In the Heights is Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ love letter to the Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan. The neighborhood and the love are vividly portrayed in the wonderful production at The Muny.

Miranda wrote the music and lyrics, and Hudes wrote the book. In the 2005 Broadway production, Miranda himself played Usnavi, the principal character, who introduces the neighborhood and its people in the opening number.

He is the owner of a small bodega, but he hankers to go back to the home his parents left in the Dominican Republic. After they died, he was raised by the neighborhood’s matriarch, Abuela Claudia, an emigrant from Cuba. He still lives with her, even though they are not related. Usnavi employs his cousin Sonny and is at loggerheads with a spray-can artist, Graffiti Pete.

Usnavi’s bodega is one of three primary settings. The others are Kevin and Camila Rosario’s car service and Daniela’s hair and nail salon. In the original production, all three storefronts were visible at the same time. At The Muny, they are all on the central turntable, which rotates the one that is needed to the front.

Thanks to this clever scenic design by Arnel Sancianco, each store has plenty of space, and more of the neighborhood can be shown flanking the turntable. The storefronts can be moved back to create more room for big dance numbers. The richly colored graffiti on the booms and the side video screens are very attractive.

The Rosarios’ business is financially strapped, but the family has an even bigger problem. The daughter, Nina, has lost her scholarship to Stanford. She did not have enough time to keep her grades up because she had to work two jobs to meet all her expenses.

When Nina arrives home, an attraction develops between her and Benny, a longtime employer of the car service. Kevin is unhappy about this relationship because Benny is not Latino.

Daniela’s salon is about to close and move to another location because of a rent increase. Usnavi has a crush on Vanessa, one of Daniela’s employees. Vanessa longs to escape from a difficult home life, but she can’t pass the credit check for the apartment she wants to move to.

While Usnavi is checking lottery numbers, he learns his bodega sold a winning ticket worth $96,000, but he does not know who bought it.

The mix of styles in the score include hip hop and salsa. The excellent diction and sound system at The Muny are a great help in lyrics with a high density of words. The musical numbers are exhilarating thanks to the top-notch ensemble, the exuberant choreography by William Carlos Angulo, and the splendid playing by the Muny orchestra under music director Roberto Sinha.

Angulo is also the director, and he elicits endearing, compelling performances from the outstanding Muny cast. Its members include Benji Santiago as Usnavi, Nancy Ticotin as Abuela Claudia, Miguel Gil as Sonny, Ariana Burks as Nina, Martin Sola as Kevin, Karmine Alers as Camila, Alex Joseph Grayson as Benny, Alysia Velez as Vanessa, Darilyn Castillo as Daniela, Marlene Fernandez as Carla, and U.J. Mangune as Graffiti Pete.

The show’s ambience is greatly enhanced by Leon Dobkowski’s costumes, Rob Denton’s lighting, John Shivers and David Patridge’s sound, Caite Hevner’s video, and Kelley Jordan’s wigs.

In the Heights continues through August 15 at The Muny in Forest Park.

—Gerry Kowarsky

Photo © Phillip Hamer Photography
Vanessa (Alysia Velez, center) in front of Usnavi’s bodega in In the Heights.