A friend who hopped on the Hamilton bandwagon relative early (with the original cast on Broadway) said to me, "I think this guy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, may be a freakin' (word substitution there) genius!" Naturally, I assumed that was the hyperbole common to those who think they've discovered something that is solid gold both. But having seen "Hamilton" and his earlier stage musical work, "In the Heights," translated to the big screen, it's getting pretty difficult to argue with that assessment. This one is about the hopes and dreams of its many and varied characters, just as "Hamilton"is about the hopes and dreams of the United States' founding fathers.
The "Heights" in question is Washington Heights, a big Apple neighborhood at the north end of the isle of Manhattan populated primarily by people of color, and where Lin grew up. Quiara Alegría Hudes adapted for the screen her book for her musical stage play. The notable director of "Crazy Rich Asians," Jon M. Chu, directs the energetic proceedings here. And of course, like Hamilton, all the music (from salsa to beats of merengue and bachata, to bomba y plena) and all the lyrics (which are almost exclusively hip-hop) are from the one-and-only Lin-Manuel. (A plump and bearded Lin appears in a mostly comic, near-cameo role that I won't spoil for you.) Combine all this with the endless joy of choreography & constant dancing and the innovative D. P. techniques (the cast says no harnesses were used in the "side-of-the-building" scene, which raises a serious question: "WTF?!?") and you have a real winner for generations of immigrant New Yorkers and their off-spring and the whole Latinx community, and a "West Side Story" for a new millennium. Highly recommended!
