Los Angeles Valley College Impact of Aluminum Cans on Society and Environment Critique

Please answer the questions below using the script of In the Heights, video documentary

1. Identify a theme from the musical and discuss how this theme evolves and unfolds throughout the play. Please make reference to specific lyrics, dialogue or characters to support your ideas
2. In the Heights was written, in part, to redress the lack of roles on Broadway for Latinx actors and to create Latinx characters that moved beyond stereotype. Analyze one of the characters in the musical and discuss how he or she does or does not exemplify a complex identity that cannot be reduced to a stereotype.
3. Community is an important concept in the musical In the Heights; how the characters support one another in times of crisis. Give an example of a moment in the musical when you see the community being resilient and coming together to overcome an obstacle.
4. What is the cultural context of In the Heights? In the Heights follows the traditional formula of a classic American Broadway musical, but Lin-Manuel Miranda contextualizes this formula within Latinx culture, integrating bilingual lyrics and fusing various styles of music including hip hop, rap, salsa, R&B, funk, dance beat, waltz, bolero, pop ballad, reggaeton, merengue, and bachata. The musical blends his classic and contemporary sensibilities while celebrating the Latinx community and promoting positive representation of Latinx characters. Why does the play stage so many cultural forms and what does this format reveal about the intentions of the playwright?
5. Some theatre historians believe that theatre functions as a mirror of society, reflecting a society’s beliefs, tensions and desires. Other critics have suggested that theatre is more than a mirror held up, but instead serves as a vehicle for social change and transformation. What do you believe? Using In the Heights as an example, please explain what you believe to be the function of theatre/musical theatre in relation to social change?
6. a.There have been several productions of In the Heights, in which a non-Latino actor was cast in the role of Usnavi. What are your thoughts about the potential problems of having an actor of a different ethnicity playing Usnavi? If you were producing this musical what would your casting parameters be and why? The film was criticized for not hiring or showcasing actors with darker skin tones. Did you notice this and if so how could the film have done a better job representing the diversity within Latin communities?

6. b. How was it for you to watch the film version of this musical. What was lost and what was gained in the translation from page to screen?

7. Write a thesis statement or pose a research question as if you were writing a paper on In the Heights. You are not writing the paper, but I want you to practice creating a thesis statement that can be argued. For example, In the Heights is about immigrants in New York,” is not an argument, actually it is a topic. To transform a topic into an argument you need to identify a problem.

“Although Usnavi ultimately does not return to the Dominican Republic, this play is very much about an immigrant’s longing for home/search for his roots.”

To complicate your thesis and you need to make a claim that you can explore. You might add,

“Usnavi must find in the freedom to return or the courage to stay.”