In the Heights

It's a heck of a season for lovers of Lin-Manuel Miranda musicals: Hamilton continues its revolutionary run on Broadway; his newest show, Warriors, will premiere on Broadway in the spring; and City Center is reviving his joyous 2007 breakthrough, In the Heights, as its annual fall gala presentation. Lovingly set in Washington Heights, the show offered a modern urban twist on classic musical-theater themes (love, self-definition, overcoming adversity), and gave good old-fashioned Broadway heart a thrilling new beat: the invigorating pulse of modern Latin rhythms, mixed with the percussive dynamism of hip-hop. This production, directed by David Mendizábal (Mexodus), stars Matte Martinez, Ashley De La Rosa, Linedy Genao, Jaci Calderon, Aaron James McKenzie, Ivan Hernandez, Veronica Vazquez-Jackson and Buena Vista Social Club's Natalie Venetia Belcon.