Word: usnavi
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Even though the American dream is now generations old, “In the Heights” is emphatically contemporary. The musical genre is ostensibly hip-hop, but utilizes a variety of genres. The central character, Usnavi (Kyle Beltran), generally raps his longer monologues and soliloquies, and the cast dances to hip-hop, salsa, and whatever else suits the musical mood. At times there are touches of Paul Simon in the music, and in the dancing, moments of ballet...
Every story in the neighborhood of “In the Heights” is connected, but the plot focuses particularly on the lives of Usnavi and Nina (Arielle Jacobs). These two characters represent the hopes of the next generation. Success is defined as winning the lottery or graduating from Stanford, two things which are actually not as wildly different as they appear...
...Usnavi, who owns a corner store that sells lottery tickets, hands out his own form of hope to the inhabitants of the Heights every day. Beltran himself is tall and skinny, and can contort his dancer’s body into a perfect gangly imitation of a typical class clown. When he dances, his lanky frame whips gracefully through the throngs of dancers with intense energy and verve...
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