Pennington Players is bringing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Tony-winning show to Kelsey
By Anthony Stoeckert
From the Princeton Packet
Years before any of us caught the “Hamilton” bug, Kyrus Keenan Westcott fell in love with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Tony-winning musical, “In the Heights.”
Mr. Westcott was in college the first time he saw Mr. Miranda’s semi-autobiographical look at three days in the lives of characters living in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood. He loved the show so much that he saw it two more times before it closed in 2011.
“It was the first time I ever went to go see a Broadway show where I felt that it was for me,” Mr. Westcott says. “At that point I had seen a lot of Broadway shows, but that was the first time where I thought, ‘I could be in this, I could do this, this is real, it’s like real life.’ It’s the first time I felt an instant, personal connection with a show. It was a no-brainer for me.”
One of the reasons he connected with it is that it reminded him of his life growing up in Trenton.
“It was the first time I ever saw a show where I said to myself, ‘Wow this reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in, the diversity, the music playing, the family situations, the romantic situations,’” Mr. Westcott says. “I could picture everything happening in real life.”
Mr. Westcott is now working on his own production of the show as he’s directing Pennington Players’ staging of “In the Heights,” which will run at Kelsey Theatre in West Windsor, Oct. 14-23.
The cast features Terrence Berry as Usnavi (the character played by Mr. Miranda in the original Broadway run); Alexandra Cusumano as Vanessa; Phil Solomon as Benny; Mimi B. Francis as Abuela Claudia; Tara Keelen as Nina; LaJuan Miller as Sonny and Lorraine Perri as Daniela.
It’s a cast featuring actors from throughout New Jersey and Philadelphia, and even as far as New York City. Mr. Westcott says auditions drew performers from near and far because shows like “In the Heights” don’t come around often.
“In New Jersey theater, particularly community theater, a lot of companies tend to steer away from doing shows like this because they’re afraid they’re not going to be able to cast them,” he says. “And that’s unfortunate because it doesn’t give a lot of minorities a lot of chances to do shows.
“When I first proposed it, there were questions as to whether I’d be able to cast it, and I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to not do the show because of a fear like that.’ If anything, that should be a reason to do a show, a challenge to take on. It’s not supposed to be really easy to do, it’s supposed to be a challenge.”
Mr. Westcott says about 150 people auditioned for the show, and that 75 percent of those who auditioned were minorities. “It was such a delight to see,” he says.
Mr. Miranda followed up “In the Heights” with “Hamilton,” which is nothing short of a sensation. While a lot of people love the music of “Hamilton,” getting tickets to that show is a challenge. This production gives fans a chance to see a work by Mr. Miranda at an affordable price. And Mr. Westcott says “Hamilton” fans are sure to love “In the Heights.”
“With this show, there’s a personal touch to it that Lin-Manuel Miranda brings, because this is loosely based on his upbringing,” Mr. Westcott says. “It has such a personal touch, and not that ‘Hamilton’ doesn’t have that, but there’s more of a personal touch with this because this is his life. Everything you hear in ‘Hamilton’ is inspired by what came first ‘In the Heights.’”
The storylines includes Usnavi and Abuela (who isn’t really Usnavi’s “abuela” but raised him), wanting to go the Dominican Republic (“the single greatest little place in Caribbean,” Usnavi says); Nina wondering if she should return to Stanford for her sophomore year; and the mystery surrounding a winning lottery ticket sold by Usnavi at the bodega he owns.
Something the two shows have in common, Mr. Westcott says, is that they open with music that immediately draws in the audience. “Hamilton” begins with seven dramatic notes, while “In the Heights” opens with the character Usnavi singing “Lights up on Washington Heights/Up at the break of day/I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away.”
The song incorporates hip-hop, salsa and Broadway while displaying Mr. Miranda’s wondrous way with words — who else could reference syntax, a broken refrigerator, and condensed milk, while telling the audience “I hope you’re writing this down, I’m gonna test you later”? In a “New York Times” review, Charles Isherwood called it one of “the most galvanizing opening numbers in recent Broadway memory.”
Handling choreography for the show is Rachel Tovar, with whom Mr. Westcott saw “In the Heights” that first time.
“When I said I was going to do the show, she was the first person I thought of because she is — number one — one of the most under-rated choreographers in the state, and that’s saying a lot because I’ve worked with a lot of really good people,” Mr. Westcott says. “She’s so, so good and she’s a very talented hip-hop dancer. She can do so much and she always likes to take things to the next level. She doesn’t want to just do a box step, she always wants to do more, she wants to push limits. She wants me to say, ‘OK, maybe that’s a little too much.’”
Mr. Westcott also got an opportunity to perform in “In the Heights,” playing the part of Benny when the show was staged at the Grand Theatre in Williamstown in January. Because of his love for the show, he’s hoping audiences find it as special as he does.
“I want people to know if they love ‘Hamilton’ they’ll definitely love this show because without this show, there is no ‘Hamilton,’” he says. “It’s so personal, and it’s such a great story. I really think people are going to enjoy it, it’s a one-of a kind show.”
Pennington Players will present “In the Heights” at Kelsey Theatre on the campus of Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, Oct. 14-23. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20; www.kelseytheatre.net; 609-570-3333.
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