Have you ever won $96,000 on a lottery ticket? No? Either way, you would still find “In the heights" the most relatable musical you’ve ever seen. Playwright by Quiara Alegría Hudes and lyrics by Lin Manuel Miranda, “In the heights" deals with struggling to pay for rent to losing a loved one.


Set in a hot summer in Washington heights, “In the heights" presents many common problems that many of us face. Usnavi (Lin Manuel Miranda) struggles with running his bodega, a small grocery store, and it does not help that Sonny (Robin de Jesús), Usnavi’s cousin, eats the snacks from the bodega and gives some away. However he is quite the hypocrite for getting mad at Sonny because every morning, he gives Vanessa (Karen Olivo) free coffee.


I really like the music and the songs that are in the musical because they are really upbeat. It makes anyone want to get up and dance. I believe that the music really fits the plot. Especially since Usnavi is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic and lives in a neighborhood filled with latin culture.


One problem that I find the most relatable is when Nina (Mandy Gonzalez) is in a relationship with Benny (Christopher Jackson) and Nina’s dad, Kevin (Carlos Gomez), does not accept that Benny isn’t latino. Before Kevin found out about Nina’s relationship with Benny, he treated Benny with respect and even employed him in his taxi dispatch. However, once he discovered his daughter’s relationship with Benny, he hated Benny and fired him. I believe this is the most relatable problem because many people have families that don’t approve of their lover because of their ethnicity and I feel that this scene helped with those types of problem because of what happened to solve the conflict. Later in the musical, Nina’s mom, Camila (Priscilla Lopez), gets tired of all the conflict and tells Nina and Kevin to talk the problems out in the song “Enough”.


The beauty in the musical came from all the teamwork and love that the neighborhood gave each other. They all helped each other after a city blackout and still carried on celebrating the fourth of July. Then, the neighborhood helped Usnavi get through a tough time after Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz) passed away after raised him for most of his life. They all supported each other and I found that really moving because most neighborhoods don't give each other all that support and even though they didn't have to help each other out, they still chose to. I don't think that I will ever see a musical more beautiful and touching as “In the heights”. I proudly rate this musical 5/5 stars.