#oh for the love of god i love piragua guy so much

[pardonmydelays]

IN THE HEIGHTS countdown: 4 DAYS!

song for today:

it's hotter than the islands are today and mister softee's truck has broken down and here come all his customers my way i told you i run this town!

[pika-ace]

I FINALLY SAW THE IN THE HEIGHTS MOVIE

HOLY SHIT

HOLY FUCKING SHIT I JUST WITNESSED MANNA FROM THE FUCKING GODS

My skin is clear, my children are fed, and my crops are thriving and I have SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT IT

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT! Seriously, do not read if you want to see the movie, I want you to experience this emotional ride yourselves

- I don't really need to talk about the music because, as expected, it was top-notch. Everyone was great, great voices, god-tier dancing, just good shit all around

- Songs are cut and things are changed, but honestly, NOTHING was lost so there's no need to worry. For every story element they take away, they add SO MUCH MORE with the changes they made to make up for it. It's like ITH for the first time all over again :D

- First up, Usnavi. MY GOD ANTHONY RAMOS, I AM SO SORRY I'VE BEEN SLEEPING ON YOU FOR SO LONG! I never paid him any mind back in the day because his face was just plastered all over Lams stuff (UGGGGH) so seeing him doing his own thing SEPARATE from that? I WAS ONCE BLIND BUT NOW I SEE

- The whole beach story-telling thing was throwing me off the whole time. I remember how PETRIFIED everyone was when the trailers showed that, but I had faith that there was a point to it and I WAS RIGHT!! The SECOND Sonny pointed out that green crab he painted, it was like a slap in the face, and when Usnavi started his whole 'There goes my flight' part, my cousin and I silently fist pumped in pure joy

- Also, USNAVI👏AND👏VANESSA👏AS👏MARRIED👏BUSINESS👏PARTNERS👏FUCKING👏ALL👏MY👏YES (Why did none of us think of this before????)

- USNAVI AND VANESSA GETTING A CANONICAL DAUGHTER, FUCKING YES PLEASE, PUT THAT HAT ON HER HEAD

- Next, Nina. Just...OH her voice...so soft...so gentle...I could fall asleep to that shit...

- The extra details of her being discriminated against at Stanford, just...DAMN, that shit HURTED. Best Girl doesn't deserve that shit!!!

- And her deciding to go back after learned that Sonny wants to be like her but can't due to discrimination just...BEST GIRL

- Benny just...OOZED charm, man. It almost makes me sad that he and Nina didn't play as big a role in the movie as they did in the play compared to Usnavi and Vanessa. ALMOST.

- Speaking of, Vanessa got an expanded role, HELL TO THE FUCKING YES. (She got a last name change from Otilla Garcia to Morales, but hey, her last name was just a workshop thing anyway so it's JUST not-canon enough to make changing it acceptable)

- Vanessa being the one who decided on the mural thing and getting Pete and Sonny to help just...BEAUTIFUL. That's TRUE LOVE right there

- Lin as Piragua Guy and Chris Jackson as Mr. Softee; that was the funniest meta shit I've EVER seen.

- I?? Did not expect?? To come out of this LOVING Kevin Rosario??? Like, he was SO MUCH BETTER and less antagonistic??? And I LOVED IT??

- Seriously though, getting rid of his prejudice against Benny was THE MOST WELCOME CHANGE in this whole movie (to me at least). When those two were together in the dispatch during the Blackout and helping people, that was just *chef's kiss* That was the pseudo-father-son shit I have been CRAVING for those two!

- Blackout was much less scary and chaotic than we were led to believe in the stage play; a part of me was disappointed, but the way they made it with everyone taking it in stride made up for it. It was like 'Aw dammit, blackout! Welp, bust out the fireworks and the Bingo boards, we're gonna be in the dark for a while, you all know the drill.'

- Also, lights turning back on RIGHT after Carnival del Barrio? Nice touch 👌

- Pete was SO GOOD. Favorite scene:

Usnavi, with Sonny: You're out here; who's watching the store? *points to Pete who's booking it out of the store having stolen something*

Sonny: *runs after him* PETE NO, YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT!!!

- Age gap still seems a bit ambiguous between Sonny and Pete, so until confirmation is given, this pairing is staying EXPLICITLY in the stage version tag on Ao3 XD

- PETE PROVIDING VANESSA WITH INSPIRATIONAL MATERIALS, THAT IS A FACET OF FRIENDSHIP I NEVER KNEW I WANTED

- Also, appreciate Usnavi being MUCH less antagonistic towards Pete, just treating him as an annoying kid that enjoys getting a rise out of him rather than a vandal that's a bad influence who Usnavi WILL call the cops on if pushed.

- Daniela and Carla were REALLY awesome together and I'm DOWN for them being a couple, even though Hollywood STILL decided to be cowards about it with no on-screen kiss or mention that they were girlfriends (come on guys, it's 2021, stop hiding the gays!!)

- Abuela. ABUELAAAAAAAA. NEED I SAY MORE????

Usnavi: I wanna take you and Sonny to DR

Abuela: I'm not leaving without Sonny

Me: MY QUEEN, YEEEEES

- When I saw her lying down during Blackout and staring at Usnavi and Sonny and then started transitioning into Paciencia y Fe, my writer brain IMMEDIATELY began putting those metaphor pieces together and was like 'No...no no no no NO, don't you do this to me, DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE DO THIS TO ME-'

- Alabanza had me sobbing; no comment.

- The lotto money twist was SO GOOD??? Like, my cousin and I were VERY concerned when it wasn't brought up AT ALL, but then when it turns out she saved the ticket to give to Usnavi as a final gift after her death just...TEARS EVERYWHERE

- And last but not least...Sonny. Sonny Sonny Sonny Sonny SONNYYYYYYYYYYY! My son, my child, the light of my life, the stars in my sky, was given justice on this day!!!

- HE HAS A DAD!! IT'S A SHITTY DAD BUT HE HAS A PLACE TO LIVE!!! IT'S BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAD BEFORE AND I THANK BASED LMM FOR GIVING MY BOY THE BACKSTORY HE DESERVED!! (Fanfic writers, I expect MOUNTAINS of angst and hurt/comfort from you all with this new material!)

- RIP Smol Sonny, but that baby face of his MORE than made up for it :3c

- Usnavi WANTING to take Sonny to DR right off the bat, just...THANK YOU. That was DESPERATELY NEEDED and was even wrapped up early and neatly with Sonny saying to Usnavi 'Nah, I grew up here in NY, I have no memories of DR but YOU do, so if you wanna go, then go, I like it here.' and since he HAS A FUCKING HOME here, the worry for his well-being is GONE and it feels GOOD.

- Learning Sonny was undocumented was a PUNCH IN THE FUCKING HEART! My mind IMMEDIATELY reminded me when his dad asked Usnavi why he only paid Sonny in cash and the FACE HE MADE when Nina said that undocumented kids can't get in college just BABY NOOOOOOOOOO

- Usnavi. Using. The goddamn lotto money. TO GET SONNY DOCUMENTED. MY DE LA VEGA COUSIN LOVING HEART HAS FUCKING ASCENDED AND IS NEVER COMING BACK DOWN. DADNAVI SUPREMACY.

Do I have ANY gripes with this movie? Yes, I do.

THEY FUCKING KILLED CAMILA. I DO NOT APPRECIATE BEST MOM GETTING THE DISNEY TREATMENT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH >:/

Other than that though, this movie is a 10/10, go see it. Right now. I mean it.

[mysterycheerio]

Lights Up, on Washington Heights up in the break of day…

Peter closed his door, keys rattling in his hand. Across the street sat his little corner shop - the coffee shop he had worked in since he was small, and in front of it, the gang of graffiti artists painting the roller door in front of it.

The customers were gathered around, watching the artist, mumbling to themselves in disagreement for the pseudo Banksy.

Frustration filled him, and he ran towards them, shouting, "Hey, HEY!"

They ran off.

I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away,

He entered the shop, asking the polite customers to bear with him a moment while he got everything ready, humming to himself as he did his chores.

Pop the grate at the crack of dawn, sing while I wipe down the awning-

He stepped outside, flipping the sign to 'open', and said in a good-natured tone, "Hey, y'all, good morning."

Piragüero, the man selling a sweet, shaved ice type dessert, called a 'piragua', rounded the corner, like he did every day, "Ice cold piragua! Parcha, China, Cherry, Strawberry, and just for today, I got mamey!"

"Yo, Piragüero! ¿Como estas?"

"¡Como siempre, Señor Parker!"

He smiled as the old ladies brought in their grandchildren, pulling them up to the desk. He greeted them the way he knew the ladies wanted.

"They call me Peter, and you prob'ly never heard my name - reports of my fame are greatly exaggerated," he said in a sing-song voice. The guardians began to shop, leaving the children at the front of the store listening to his story - how he's a first generation immigrant, who now sells coffee in his little corner shop.

He went into the back for the second, talking loud enough so that the kids could hear him. He opened the fridge and sniffed the milk, checking to see if it was still fresh, but all that met his nose was the scent of putrid dairy.

The door opened, and in stood Maria Carbonell, known to the community as Abuela Maria.

"Abuela, my fridge broke," he said, voice hinting at desperation as he tried to speak quietly so the kids wouldn't hear him, "I have café but no con leche!"

She smiled, "Try my mothers old recipe: one can of condensed milk."

They walked back out, winking at the kids, "Nice!"

"Ay, Paciencia Y Fe!"

He turned his attention to the kids, "That was Abuela, she's not really my Abuela but she practically raised me, this corner is her esquela," he said, the kids laughing as he turned on the spot.

"Excuse me," a middle aged man said politely, "Can you tell me how to get here?" He pointed at a picture of downtown.

"Ah, you're probably thinking, 'I'm up shits creek'. Have you ever been North of 96th Street?" He shook his head. Peter figured as much, "Well, you must take the A train, go even farther than Harlem, to Northern Manhattan. Get off at 181st and take the escalator. And you're there!" 

"Thank you so much," he said, grateful, before holding his hand out to one of the kids and pulling him out of the shop, "Come on Michael."

"But dad, I want to listen to the man's stories!"

He smiled.

Soon the kids had to depart with their guardians, and he gave a friendly wave at their departure.

I'm getting tested, times are tough on this bodega, two months ago somebody bought Ortega's. Our neighbours started packing up, and picking up, and ever since the rent's went up-

"It's gotten mad expensive," a kid said, making small talk as Peter handed him his coffee.

"But we live with just enough," he said, smiling.

"Amen, brother."

Next up to bat, the Starks! They run the cab company, and struggle in the barrio, see - their son Harley is off at college, tuition is mad steep, so they can't sleep, everything they get is mad cheap.

"Good morning, Kid," Tony said, hand in hand with his wife, Pepper.

"Pan caliente café con leche!" 

Tony nodded, "Put 20 dollars on today's lottery-"

"One ticket, that's it!"

"Hey, a man's got a dream."

Peter laughed at the couples banter, when Pepper addressed him, "Don't mind him, he's all excited cause Harley flew in at 3 am last night-"

Peter set down the drinks, "Don't look at me."

They took their drinks, and as a parting message, Tony said, "Underoos, come over for dinner, there's plenty to eat!"

Peter barely got five seconds before he heard the sound of distinct chatter, "So, then Yesenia walks in the room-"

"-Uh huh."

"She smells sex and cheap perfume, it smells like one of those trees that you hang from the rear-view!"

"No!"

"It's true! She screams 'who's in there with you, Julio!' Grabs a bat and kicks in the door, and she's in bed with Josè from the liquor store."

"No me diga," the younger of the two said.

"Wanda and Nat, going to the salon?"

Nat nodded, and the two chorused, "Thanks Pete!"

Monday is a busy day for him, to say the least. 

The bell on the door dings for the umpteenth time that morning, but instead of a customer, it's a small, black boy, fourteen, who's rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Miles, you're late," he says, his tone annoyed, but Miles knows there isn't any real bite behind it.

"Chillax," he says, making his way to the back of the store, "You know you love me."

He rolls his eyes.

Me and my cousin running just another dime-a-dozen, Mom-and-Pop, stop-and-shop and oh my god, it's gotten two darn hot-

He turned on the AC. The weather man said this summer will be one of the hottest in history.

People come through for a few cold waters and a lottery ticket, just a part of the routine, everybodies got a job, everybodies got a dream. They gossip as I sip my coffee and smirk, the first stop as people hop to work.

That's his day really. An endless blur of one dollar, two dollars, one fifty, one sixty-nine, I got it, you want a box of condoms what kind?, that's two quarters, the New York Times, you need a bag for that? The tax is added.

Like he was saying to Miles when he first came into his life, "Once you get some practice at it, you do rapid mathematics automatically."

Miles then comes out of the back, preparing himself to work the counter so Peter could do the coffee's - Peter was the only one who knew the secret recipes that kept the customers coming- successfully snapping him out of his thoughts.

"How are they today?"

"Practically everybody's stressed, but they press through the mess."

Miles nodded.

"You ain't got no skills," a voice said, as they walked into the store.

"Ned!"

Ned smiled, leaning against the counter. Peter and him were best friends growing up, so naturally, Ned was a regular in the shop, despite working long hours for a boss that didn't respect him.

"Yo, let me get a-"

"Milky way?" Peter guessed.

"...Yeah. Let me also get a-"

"Daily news."

"And a-"

"Post."

"And a most importantly, my-"

"Boss' second coffee, one cream, five sugars."

Miles wrinkled his nose at Ned's boss's absurd amount of sugar, and Ned began to talk to Peter about his job while he waited.

"I don't get it! I'm the number one earner! He can't keep me on the damn back burner-"

"Yes he can."

"I'm making moves, and I'm making deals, but guess what?"

"What?"

"Ya still ain't got no skills!"

"Hardee-Har," he said, sarcastically, pouring the creamer in.

"Has Michelle shown up yet?" Ned asked Miles, who was smiling.

"Shut up!" Peter said hastily.

"Hey, dude, don't be upset. You should tell her how you feel. Buy the girl a meal,on the real, or you ain't got no skills."

The doorbell dinged. This is why Peter was so anxious to be talking about Michelle. She normally came in around this time. Right now, she was looking at the ground, phone to her ear.

"Mr. Johnson, I have that security deposit. I've been saving to make a down-payment, and pay rent… no, no, I won't let you down-".

Ned whispered to him, "Here's your chance, ask her out."

"-I'll see you later, we can look at that lease," she said, before hanging up.

"Do something, make your move, don't freeze!"

"Hey," he said, buzzing with nerves.

"You owe me a bottle of cold champagne," she said, her voice soft and soothing. Despite this, her words made a heavy feeling form in his gut. It was something they'd thought about years ago, but only if-

"Are you moving?"

She shrugged, "Just a little credit check and I'm on that downtown train."

He tried to shake off the sad feeling, "Well, your coffee's on the house."

"Okay," she said with a smile, before turning to leave.

"Peter, ask her out."

"No way," Miles said.

But Michelle turned around, "I'll see you later… so…"

And with that, she left.

"Oh, smooth operator, oh damn, there she goes," Ned teased, before taking a look at Peter’s still kinda sad face, "Hey, dude. Take five, get some fresh air, a walk outside. You look exhausted, lost…"

"I kinda feel that way," he joked, but was it a joke?

Ned looked at him with sympathy, "Hey, the whole neighbourhood is struggling, and times are tight, and you're stuck to this corner like a streetlight…"

Ned looked at his watch, and rushed out of the shop, saying he was gonna be late and bidding adieu to the two guys, but Peter could say it back, his friends words bouncing around in his head.

Yeah, I'm a streetlight, choking on the heat. The world spins around while I'm frozen to my seat. The people that I know all keep on rolling down the street, and everyday is different so I'm switching up the beat.

Cause my parents came with nothing, they got a little more, and sure, we're poor, but yo, at least we got the store. It's all about the legacy they left with me, it's destiny, and-

One day, I'll be on the beach with Miles writing checks to me.

That's what he wants to do. His parents died, along with his aunt and uncle, leaving him in the care of Abuela. He longs to go to a beach, and reconnect with his roots. A better life, one where he isn't stuck serving coffee's.

It gets more expensive every day, in their little corner of the world. 

Turn up the stage lights, we're taking a flight to a couple of days of what it's like-

In Washington Heights.

[anais-mitchell]

highlights from extremely amateur ith performance

-it was in a black box theater so cast members were walking through/interacting with the audience

-piragua guy gave the pre-show speech and was basically the 4th wall breaking star of the show

-graffiti pete could DANCEEE. i was so shook by the breakdancing

-vanessa had purple hair and honestly? into it

-nina’s voice was killer omg she slayed those notes in breathe and everything i know

-benny and nina were already super cuddly and cute before they even got together i support

-sonny had a fedora

-the music just. wouldn’t turn on for inutil so my dude playing kevin sang it acapella and killed that shit

-abuela claudia on the other hand was STRUGGLING djskakao she could barely remember her lines and paciencia y fe was yikes. also they had an ensemble but no ensemble for paciencia y fe which is like the best part of that song?? so there were hella awkward pauses

-everytime vanessa was on stage usnavi had the BIGGEST heart eyes and just sat and watched her happily. pure.

-piragua guy could not hit the high notes and was fully aware of this so he just made it a big comedic thing of missing the note and that’s Valid

-during the club dance break, they had like a circle where a guy and a girl would go in and dance and they kept switching, but nina went in and danced w another girl bisexual queen nina rosario #confirmed

-speaking of the club holy shit THE FIGHT WAS WILD someone threw a shoe and benny was full on throwing down w the guy dancing w nina

-blackout was fucking awesome tbh but 1) as i said, cast members were walking around the audience and one ensemble girl decided her character would be loudly sobbing during the blackout so that was all i could hear whenever she passed and 2) the ensemble completely blocked benina kissing???? like my friend who didn’t know the show had no idea they kissed

-piragua guy sold piragua during intermission, then spilled a thing of flavoring all over the stage and had to clean it up

-carnaval del barrio was so much fun they had all the flags and stuff and were so energetic

-except for the fact that daniela and carla started their lines abt benny and. he just never showed up. benny was absent for all of carnaval and the cast members on stage were clearly confused but continued like champs.

-alabanza still destroyed me oh my god. it started w just usnavi then the barrio gradually came out and joined him ugh i almost cried

-ok so i loved vanessa’s actress for most of the show but she completely lost me at champagne, it was like she was trying to seduce usnavi to have sex which is??? not the meaning of the song?? she was like feeling him all up and gave him this sultry look back after the kiss like girl ur supposed to be having an existential crisis and being emotionally repressed pls read the lyrics

-once again music just did not come on for finale so they sang it all acapella which. added a diff emotional effect i guess but also the music to finale is so good ugh.

-also did i mention that usnavi was wearing open button downs w anime characters on them for both acts?? this is important bc this shows two scenarios 1) dude playing usnavi owned anime button downs and they decided to roll w it 2) they specifically went out and bought anime button downs for usnavi. either option is wonderful.

so yeah solid show idk abt everyone else but i had FUN

[keepingupwithlinmanuel]

Lights Up on Ana Villafane! The In the Heights Star on Embracing Lin-Manuel Miranda and Letting Go of Gloria Estefan

Headlining a big, splashy Broadway musical is a dream-come-true opportunity for any young wannabe star. Ana Villafañe's debut moment, playing pop music icon Gloria Estefan in the bio-musical On Your Feet!, came with some specific challenges, starting with the role itself. Would a strikingly accurate depiction of the famous singer, complete with copycat vocals, limit her ability to find future parts? And would the show, more of a hit with audiences than critics, be popular enough with industry players to properly launch her career? Ultimately, Villafañe proved to be a powerhouse, both onstage and off, leading the cast for almost two years until closing last fall at the Marquis Theatre (three actors played Gloria's husband Emilio during her run). Now the Broadway beauty—photographed for Broadway.com in her hometown of Miami—is anxious to show theater fans another side of her, taking on the part of Nina, the strong, smart heroine of In the Heights for the show's weeklong run at the Kennedy Center, starting March 21.

How exciting is it to play Nina? Has this role been on your list? It's been on my list since the first time I heard the album. It's very much one of those dream roles—and it's a great chance for me to show people what I can do beyond Gloria Estefan. That was definitely a concern of mine, if I'm honest. As soon as we closed, I was terrified that the world would only see me as the girl who played Gloria. And now I can show my own voice. It's quite a challenge vocally coming off of three years singing pop music that was at the bottom of my range! [Laughs.] But I couldn't ask for a better leader than [director/original cast member] Stephanie Klemons. She obviously knows the material so well, and she's empowering all of us to make our own discoveries. I had never seen the show. Not even at, like, a school.

Really?! Yeah, I didn't even know there were scenes. I thought it was all sung!

You literally just knew the album. Correct. I'm completely fangirling. And then with [composer/original star] Lin-Manuel Miranda and [original director] Tommy Kail and [original choreographer] Andy Blankenbuehler coming to watch. And [original cast member] Andrea Burns… [librettist] Quiera [Alegria Hudes]… We've had everyone watching our run-throughs! And doing it at the Kennedy Center of all places right now, being in D.C. and singing about our pride and our flag and our home and where we come from… It's incredible!

I love this score so much and the smallest musical moments get stuck in my head. Any favorite In the Heights earworms for you? Besides the Piragua guy song, obvs. Seriously! I mean [original and current cast member] Elisio [Roman] can sing anything and I would just be like, please don't stop. But the "Carnaval del Barrio"… The way things layer over each other. It's a big mashup of melodies and it's brilliant. [Sings.] "Pa'ribba esa bandera! Álzala donde quiera!" That gets stuck in my head. And then "No Me Diga," too. "Tell me something I don't know." I love that song.

Tell me something I don't know! This cast is crazy, an amazing group of talents. Were you excited to get in the room with them? Beyond. I didn't know who they were going to get and my manager called and said, "Do you know who they got?!" When I heard Eden [Espinosa] was doing it, I was so excited. And then Vanessa [Hudgens]… It just elevates the whole thing to have these people and it's fun because we're reimagining it. I can't un-see the original cast because what they did was so beautiful but it's fun to explore a different side. And then Anthony [Ramos] came in to play Usnavi the night before rehearsals!

Weren't you doing high school musicals when Vanessa Hudgens broke out in High School Musical? I was. I remember the day it came out. It really solidified what I wanted to do with my life at that age. And it's very exciting to see her in this role because it's not something we've seen her do before and she's honestly nailing it, which is awesome!

Speaking of awesome, Lin tweeted after he saw the run-through that you were "Anamazing," so that's good. When I saw that tweet, I was like, "Oh my god. This is real life!" This is the Sondheim of our time. The Shakespeare. He's so brilliant. And when he's in a room, people stand a little straighter and hit their marks a little crisper because he's the real deal. He's always been very kind to me. Hamilton and On Your Feet! opened in the same season, and I was the new kid on the block, literally. They were next door to us and he would come over for our parties—especially that Christmas season when we'd have coquito, which is like the Puerto Rican eggnog, at the theater. We became friends, which was cool because I wasn't a New York-based actress at the time. I didn't understand the relevance of being friends with Lin. I was just like, "He's so nice!" And people were like, "No, you don't get it!" That's the beauty of the Broadway community. We see each other as humans because we all know how hard it is. We have mutual respect for each other because no one can just show up off the street and do eight shows a week. It takes serious chops and dedication.

[lesty-xx]

things in musical theatre that always gets me that I realised during a road trip

that bit in waitress, “you’re my dOCterr”

the harmonisation in what’s inside

when dawn goes “I’m not defensive!”

that bit in hamilton where everyone sings over each other in non-stop

“I hope that you… burn”

when john sings the rise up bit in my shot

“SIT DOWN JOHN YOU FAT MOTHER F*CKSTICK”

Angelica. everything she says and does.

the choir in once upon a december

“hey balaga, ho balaga, hey hey ho balaga, hey hey hey balaga, the famous troika driver”

Lucas Till going “WOOoooOOooOOooOOOooooOoOOooOoooOOOoooOAH”

that bit in the duel “DRINK WITH ME MY LOVE, FOR THERE’S FIRE IN THE SKY, AND THERE’S ICE ON THE GROUND, EITHER WAY MY SOUL WILL DIE” - relatable

and when everyone goes “corpulence”

honestly everything piere says like yes hand me the existential crisis

and whenever amber gray opens her mouth goddamn

when everyone sings over each other in 96,000

“the only room with a view is a room with you in it”

literally everything the piragua guy says

“Hey guys, it’s me! The biggest disappointment you know.” - nina is me

basically whenever Mandy Gonzalez sings tbh

in 21 chump street when naomi sings “take the money justin, please just take the money”

and in cousin where justin goes “looooooooooove”

in a day in falsetto land when they all sing over each other frick yes

“AND STILL THE BASTARD DIVORCED ME”

“EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT” and then when you realise it won’t be

“god you’re a pAIn in the aSS”

literally whenever the lesbians from next door speak

when they harmonise in “the tango maureeeeeen” in tango: maureen

when joanne goes “so be wise 'cause this girl satisfies”

all of seasons of love, every version, it’s beautiful and iconic and frick if that song didn’t define my childhood

when kevin goes “i’ll do something inCREDible that blows gods frICken mIND” in you and me (but mostly me)

“I CAN’T BELIEVE JESUS CALLED ME A DICK”

the harmonisation in poor thing

when everyone sings together in arabian nights

the genie’s rendition of tale as old as time - petition to get James Monroe Iglehart to sing a full version

“Why shouldn't I fly so far from here?”

heather chandler going “you’ve come so far why now are you pulling on my dICK”

allllll the harmonisations in candy store

and blue

in come from away when they go “I am an Islander”

when bev mimicks the wwii pilots "Hey lady, hey baby, hey! Why don't you grab us a drink?"

and then, “well they can get their own drinks” and that cute lil laugh after

“suddenly there’s nothing in between me and the sKYYYYYYYYYYYYYY”

“And that’s how we started speaking the same language”

when everyone is praying together holy shit that moves me every time

“cause I’m freaking out, you’re freaking out and we’re all 👏 freaking 👏 the 👏 fuck 👏 out”

anytime someone says “you are there and I am hereeeeeeee”

“hot towel, hot towel, c o l d towel?”

in legally blonde, elles voice crack when she says “some girls were just meant to smile”

“and with the chance I’ve been given I’m gonna be dRIvEn aS hELL”

“with fear and shock and aWEEEEEEE”

when they’re all singing at the end of blood in the water

the entirety of Ireland and the reprise

the blatant subtext jokes in take it like a man

“ ‘cause i feel so much better than befOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE”

in Miss Saigon “and now I’ll leave remembering heRRRR,, just heeeeerrrr”

tbh whenever the engineer has a solo, I mean he was an arsehole, but it was the only fun thing in that musical

“I still believe he’ll come for me” - kim, my heart, my only wish was for her to happy and safe goddammit

the literal entirety of “ascot gazette” in my fair lady

and show me

“READY, AIM, FIRE!!”

the humming in wouldn’t it be lovely

allllll of heaven on their minds in jesus christ superstar, it’s literally the only song that hasn’t been done wrong in any version

“HOSANA, HEY SANA, SANA, SANA, HOSANA, HEY SANA, HOSA N A”

“JESUS CHRIST, SUPERSTAR, DO YOU THINK YOU’RE WHAT THEY SAY YOU ARE?”

also everythings alright

okay there’s so much for newsies so this’ll be short but “Newsies on a mission! Kill the competition! Sell the next edition! We'll be out there, CARRYING THE BANNER”

“strike! strike! strIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE STRIKE OOOOOOOOOOOH S T R I K E”

dear evan hansen in waving through a window going “WAVING, WAVING WOAAAAAAHHHHHHH WOAHOHOHOH”

“has been hard (hard) has been bad (bad) has been rough. (KINKY!)”

“if I stop smoking crACk”

alll of you will be found

“DONT BE A PENIS THE MAN IS A GENIUS” - iconic from something rotten! every. fucking. time

all of it’s hard to be a bard

in do you hear the people sing “IT’S THE MUSIC OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL *NOT* BE SLAVES AGAIN”

“who am i? TWO FOUR SIX OH ONEEEEEEEE!”

“AS LUCIFER FELL”

frick literally all of les mis is iconic

Okay that’s pretty much all I got through before my phone went flat and then the trip was boring but yeah

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

- I(tm)

- AM(tm)

- S T R E S S E D (tm)

- So like first let me say: The kids were FANTASTIC. Best performances of their lives!!!!

- everything that could have possibly gone wrong went the fuck wrong

- A DISASTER

- You know in horror movies were like one person gets infected or some shit but you think everything is fine until suddenly everyone is dying? Literally.

- May I remind you that mics have been perfectly fine all week,

- Opening number, Vanessa is doing her little bit and there’s just a tiny. Glitch.

- Like her mic dropped for half a second. It was hardly noticible. Tom and I literally double checked like “you heard that right?” But it was completely fine so we were like “It’s probably nothing”

- WELL GUESS THE FUCK WHAT

- IT SPREAD LIKE A PLAGUE. IT STARTED SLOW BUT IT SOON CONSUMED THE ENTIRE CAST. THE MICS WOULD GLITCH OUT LIKE EVERY FIVE GOD DAMN SECONDS. JUST IN AND OUT AND IN AND OUT IT WAS T E R R I F Y I N G

- I’m fucking. Borderline screaming. Tom looks like he’s going to punch something and is running around checking for what the problem was. THERE WAS NO VISIBLE PROBLEM. THIS SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN HAPPENING.

- And then it just???? Fucking stopped on it’s own???? What the FUCK. Sometime right before 96,000 it all just went back to normal holy shit

- BUT THEN THE MUSIC WAS LIKE “Is it chill if we just...stop working at random intervals? Gucci.” SO SOMETIMES WE’D HAVE FULL ORCHESTRA AND OTHER TIMES IT WOULD JUST DROP TO ONLY KEYBOARD

- AND something was up with the fucking keyboard’s speaker??? Because of course.

- Guys seriously we literally STILL DON’T KNOW what happened! At intermission Tom and I were just dying and finally he’s like “I don’t care anymore I’m just gonna see what the hell is wrong with the keyboard” and returned 3 minutes later, still no answers, and was like “You know what? ‘Blackout’ sounded fucking amazing and that’s what matters to me” like we honestly just quit oh my God

- However the kids really powered through all the issues and didn’t let it trip them up so that was good

- Meanwhile, though, the audience was FUCKING HILARIOUS I LOVED THEM

- I’m...fully convinced half this audience had never been to a musical before in their entire lives, and even if they had they had never seen or listened to In The Heights so their reactions were great.

- Lot of gasping holy shit it was so funny. “I got more hoes than a phone book in Tokyo” *GASP* “What do I do with this winning ticket?” *G A S P*

- The opening of act 2 when Benny and Nina are on the fire escape and clearly had sex the night before? G A S P

- Guys it was so funny. And they were clearly loving the music and laughing at all the jokes- every scene got deafening applause omfg

- They were all clearly very much sucked into the story so that was just so fun to see

- They tried to cornrow Benny’s hair

- That was quit half way through thank God omfg

- Also mildly off topic but when I was getting his mic on him he hadn’t done his bun yet and that boy has a fantastic head of hair holy shit

- “OH MY GOD THAT HAT CANNOT HAPPEN YOU LOOK LIKE THE PERSON FROM THE LORAX”

- There was a moment before they opened the doors and the entire theater was quiet but suddenly all (like...8 or 9) boys could be heard singing “Baby” by Justin Bieber at the top of their lungs in their dressing room. No explanation as to why

- They announced that the fall show was Pippin and Steven got a fucking baseball bat and starting balancing it on his fingers yelling “JUST IN TIME” (he had apparently ‘just discovered’ this talent on Sunday and has been talking about it like non-stop since)

- The girl playing Graffiti Pete had a bunch of school friends come to the show. They all shrieked every time she opened her mouth holy shit

- Before the show the director was giving notes and she said something like “This is right after Claudia’s death-” and half the cast was like “Tag you’re fucking spoilers” omfg

- And then when mic checks were happening Steven sang “atencion” and Tom cut him off yelling “SPOILERS, SPOILERS” instead of “good” lmao

- Okay so like...is there a little kids show character that I resemble or something????

- There were a lot of kids in the audience (probably like actor’s siblings or something) and like...during intermission an alarming amount of them were staring or waving at me with shy smiles or pointing me out to their parents who seemed to know what they were thinking and I was just like....Who do you think I am?????? Oh my God

- No one actually tried to talk to me but a few looked like they wanted to??? A few even got some of that gentle parental shove thing??? What is happening I’m so confused over this????

- Oh my God you know how in Boy Meets World, Rider Strong hated his fucking hair and as a result we were blessed with Shawn constantly aggressively raking his hair back with his hands???? There was a boy sitting directly in front of me who did that literally the entire show to the point where I was like....You need to stop I gotta see what’s happening on stage omfg

- Also lol I guess he was there for his ensemble sisters(tm) or something bc he cheered for everyone who came out for bows except he booed for one specific group of girls lol

- I was on my phone before the show and the directors husband made Tom get my attention just so he could silently give me a thumbs up before walking away so we were laughing at that

- He did give me free skittles at intermission tho which was rad (he tried to give me like the entire table for free lmao)

- The choreographer was working the spotlight (which she admitted she was confused by) and she was super tired and lowkey joked about falling asleep and falling over on the job before the show started but somewhere during act 2 I fucking saw the sliding spotlight and panicked lmao

- Her and Drew were bonding over being bad at spotlight and everyone in the back area said “you guys are better than Jimmy” in perfect unison lmao

- Usnavi was borderline sobbing by his last line in the finale omg

- We couldn’t fucking get a sound effect for the fireworks so for the final part of ‘blackout’ when you’re supposed to hear them the pianist deadass just whistled the noise omfg

- Nina and Abuela Claudia were the fan favorites, as I predicted

- Benny was a little off his game but I still support him

- Lowkey there’s a couple guys in this show who have never done any shows before and I’m not sure if he’s one of them??? He seems like he is so I think he was probably just nervous or something

- Everyone was sneezing and coughing bc why not

- Before the show the Piragua Guy was berating himself as per usual and the only cheer-me-up anyone could think to give him was “It sounds great! It’s just like, the words that you’re having trouble with!” lmao but he KILLED IT I was v proud the audience loved him

- Like 20 minutes before we let people in we had the directors daughter, in heels, on a fucking ladder painting over parts of the shop signs bc we realized that even though they had professional looking signs made they all had Philadelphia area codes on them lmao

- Oh God. So remember the not-screwed-in door I was complaining about???

- Well. They screwed it in. Backwards.

- And it makes an obnoxious noise when it opens and closes, and also doesn’t close all the way l m a o

- The programs all went missing lmao

- I found one box hidden away thank God but??? Apparently there’s supposed to be more. So we might just run out of programs during the second show

- LMAO DURING HER OPENING SPEECH THE DIRECTOR DEADASS PRONOUNCED LIN MANUEL MIRANDA’S NAME WRONG COULD YOU GET ANY MORE #ICONIC(tm)

- Tom fist pumped multiple times in pride and excitement when the show finally ended lmao

- THE GOT THE GRATE WITH ABUELA CLAUDIA’S FACE ON IT HOOKED UP (another audience gasp moment) AND HONESTLY???? I TEARED UP

- Lmao I’m pretty sure Tom was also lowkey crying at the end I didn’t say anything tho

- There’s more but it’s almost 2 in the morning lmao so anyway!!! Hopefully tomorrow runs a little more smoothly!!! And hopefully we get another great audience!! Overall it was great so I’m all pumped

[pardonmydelays]

What are your top 3 songs/scenes from In The Heights? (This can be musical or the movie)

i love you anon. i love you so much it's unreal.

ok, so i'm gonna pick three from the musical. as for the movie, i only saw it once and my favourite thing about it was lin as piragua guy (to no one's surprise lol. i feel like he had the time of his life when they were filming it hahah).

breathe: it's not a secret that nina rosario is the most relatable character for me (and for a lot of people obviously). this song always makes me cry, the "hey guys it's me, the biggest disappointment you know" is so me-coded, also, mandy gonzalez and her insane vocals. what else can i add.

96,000: OVERLAPPING VOCALS! ok, let me just tell you this song is fucking insane and it's so fun to sing (i always sing usnavi part at the end, i wish i could sing all of them but it's impossible lol). also, "we only jokin', stay broke then!" always makes me laugh. and sonny's rap! ok nvm, i love every single part of this song, it's just perfect in every way.

carnaval del barrio: oh. the lyrics. the choreography. the fun of it all. the energy of this song makes me go insane every time, i swear to god, i could listen to it on repeat and i will never be bored of it! ALZA LA FUCKING BANDERA!!! HEY!

honorable mention: when you're home because, for personal reasons, it always makes me cry and alabanza because experiencing it live was a religious moment (rest in peace, abuela claudia).