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NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
In The Heights a ‘lively, action-packed' performance by Hamilton Musical Theatre
Tickets: Online via iTicket Reviewed by Cate Prestidge The latest show from Hamilton Musical Theatre is a lively, action-packed performance that takes the audience through a few days in the life of a close-knit Latino community in Washington Heights, New York City. Written by award-winning composer Lin Manuel Miranda (best known for stage sensation Hamilton), it won two Tony awards and a Grammy in 2008. With over 170 ethnicities in Kirikiriroa, there are relatable themes for audiences. These include the challenges of establishing yourself in a new country, ambition, the pull of home and the importance of community and culture. There are also some classic romance plots. One of the many lively dance numbers from In The Heights. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams Mel Martin-Booker's director's statement in the programme gives a clear overview of the importance of diversity in casting this show and is worth a read. The show opens with a spray-filled and energetic entrance by Iosia Tofilau as Graffiti Pete. Tofilau is such a fun performer, and his moves instantly get applause and cheers from the lively audience. Usnavi de la Vega (Sekonaia Faletau) is the owner of a small bodega (store) on one side of the street. Faletau is a terrific, likeable lead and introduces us to matriarch of the community Abuela Claudia (Bobbi Mihi Howard) and de la Vega's cousin Sonny (Brooklyn Lee). Jessica Ruck Nu'u as Vanessa, who dreams of leaving The Heights. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams We also meet his best friend Benny (Marangai Wainohu-Savage) and his bosses Kevin Rosario (Robert Epiha) and Camila Rosario (Julieta Covelli), and their daughter Nina (Kyla Greening). Lively salon owner Daniela (Kalesita Latu), along with Carla (Kyra-Mae Wilson) and budding fashion designer Vanessa (Jessica Ruck-Nu'u), hold court on the other side of the street. In between, Pirague Ro (Michael Kerei) wheels his ice cream trolley touting for sales. A haze over the stage and effective lighting communicates that the weather is stiflingly hot. The strong, grungy set with its walls of billstickers, roller doors over shops and a distant city skyline makes good use of the compact Riverlea stage. There are many highlights of the show, and the musical storytelling contains a lot of well-executed rap as well as solo and ensemble singing. I think vocal director Dan Ieremia has achieved the aim of vitality and connection. There are very strong performances from Faletau as Usnavi and glorious vocals from Howard in Abuela's soulful song, Paciencia y Fe. Greening was excellent as Nina, with strong emotion in her delivery, as was Ruck Nu'u as the restless, ambitious Vanessa. Sekonaia Faletau (centre) in the lead role of Usnavi. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams Wainohu-Savage played the sincere Benny with a lot of focus and skill, including an excellent duet with Greening, and Latu was terrific and full of personality as Daniela, ably supported by Wilson as the more naive Carla. The entire group was strong vocally and especially rousing in the group numbers. The choreography by Shanelle Borlase features a mix of urban dance and more traditional musical theatre styles, and I liked seeing that both Tofilau and Latu were co-creators as captains. The whole show feels dynamic, supportive and fun. There are some very experienced performers on stage, as well as some relative newcomers. A few times the difference in stagecraft shows, but this is minor as the overall energy and heart of this show is a delight. The actors have had to master a lot of Spanish language, and the rapid-fire mix with English can sometimes gallop – but just go with it. As the guy in front of me said, 'I can't understand some of it, but it's great!' I recommend reading the synopsis to help (if you don't mind a spoiler). The preview audience didn't seem to need this, though, and responded to all the reveals in the show fulsomely and appreciatively. The well-executed programme has heaps of info and shows the huge team effort behind the scenes. The audience mingling before the show reflected the cultural diversity on stage, a cool crowd of people and languages from across Kirikiriroa, one of whom I overheard saying 'I've never been here before, this is cool'. Cate Prestidge is a principal academic and co-ordinator of journalism and communication programmes at Wintec. She has been writing theatre reviews for NZME since 2021.
NZ Herald
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Review: Bonnie and Clyde by Hamilton Musical Theatre a ‘ripsnorting spectacle'
Hamilton Musical Theatre has delivered a ripsnorting spectacle with their production of a musical based on the legend of outlaws, Bonnie and Clyde. First written and produced around 2011, the show merges many musical styles of popular American music: gospel, blues, jazz and toe-tapping rockabilly as well as some stand-out torch songs. The story gives a simple interpretation of the young lovers' motives for crime: Clyde has already been so often in and out of prison that he is unlikely to be given a job, so only by robbing stores, then graduating to holding up banks can satisfy his desire to own fast cars and live in the style he feels is owed to him. Besides, he wants to be like Billy the Kid, a famous outlaw. Bonnie simply wants to be a star and make it to Hollywood, so initially falls in love with Clyde because he tells her her smile is that of an 'It Girl', like her great movie heroine, Clara Bow. She just wants to be recognised, to get out of small-town America and make it big. The younger versions of the two leads open the show with their dreams of future fame and return in a poignant confrontation with their older selves later. The talent of even the youngest cast members sets a high standard of performance for the cast and this is maintained throughout. The two stars of this production brilliantly show the confidence and desperation of these gun-toting lovers. Andy Derby as Clyde Barrow gives an athletic and compelling performance, with nuanced bravado in character, and great vocal depth and range. Lily Burgess-Munro as Bonnie Parker is a perfect match for Derby. She is pert, proud and primed for adventure. Their singing, whether solo or in company, is equally outstanding. Two actresses alternate nights with the part of Bonnie and given the high quality of the production, under Angela Walker's taut direction, Zara Thompson is likely to be equally up for the task of taking on this demanding role. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. Walker's direction is supported by a large cast of technical and design crew, giving the show outstanding production values, with a slatted blind screen backdrop, slightly noisy but very intriguing, dividing the stage into three possible sections, and providing the sensational entries of the front end of the getaway car. This is an important symbol of their story as it brings them together, in the giveaway opening scene, and finally where they unite to drive to their death, shot up by the frustrated police who have tried and failed to capture them. The slats also provide a sepia background to the montage of images, news items, historical photos and billboards, in hues authentic to depression-era USA. Against this backdrop, props wheel in and out for swift scene changes, including one charming claw foot bath scene, while an off-stage band, directed by Katie Wigmore, leads into the many musical style changes with ease. For a show about outlaws who murder people, there is a great deal of comedy as well as pathos. Audience favourites were Clyde's brother Buck and his wife Blanche, played by Jono Freebairn and Lucy Thomas, also perfectly matched as performers together, and as foils for the increasingly infamous duo of Clyde and Bonnie. There is plenty of heart-tugging, when the parents of the outlaws have their cameo moments, or hand clapping, especially from the preacher and congregation, with jubilant gospel numbers led by Cam Strother. Among the caricatured members of the law who hunt them down, one lovesick deputy, Ted Hinton, (Alex Smith) sings poignantly of how Bonnie could have done so much better than Clyde. It ends up being all about guns, cars and money, and one song, Made in America, can't be heard without a wry thought about our current times. The programme itself is fittingly designed as Bonnie's scrapbook, with cast notes fashioned as cutouts from newspapers and magazines of the times, embellished with 'her' notes and comments, completing the sense of unity and attention to detail in this great night out at the theatre. Bravo to cast, crew and all supporters.
