On any given day, when I walk out my front door, I’d see a quiet suburban street. Most families stay within their, rarely venturing out unless the temperature is a cool-but-warm 70 degrees, content with their healthy skepticism of their neighbors, keeping to surface level ‘how-do-you dos’ or ‘how-is-the-family?’ There’s not a sense of engagement let alone community.  The concept of community is an abstract one but something that people crave, something they need in their lives. But what makes a community?The places?The familiarity or the routine? The melding of business and residential living? Or is it the people? These are the questions that come up when viewing the exceptional Broadway National Tour of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s In The Heights, now playing at Marriot Theatre.

In The Heights takes place on a hot and sweaty day in the summer of 2008 in Washington Heights, New York City. On a corner bodega, Usnavi de la Vega, welcomes us to his neighborhood and introduces us to his community. We meet Abuela Claudia, the neighborhood’s resident matriarch and grandmother who raised Usnavi, and Sonny, Usnavi’s cousin, Daniela and Carla, local salon owners, Kevin and Camila Rosario, who manage a cab service, and Vanessa, Usnavi’s crush who wants out of the barrio, the Rosario’s daughter Nina who is returning home from Stanford with a secret, and runs into Benny, his father’s employee at the cab service. As the community moves about their day, we see the struggles and challenges each person faces in and out of the barrio; feeling unwelcome, discriminated against, cut down, undervalued. Amidst their own personal crises, the neighborhood itself is under attack from gentrification, businesses being bought out for cheap by big realestate investors, eager to remove teh culture and heart of the neighborhood. As the heat rises, passions and tempers flare, and the barrio goes dark, a once in a lifetime occurence changes the trajectory of the neightbod, uniting them in ways that allow them to move forward together towards a bright future. 

The Marriot Theatre continues to produce incredible shows each season and finds exceptional local talent that rivals any NYC Broadway cast. There was not a single member of the ensemble cast of In The Heights that was not talented beyond measure, their energy and vibrancy pulling you in and bringing you along for the entirety of the 2 hr and 20 min run time. Start with the captivating Joseph Morales as our narrator, Usnavi with Paola V. Hernández spicy and vulnerable Vanessa, add in the singing talents of Yasir Muhammad and Addie Morales as the young lovers, Benny and Nina, mix in the humor of  Jordan Arredondo as Benny with the heart of Crissy Guerrero’s  Abuela Claudia, and finally throw in smooth-as-honey vocals from Lillian Castillo, Andres J DeLeon and the sexy and rhythmic dance moves of Wesley J Barnes and Kiana Rodriguez and you have an ensemble case ready to step onto Broadway and sweep the Tony’s. The cast was energtic, fun, passionate, and heartfelt, and truly made the audience long to be part of such a community.  In The Heights features a live orchestra secretly nestled within the 360 degree theatre. The immersive stage allows the audience to feel like they are a member of the cast, every angle and corner utilized to portray the NYC neighborhood. The lighting, the music, the staging, everything was en pointe for this production of In The Heights. Chicago theatre lovers will be remiss to not see such a whirlwind portrayal of what is sure to be a play with lasting staying power. 

The portrayal of community within the play is one of shared struggles and successes. When Nina returns home from Stanford, feeling like she has lost her way, her community reminds her of her talent and prowess. Nina herself is reminded of not only where she comes from, but where her parents came from to build a foundation to give her a better life. She’s able to refocus and ground herself, and find her way again. After Usnavi’s bodega is looted, Sonny enlists the help of Graffiti Pete, played by Phillip Wood, to symbolize home and community on the bodega’s gate, signifying to Usnavi where his heart has been all along, right there in the barrio with his chosen family. Director James Vásquez says it best, “with the help of Lin Manuel Miranda’s brilliant and specific score, which has changed the idea of what musical theatre can be, we zoom in to get a closer look at one particular community. They fight to remember who they are where they come from, but also look to the future and dream of who they can become.” If a neighborhood is a body, the bodega would be the head, but the people would be the heart, and that is the true essence of In The Heights. Community is about what you make it to be, and who makes up that heart.

Though my community isn’t nearly as engaging or centric as the one portrayed in In The Heights, I walked away from Marriot Theatre feeling light, hopeful, and a part of a larger community than just what makes up my cul-du-sac. The Chicago Theatre community is supportive, vibrant, and diverse. They lift each other up and come together to experience real, authentic voices. The community is welcoming and fun and one that draws me back in every time. Not every community is made up of a corner store or city block, or even a quiet tree-lined street in greater Chicagoland. There are thousands of communities to discover in Chicagoland and beyond. Whatever makes up your community, I hope it is filled with love, hope, happiness, and has a soundtrack that Lin Manuel Miranda himself would be envious of. 

In The Heights runs through March 17th at The Marriot Theatre at 10 Marriott Dr, Lincolnshire. Tickets are available at www.marriottheatre.com.