Miranda’s songs, WBTT’s cast make ‘In the Heights’ a joyous evening

Before there was “Hamilton,” there was “In the Heights.”

A decade before he created the biggest Broadway sensation theater-goers have seen in many years, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for a show called “In The Heights.” It won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations; now it has really found its audience in the years since “Hamilton” debuted.

It’s the first show of the season from Sarasota’s Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. It’s a terrific production, with energetic and charismatic performances from a cast that’s made up largely of WBTT newcomers.

As for the show, it’s no “Hamilton.” But when the cast is performing Miranda’s songs, “In the Heights” is irresistible. Miranda’s hip-hop and salsa-flavored music is infectiously joyful, and his rhymes, when they’re at their best, show the same kind of facile ingenuity that helps make “Hamilton” special.

The problem is with the book. Quiara Alegría Hudes is a respected writer — she won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2012 for “Water by the Spoonful” — but her work here is cursory, far-fetched and riddled with verbal and dramatic cliches. The story concerns a close-knit group of friends in one block of the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, which Hudes and Miranda turn into a slightly grittier version of the neighborhood in “Avenue Q.” It’s stuff you’ve seen a million times before.

The strong elements far outweigh the weak. Unless you’re inclined to be analytical about theater, you’ll probably barely notice the problems with the book. Miranda’s music and lyrics are so charming that you’ll end up caring about the characters and their situations.

The performances, under the direction of Jim Weaver, go a long way to getting the audience to feel for these characters, too.

Leading the cast is WBTT veteran Michael Mendez as Usnavi, the role that Miranda himself played in the original production. (Usnavi’s name, we learn, came about because his immigrant parents saw a ship with the words “US Navy” painted on the side and thought that would be a cool thing to call their son.) Mendez, a familiar figure to WBTT audiences, is a smart and sly Usnavi. He remains an attractive presence even while Usnavi is serving as the protective de facto mayor of his deteriorating neighborhood and the father figure of his extended family.

The cast is large, and there’s not a weak link all the way down through the ensemble. Some of the performances that stick with you after the show come from Maite Uzal as Abuela Claudia, the matriarch of the neighborhood, Nina Negron as Nina Rosario and Raleigh Moseley II as Graffiti Pete.

The WBTT production boasts strong and appropriately non-ostentatious work from set designers Donna and Mark Buckalter, costumer David Walker and lighting designer Michael Pasquini.

The show represents a bit of a departure for WBTT in that it deals primarily with Hispanic culture, and Latin rhythms, rather than the African-American culture and music that is usually the company’s focus. It doesn’t feel different from the theater’s previous offerings, though — more like an expansion than a departure.

Details: Through Nov. 19, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1646 10th Way, Sarasota. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $42; student/active military $20. 941-366-1505, westcoastblacktheatre.org.

This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Miranda’s songs, WBTT’s cast make ‘In the Heights’ a joyous evening."