my school did In the Heights for the winter musical and I was asked to be the keyboardist in the orchestra. It was a completely unexpected experience, for In the Heights was such a unique show musically speaking with the Latin music and the contemporary rhythms integrated into the score. Having been used to playing the "typical broadway" musical scores, I struggled trying learn everything in time. All the tricky chords, rhythms, and key signatures challenged me to become a better musician and a better student. Working with the professionals on this show was also amazing, for they were all so nice and so willing to share their experiences with us. Though being in the pit orchestra was always a highlight of the year, In the Heights was the show that taught me and pushed my boundaries, yet this was the show with which I had the most fun. After seeing it for the first time today (I have never seen it with my own eyes,) I was glad to realize that it had influenced me as a musician so much that I still remembered everything from the show.

Unknown said...

I just recently saw this show, and I think while it was lots of fun to watch, it wasn't as interesting or jaw dropping as I thought it would be. I am not sure if it was the actual script/story that I was disappointed in, or the production itself. My top note was that that it was difficult to hear most of the show. It may have been a sound mixing issue, or some other problem, but it made it difficult to get into, or even understand the story, which in turn made the show less enjoyable. In terms of the story, I felt it was a little complicated (though that could have been lack of understanding). There were lots of stories and events happening at once, making it difficult to discern what the main plot was (I am pretty sure it was the lottery ticket, but not sure).

Unknown said...

Before I saw the show recently, I had never heard of it. When I went to see it this past Saturday, I was confused throughout the entire first act. I couldn't keep track of the multiple plot lines going on and by the time intermission came, I was thoroughly confused. I didn't know that it was abuela who had won the $96,000 nor could I figure out what Usnavi's problem was. I was better able to understand the second act after I had the different plots explained, but I still felt unsure. The music was fantastic and I felt that it did fit into the show, but I didn't like that every single character had a song of their own. I feel that the beauty salon owner didn't need her own song because I felt that she wasn't as much of a main character as some of the other ones. The end did tie a lot of the plots together, but I wouldn't have known about those separate plot lines if I didn't have the first act explained.