A Spectacular Salvage at MMT

The real story behind Mill Mountain Theatre's production of "In the Heights" is not that is so superbly performed, that it is drawing big crowds, or that it is satisfying regional theatre. All of that is true, but the story lies in the fact that it was produced at all, given the circumstances.

Most of you know about the kerfuffle over casting, when a member of the initial cast complained that one of the leads went to a non-Latinx actress, which caused a temporary storm, leading to temporarily cancelling the play, which was written by "Hamilton" writer Lin-Manuel Miranda. It is a play that has been troubled by casting decisions since it was first produced (the initial complaint that the African-American community was not sufficiently represented).

Hector Flores Jr.

For MMT, the challenge was great. Should it simply cancel the play, or should it give it this group's best shot, make the needed adjustments, postpone the opening and show the world what having a great attitude at a learning moment could produce?

MMT gets an A+ for effort here. Another A+ for being grown up enough to admit an error, correct it and produce a memorable play with a brand new director, one who represents the Latinx community with his credentials and his talent. That would be veteran Hector Flores.

MMT board president David Allen explained the situation thusly: "We acknowledge we were not as thoughtful in that process [hiring appropriate actors] as we needed to be. We needed to do a better job on the front end to assure we were thinking holistically about the authentication of that role and assuring we had the right person in place. Clearly, we did not do that." Ultimately, however, and correctly, it did.

The controversy received national attention and was the source of some vicious attacks on MMT via the internet. However, the staff persevered and went ahead with the play, shortening its run because it was forced to essentially begin the process again. The show had been cancelled for a brief time, but a decision was made to go ahead, bring in some new people and make the experience positive. The initial problem was caused by a miscasting (an Italian actress playing a Latinx part) and that was solved quickly, then a new creative team was brought in, led by Flores.

The result is little short of spectacular for this production which is heavy on Latinx culture. The big voices, broad dance moves and high energy dominate for two hours of theater that brought the audience to its feet at the end and cheers throughout.

It is a loud production (the sound guy could hit the soft pedal a little more often) that must be exhausting to produce, but the young cast of mostly Latinx and African-American actors doesn't seem to break a sweat.

"In the Heights" is not flawless. There was a light reflected off a glass surface inside the deli, which is part of the set, that was distracting to a portion of the audience throughout the play. The sound was loud, as mentioned. It was occasionally difficult to understand the dialogue/lyrics. Those flaws are easy to correct.

It is not really enough to simply recommend "In the Heights." It is must-see theatre because it is good and because MMT showed--with grace, dignity and humility--how to correct an oversight, which is what this was. I am not surprised at the outcome, given a superb board and leadership from Artistic Director Ginger Poole.