In the Heights



""Light's up/ on Washington Heights, up/ at the break of day/ I wake up/ and I got this little punk I gotta chase away.""

So begins Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 Broadway hit. Set in the neighbourhood Washington Heights of NYC, In the Heights is a musical covering three days in the lives of its colorful characters. Usnavi, the main character, runs his family's bodega with his young cousin, Sonny. Vanessa, the oblivious target of Usnavi's attraction, works herself to exhaustion to buy her way to a better life. The Rosarios run their taxi business and support their brilliant young daughter, Nina.

In the Heights is especially notable for being the first Broadway musical of its kind, a combination of rap, hip-hop and Latin. Needless to say, it's some kind of awesome.

In 2020, HBOMax released a film adaptation of the musical.

Warning: The soundtrack is guaranteed to lead to side effects of toe-tapping, humming and spontaneous dancing.

"Daniela: They say he's got quite a big..taxi. Carla: I don't think I know what you mean. Daniela: Carla! He's packing a stretch limosine!"
 * Adult Fear
 * The blackout. There's suddenly no light all over Washington Heights, and people panic both in the nightclub and on the streets. Usnavi, once he manages to get out the barred doors, runs to Abuela Claudia's apartment. Kevin runs out in the streets to find Nina, fearing she's been hurt in the rioting. Sonny and Graffiti Pete use fireworks to protect the bodega from looters, but aren't able to save the cash register.
 * Usnavi dotes on Abuela, expressing worry that she's not taking her heart medicine. Abuela tells him not to worry, and the medicine costs more than what she has in retirement..
 * Annoying Younger Cousin: Sonny is Usnavi's annoying younger cousin.
 * Subverted in that Sonny is fairly intelligent with a comically strong vocabulary (he seems to take after Usnavi a bit) and interest in politics and social activism. He also has shades of being the Only Sane Man as his introspections on what  and the closing of the surrounding shops means for the community causes him to despair when others are partying.
 * Arc Words: "Paciencia y Fe" (Patience and Faith). Also might count as a Catch Phrase, for Abuela.
 * "No pare, sigue, sigue!"."
 * Author Avatar: Usnavi, obviously, as the creator played him on Broadway (and he named his character's Love Interest after his wife).
 * Beta Couple: Benny and Nina...which is an odd example, because they're given as much stagetime and development as the Official Couple.
 * Bigger Is Better in Bed:

""Damn, this is nice/I really like what they've done with the lights/so the hot club in Washington Heights!/You might be right, this music's tight/Yo, did I mention that you look great tonight?/Because you do you really-" "Usnavi, relax!""
 * Bittersweet Ending: There's some happy endings, some sad and everyone's lives have changed. Benny and Nina in particular
 * Cannot Spit It Out:
 * Oh, Usnavi.

"Vanessa: You oughta stay/ You can use that money to fix this place/ And it's not like Sonny's got role models stepping up to the plate./ I'm just saying, I think your vacation can wait... Usnavi: What are you trying to say? Vanessa: You're leaving the country and we're never gonna see you again! Usnavi: What are you trying to say? Vanessa: You get everyone addicted to your coffee and off you go! Usnavi: Vanessa, I don't know why you're mad at me. Vanessa: I wish I was mad!"
 * Oh, Vanessa.

"Carla: Dani, I have a question; I don't know what you're cantando. Daniela: Just make it up as you go. We are improvisando!"
 * Anyone looking for "artistic merit" to justify this awesome play to Broadway purists can point out that Champagne (both song and object) is a complex metaphor for Usnavi and Vanessa's unspoken feelings (and their inability to admit them).
 * Crowd Song: "In The Heights", "$96,000", "Blackout", "Carnaval del Barrio", and "Finale".
 * Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life: Nina
 * Daddy's Girl: Nina, even though she and Kevin begin arguing more and more during the show.
 * Dawson Casting: Several of the characters, most notably Nina and Sonny.
 * Averted in the Philippine production. K-La Rivera was 19 when they started rehearsals.
 * The Ditz: Carla is a sweet lady, but she's very ditzy. She says that if she won the lottery, she'd spend it on a brand new weave.
 * Ear Worm
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Piragua Guy, Graffiti Pete.
 * Evolving Music: In "$96,000", Sonny sings "What about immigration/Politicians be hating/Racism in this nation's gone from latent to blatant". After some high-profile political racefail hit the news, the line was changed to "Arizona be hating".
 * Final Love Duet: Two. "Champagne" for Usnavi and Vanessa and "When the Sun Goes Down" for Nina and Benny.
 * Graceful Loser: Even though everyone in Washington Heights wants to win the lottery, they cheer when Usnavi reveals who the winner is: . That makes it all the sadder when Kevin has to report that.
 * Gratuitous Spanish: Well, of course. Everyone but Benny is Hispanic.
 * Usually for comical reasons, or at times when the heritage of the cast is highlighted, such as:

"Nina: Straighten the spine, smile for the neighbors/ Everything's fine, everything's cool..."
 * Grief Song: "Alabanza"
 * Gossipy Hens: Carla and Daniela
 * Happily Married: Kevin and Camila
 * Hello, Nurse!: Vanessa is a tame version of this trope. Usnavi and most of the guys drool over her but no one actually gets ridiculous about it (as in it never gets to Informed Attractiveness levels). Vanessa herself doesn't think it's that big of a deal.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Daniela and Carla. Sonny and Graffiti Pete of all people come across as this. Benny and Usnavi also have some shade of this.
 * If I Were a Rich Man: "$96,000" has the cast talking about what they would do with the money. Benny says he would go to business school, Graffiti Pete would spent it on spray cans. Daniela would get a better lease for her shop as well as a Malibu, while Carla would get a weave. Sonny says that he would use the money to add a reliable 5G network. Usnavi would give some of the money to Abuela, treating her to a vacation, take Vanessa out on a nice date, and move back to the Dominican Republic.
 * Like Brother and Sister: Nina and Usnavi have this dynamic
 * Line-of-Sight Name: Usnavi. Overlaps with Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?.
 * Lottery Ticket
 * Kissing in a Tree: In the song "Carnaval Del Barrio" in Act 2, Daniela asks Benny if he's "seen any horses, today", having heard that
 * Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number: The opening (aptly titled "In the Heights"), "$96,000", and "Blackout".
 * Mood Whiplash: A few examples, the biggest being "Alabanza" following the peppy "Carnaval del Barrio". Especially when you hear Kevin making an announcement between the songs, and Nina comes to Usnavi silently, crying, and he runs with her in the direction of Abuela's apartment.
 * Motor Mouth: Usnavi can sometimes be like this, especially in the "one dollar, two dollars..." part of the opening number.
 * Overlaps with Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness to a minor extent. Usnavi has a noticeably greater vocabulary and can fire off complex metaphors off the top of his head, as seen when he tries to chat up a hot girl at the club.
 * Oblivious to Love: Subverted with Vanessa. She seems to be a more then a little aware of Usnavi's feelings but plays dumb since she is denial about her own feelings.
 * Plucky Comic Relief: Sonny owns this role.
 * Ripped from the Headlines: See Evolving Music above.
 * Rhyming with Itself
 * Say My Name: After Nina's dinner and when Kevin reveals he has sold the family business to pay for Nina's college tuition, Nina tells her father that she will never use this money as it has lost Benny his job. She proceeds to follow Benny to the club. At this, Kevin yells "NIINAAAAAAAAAA!"
 * Spicy Latina: Vanessa, Camila, and Daniela
 * Shout-Out: Plenty, ranging from Kiss Me Kate to Sesame Street.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Vanessa and Usnavi
 * Sincerity Mode: Usnavi says that he wants to leave the bodega to Sunny. He says that the kid will be the "youngest tycoon" in business.
 * Spiritual Sequel: Fans of Rent will probably become easily attached to this musical.
 * Stepford Smiler: Nina attempts to pull this off in the beginning of the show. She fails.


 * Team Mom: Abuela Claudia. Usnavi says that she's not actually anyone's abuela, but she treats everyone who lives in the Heights like her grandchildren, and dotes on them. She took him in after he was orphaned, which is why they are close.
 * The Musical: Book kind
 * Throw the Dog a Bone: Sonny wants two things in the musical: for Usnavi to stay in Washington Heights rather than go to the Dominican Republic, and to win the lottery so as to improve the neighborhood..
 * Token Non-Latino: Benny, who is almost always played by a black man, though theoretically could be played any other ethnicity.
 * Graffiti Pete can be any ethnicity as well, the most common being Latino and white.
 * The One Who Made It Out: Double subverted with Nina. She dropped out of Stanford, but.
 * Triumphant Reprise: The Piragua Guy gets a pretty funny one.
 * True Companions: With Abuela acting as grandmother to the entire street, it made everyone feel a little more like family.
 * Victorious Childhood Friend: Inferred about Usnavi/Vanessa and Nina/Benny.
 * Wham! Line: One that sets the tone for the third act. . More than likely, the audience will be crying for the subsequent song.
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: Usnavi is thrilled when Abuela Claudia shows him that . Then "Atencion" happens, and.
 * Yiddish as a Second Language: Well, they are in New York...
 * Yiddish as a Second Language: Well, they are in New York...