Lin-Manuel Miranda’s exuberant musical opened off-Broadway in 2007 and went on to win many awards, including best musical. The book by Quira Alegria Hudes is a sentimental and idealistic soap opera about the dreams of Hispanic immigrants and their children. They live in the run-down Washington Heights, a Dominican neighbourhood in New York. Can they escape? Will Nina (Christina Modestou) go back to university? Will her dad (David Badella) have to sell the family business and how will her mum (Josie Benson) react to that?
The music is great and the singing is great. The songs have a raw emotional power. The rap lyrics are urban sharp. Luke Sheppard directs. Drew McOnie choreography on a tiny thrust stage is dynamic. The cast throw themselves into the street dancing, salsa, mambo, pop and merengue with unflagging energy. The performance has a terrific impact. Sam Mackay is the owner of a tiny bodega. Eve Polycorpou is his loving surrogate granny who wins $9,000 on the lottery. Damian Buhagiar is his lively teenage hip-hop assistant. Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is a knock-out as the charismatic and witty owner of a hair salon. Southwark has a huge success on its hands.