TribLIVE: Carrnivale Theatrics returns Aug. 23 for its fifth-annual production with “In the Heights.”
The show, which won the 2008 Tony for best musical, follows the lives of three generations of people living in Washington Heights, a diverse neighborhood of immigrants from Latin American and the Caribbean nations that is near the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan.
5 comments:
This article is so interesting because it shows the importance of small regional theater companies and how actively the community can get involved with local productions. It's especially fantastic because Carnegie Mellon has several actors in the show who are wonderfully representing the CMU name. Sometimes it's off-broadway theater companies who do the best work because the talent is genuine and has strong ties to the community. Pittsburgh is one of those lucky places that has so many talented actors because of Carnegie Mellon and Point Park. Carrnivale theatrics is creating great theater that represents Pittsburgh's burgeoning talent.
It was interesting to hear the artistic director speak about the importance of the use of rap in this play. As, someone who is from the city and has spent time in Washington Heights, I think that they wouldn't have been able to capture to spirit of the neighborhood without it. Its addition really encompasses the rhythm of the Heights and the sort of music and sounds you would hear if you were really there. I think it is one of the main reasons that the play is so realistic and accessible.
I had the great pleasure of going to see this show a few weeks ago, and it definitely lived up to the plans and praise in this article. This was my second time seeing In the Heights; the first time was at the Pantages with Lin-Manuel Miranda in the lead role, so I went into this more recent performance a bit skeptical. I was most pleasantly surprised. The acting was polished, the choreography engaging, and the difficult lyrics and rhythms handled with ease. It was a delight to see; Philippe in particular blew me away with his genuine character and an all-around incredible performance. I wasn't overly impressed with the set; although it definitely got the point across, there was nothing that set it apart from other In the Height performances, but it nonetheless got the job done.
I also had the pleasure of attending this production last week at the New Hazlett Theatre, and I believed that it did live up to the expectations that had been set for it. Like Emma, this was my second time seeing 'In the Heights'. The first time I saw this show was when it was on its 1st National Tour. Although I did not get the chance to see Lin-Manuel Miranda in the lead role, I was blown away by the production. To me, there is no show quite like this in style, story, or the way it is written. When I saw it at the New Hazlett, I wasn't blown away by the production, but I thought that it was a very well done production, and that the CMU students that filled the cast were the ones that shined the brightest. The one thing that bothered me the most about this production was the blatant reproduction of the Broadway scenic design. There was no originality to the design, and it was evident that the designer simply looked at how it was done on Broadway. If the show were to be on location in Washington Heights, there is no way the sidewalk would be that clean. Overall, the production was well done.
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