St. Louis School’s production of “In the Heights” features high school students from all over the island, several of whom are from Sacred Hearts Academy. It will run from Mar. 1 to Mar. 16.
“In the Heights” was written as an original musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It opened on Broadway in March 2008 when it won the 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations.
“In the Heights” is a musical about the lives of a Latin-American community in Washington Heights, New York. The whole community is focused on winning the lottery and following its dreams.
Nina Rosario, daughter of Kevin and Camila, comes home from California after a year of college at Stanford with a secret that will change the neighborhood forever. Nina is played by Academy senior Kiloni Ramo who starred in the recent “Disney’s Little Mermaid Jr.” as Ariel.
Benny is a cab driver who works for Kevin, Nina’s father, and is a part of their family. He is a hard-working, responsible man who has his eyes set on becoming a businessman. Benny is played by Poasa Aga who was Sebastian in “Disney’s Little Mermaid Jr.” and Mushu in “Disney’s Mulan Jr.”
Usnavi De La Vega is the eyes and ears of the neighborhood. He owns a store on the corner and sells coffee and newspapers and is played by Patrick O’Toole, a junior at St. Louis.
Vanessa, a hairdresser, strives to get out of Washington Heights and create a new life away from the memories of her alcoholic mother. Vanessa is played by junior Kaena Kekoa who played Ursula in “Disney’s Little Mermaid Jr.” and Aida in the production of “Aida.”
“I absolutely love this show. I have gotten experience that will I will carry with me forever and friends that I am so lucky to have met. I really think the audience will love this musical because it is quite modern compared to other Broadway shows,” said junior Tiare Sadarananda who plays Carla, a sweet, innocent hairdresser.
“This is a brand new experience for me and it’s amazing. This is a musical with heavy dancing and it’s improving my skills dramatically. Seeing the process of the production and going through the steps for the first time are both stressful and exciting,” said sophomore Angelyn Tabalba who is part of the ensemble.
Other Academy students in the play are senior Victoria Chang, sophomore Erica Freitas and freshmen Shannon Domingsil and Maya Waldrep.
Celine • Mar 25, 2013 at 8:20 am
I enjoy the plays by Sacred Hearts and St. Louis and they are very entertaining and enjoyable. Although I didn’t see the play, but I’m sure it was very good. 🙂
Madeleine Sing • Mar 25, 2013 at 8:14 am
I saw “In the Heights,” and it was amazing! All of the people who were in the play each stood out individually. Every single person had incredible acting and singing skills. It made me happy and sad, it also made me laugh. I hope that I get to see another play like this again.
Alyssa Ablao • Mar 22, 2013 at 10:53 am
I watched ‘In The Heights’ twice and it was AMAZING! I definitely loved this musical. The characters in this musical were played by such talented actors and actresses. The first time I watched ‘In the Heights’ I knew that I wanted to watch it again. The production was great and I was awake throughout the entire play. Sometimes plays can be pretty predictable and we can get a little sleepy. This play was great to watch. I really enjoyed it.
Ye Eun "Stella" Lee • Mar 22, 2013 at 10:48 am
I went to watch my friend who is in this play. My mom loved it. She said she would want to watch it again! I’m definitely glad that I took her to this play and watched it. It was good to hear all these spanish expressions in the play also. The cast did a phenomenal job!
Brytne Nicole Andrade • Mar 22, 2013 at 9:52 am
I really wish that I had the chance to watch the play. The way that you made the play sound made it remarkable. I really hope that you had fun being a part of something so big and extravagant.
Jonalyn Manalo • Mar 5, 2013 at 11:21 am
I really want to watch this performance. It sounds incredible, I think more teens should go and whatcha this musical cause I know I will try to get Alot of people to watch this musical.
Kayla Tam • Mar 5, 2013 at 11:07 am
I would like to say about “In the Heights” production will be a good turn out, it seems like the actors love what they do, and are enjoying it. and I’ve seen some of the actors in this production before and they’ve done a great job, which I know they will do good in this one too. It seems like a interesting play, I’m sure it will be fun and exciting to watch. Hopefully I can go too.