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COLUMN
A Musical for My Latino Ears
By Raśl Reyes
To read a Theater Review on Washington Heights - visit our blog.
As Whoopi Goldberg read off the nominees for Best Musical at the 2008 Tony Awards, my heart was racing. I held my breath and leaned forward in my seat, feeling incredibly nervous and hopeful. I was elated when Whoopi announced that In The Heights had won.
I wasn’t in Radio City Music Hall, I was watching the award show in my living room. This win was a personal one for me. Broadway and I go way back.
When I was a kid, my Aunt Emma would take me to see shows like The Sound of Music and Annie. I enjoyed the spectacle and excitement of these musicals, but the theater was an alien world. Not only were my aunt and I often the only brown faces in the audience, I didn’t see people like us singing and dancing onstage.
As much as I loved the shows, I knew they were corny. I lived on the edge of East Los Angeles, surrounded by people who were striving, assimilating and pursuing their individual American dreams. I had never met a loveable governess, let alone a little red-haired orphan.
By high school, I had discovered my parents’ soundtrack of A Chorus Line. My favorite character was Morales, played by Priscilla López, who sang about how hard it was being the only Puerto Rican in acting class. I related completely, although I was neither Puerto Rican nor in acting class. I think I just longed to be part of that world, and knowing that there was a López there made me feel like I could be.
WHY IT WAS CALLED THE GREAT WHITE WAY
There’s a reason why Broadway is known as the Great White Way. Although performers like Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno have made their mark in musicals, Latinos have otherwise been largely absent from commercial theater. In the 1980s, I remember seeing Evita, a show set in Argentina, and noticing that there was not a single Hispanic person in the cast.
But I never gave up on Broadway. Instead, over a lifetime of going to musicals, I’ve grown accustomed to leafing through my program and looking for Latino names. Then I would try to spot the González or Rodríguez on stage. While I didn’t know these people, I felt proud of them for making it on Broadway and representing all of us.
PRISCILLA LOPEZ IS BACK ON BROADWAY
When I went to see this new musical called In The Heights, out of habit I scanned my Playbill for any Hispanic names. There was a González and a Rodríguez — and even Priscilla López herself, back on Broadway after all these years.
¡Que milagro! A miracle!. All the names were Hispanic!
I watched In The Heights with a sense of joy and wonder. Never in my life have I seen a Broadway musical that so deftly captured the Hispanic experience.
While the show is set in the predominantly Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City, it could be any Latino community. The characters are people striving, assimilating and pursuing their American dreams — all to a musical score that includes rap, merengue, salsa, and traditional show music. Far from seeming corny, In The Heights struck me as vibrant and alive.
So I have to admit, I felt the connection as it took top honors at the Tonys. I was thrilled when the cast gathered on stage, almost like I was watching relatives. Maybe I was. The show is all about home, familia and people like me.
Thanks to In The Heights, Latinos finally have reason to shout ¡Viva Broadway!
(Raúl Reyes is an attorney in New York City. Email him at rarplace@yahoo.com.)
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