Musical Lyrical Lingo
We're Musical Lyrical Lingo!
Join Tim and Lj who delve deep into the wonderful world of musical theatre and more importantly the lessons they have learned from different musicals.
Join them as they explore some of the greatest musicals ever created, from the classics to the new and exciting shows that continue to teach us something new.
So whether you're a seasoned fan of the stage or a newcomer, this podcast is for you.
So sit back, relax and get ready to immerse yourself in the world of musical theatre.
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Musical Lyrical Lingo
In the Heights
What happens when a beloved Broadway show closes its curtains, only to shine brightly elsewhere? Find out as we share the bittersweet farewell of "Back to the Future" from Broadway, while celebrating its continued success on the West End and upcoming tour. We'll also spotlight the challenges faced by Broadway today, from soaring ticket prices to shorter runs, and bask in the triumphs of productions like Jamie Lloyd's "Sunset Boulevard" and his intriguing collab with Andrew Lloyd Webber on "The Illusionist." With a nod to our own journey, we're thrilled about our Irish Podcast Awards nomination and the vibrant musical landscape we explore.
Join us on an exhilarating journey through the rich tapestry of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights." Discover its evolution from a humble start in Waterford, Connecticut, to its Broadway glory, racking up prestigious awards along the way. We'll discuss Miranda's tactical brilliance in releasing "Hamilton" on Disney+ ahead of "In the Heights." As we dive into the documentary "In the Heights: Chasing Broadway Dreams," we'll share insights into the creative force behind this groundbreaking production and its global cultural impact.
Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of "In the Heights" as we dissect its musical layers and cultural significance. From the rhythmic opening number to the heartfelt tales of Usnavi and Abuela Claudia, we'll highlight the community spirit and identity themes that make the story resonate. Expect a spirited chat about the differences between the stage and film adaptations, including the clever lyrical tweaks that keep the narrative fresh. To wrap things up on a flavorful note, we'll indulge in a fun discussion about coffee trends and seasonal delights, celebrating the cultural flavors that enrich our storytelling journey.
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Hello and welcome to Musical Lyrical Lingo. We're your hosts, Tim and LJ.
Speaker 2:Today and every week we will be discussing musicals, but specifically what they taught us. We're back again.
Speaker 1:Guess who's back.
Speaker 2:You gave me a really weird look there.
Speaker 1:I know it, I'm just looking at you going, look at us go.
Speaker 2:Oh, look at us go.
Speaker 1:Short listed for the Irish Podcast Awards Best Musical Podcast Who'd have?
Speaker 2:thunk it.
Speaker 1:And you were laughing at me, going oh for goodness sake, timothy, we're not going to win and I'm going hello Shortlisted. We're no longer on the list of 152. We're now on the list of five or six. It's very wonderful.
Speaker 2:I know it's very exciting. The awards will take place in January. Unfortunately, they are Thursday evening and we will not be able to make it.
Speaker 1:Says who Pulisicci? Oh God, I'm joking, I actually can't.
Speaker 2:No, but yeah, very exciting. I mean season two and that's our first nomination. Many more to come.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Have you ever been nominated before?
Speaker 2:Not in a pod.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but you've been nominated for other awards, haven't you? You were a wee finalist as well a couple of weeks ago with your other wee business, weren't you? I know I was. You're making a wee bit of a. Yeah, oh, what's that called A habit? A habit You're getting to be a habit with me.
Speaker 2:Name the musical See oh Lauren oh my gosh 40 seconds straight.
Speaker 1:Thank you, New co -host please.
Speaker 2:I meant to say Anything Goes. I was like that is wrong.
Speaker 1:It's not on a boat, all wrong. Sad news, though.
Speaker 2:What's our sad news?
Speaker 1:Aaron will be devastated.
Speaker 2:Back to the Future in Broadway is closing, but it's going on tour.
Speaker 1:Aye, and I think it'll funny. Like we said last week about Parade probably being more of a US national tour kind of musical, I think it could have. You know, back to the Future could have legs there, couldn't it?
Speaker 2:It is sad that it's leaving Broadway.
Speaker 1:I'm quite surprised.
Speaker 2:There's an issue with Broadway at the minute, and a lot of people are saying this Really yeah, shows are either just not opening or they are too short for what they intended to be, or people are just not coming out and seeing them, and I think it's. I think it's what we keep going back to is its ticket prices are.
Speaker 1:Yep Extortionate, Ooh hi Extortionate.
Speaker 2:But I did like how, back to the Future, it was made very clear that it was only Broadway and it was still staying on the West End. Oh, it's doing so well on the West End, it so well, in the West End it is, and sometimes you find that that there's just one show that hits one side of the yeah, hits the mark.
Speaker 1:I mean I'd go back and see it again For the 20th time. Yeah, exactly what is doing well in Broadway is Sunset Boulevard, jamie Lloyd's production. Jamie Lloyd has also signed on the dotted line for another Andrew Lloyd Webber show and what is that?
Speaker 2:Andrew Lloyd Webber show his new project.
Speaker 1:He's calling it a project. Have you noticed that the new project is based on the Illusionist? Now, that's completely lost by me. What is the Illusionist? Is it a film, a book?
Speaker 2:no, was it not a film with? It's not one of the last films that Hugh Hugh Heath Ledger did, but then loads of actors stepped in to finish it because he died.
Speaker 1:I have no idea, I don't know, but it was like we should all know what the Illusionist is and I was like, okay, I also thought he was doing a video again. Oh, probably. I mean like he's always reviving one of his shows, but this is his new, this is his new work and he must like Jamie Lloyd.
Speaker 2:He must like Jamie Lloyd. But I mean, I think there's been a wee bit of faith lost after Bad Cinderella.
Speaker 1:But Jamie Lloyd didn't do Bad.
Speaker 2:Cinderella. No, but Andrew did.
Speaker 1:Oh, people, have you think people have lost faith in Andrew Lloyd Webber for his new work? For his new work? Well, we'll just have to. That's very my goodness. You're putting yourself out there, aren't you, with a statement like that. Yeah, also, I listened to Lin-Manuel Miranda's new musical. Have you listened to it? How many?
Speaker 2:times have you listened to it?
Speaker 1:Once.
Speaker 2:Me too. I can't get into it yet.
Speaker 1:I know, isn't it the weirdest mix? It's like a lot of mix of Hamilton and then a lot of mix of what we're going to talk about today.
Speaker 2:And I was very distracted whenever I was listening to it. I was making a new wall display.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:And I don't know whether or not that was an issue too, where I wasn't concentrating on it enough?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just think I need to. I think I need to read the synopsis of the show first of all. So it's a film.
Speaker 2:You know that, no, so it's a film.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's not a musical.
Speaker 2:No, no, it's based on a film. Oh, okay, so it's a film from the 80s.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Where a gang travels from the. There's lots of gangs within New York and then this one gang is called up and the leader of that is assassinated and then this gang who have been accused of the murder have to make their way back from the Bronx down.
Speaker 1:Okay, but all of these people are human, like they're real people. There's not a supernatural, like superhero party kind of feel to it. No, no. So why on earth, earth? One of the characters like roaring, like that, really put me off no, not that I, it was like a heavy metal roaring. Do you know the bits I'm talking about?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think it's also different as well. Obviously it was an 80s film and I think it was mainly men. This is all female yeah this is all. I like that to be fair and listen.
Speaker 1:don't get me wrong, there's some. I think on a second play there'll be some of the songs that will be catchy and will be. I do think you'll be able to hum and sing a few of them back. But yeah, I just was a bit like oh, I don't know what this is like, what it's trying to be. It was very much for me bits of Hamilton and then bits of today's musical, which is In the Heights, yeah.
Speaker 1:So it kind of mixed those two up a wee bit. Yeah, you know there were some numbers that were quite light and you know very in the Heights kind of feel, and then there were others where it was like Hamilton, like regimented like.
Speaker 2:I think it'll be picked up right now. It's a concept.
Speaker 1:Do you reckon?
Speaker 2:And I think it's got it's his name.
Speaker 1:It's his name is attached to it.
Speaker 2:It's something a little bit different who they've got. You know, like Lauryn Hill it did a track. I think it will be picked up. I don't know if it will be a long run, but I think it will move to Broadway.
Speaker 1:Okay, well, I just thought we'd mention that today, since we are going to do In the Heights, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda no. No.
Speaker 2:In the Heights book is not by Lin-Manuel.
Speaker 1:Miranda, no no. In the Heights book is not by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Oh, lordy days, you made a worse job of it than I would have.
Speaker 2:Full disclosure, guys. There's a lot of.
Speaker 1:Spanish in this. There's a lot of Spanish in this episode and I don't want to be offensive. No, we're trying our best. Okay, we already know that I did not do that. Quiera alegria hug.
Speaker 2:Quiera alegria, Stop it.
Speaker 1:I can't, we can't do this. We cannot do it, we'll get cancelled.
Speaker 2:Yeah, q-u-i-a-r-a, and then next word A-L-E-G-R-I-A and then H-U-D-E-S.
Speaker 1:I'm so sorry to that person, but the book's really good, as is the music and the lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, oh God. The story is set over a course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights in upper Manhattan, new York City. Lin-manuel Miranda had the idea for this musical as a student at college in his sophomore year. Yeah, so about second year yeah, manuel Miranda hailed from the Heights himself and is of Puerto Rican ancestry, and stated he wanted to write a musical that he would want to be in.
Speaker 2:He did so. He was very inspired by Rent and I think we spoke about this before when we talked about Tick Tick Boom. He directed the Netflix one with lovely Andrew Garfield in it. Rent was the first time that he had watched musicals. He was really into musicals all growing up, but Rent was the first one that he watched where he went. Oh my goodness, a musical can be set in modern day today.
Speaker 1:And it can be written. You can write a musical about you, about your life.
Speaker 2:You can write a musical about you, about your life. And this is where he was like well, I'm going to write less Barnardo's and I am going to write more Morelli's. So he wanted to be less for people of Latin background. It was West Side Story, so they wanted less people holding guns and all that and wanted to have more inspiring stories, like from Chorus Line.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So the little link there is. Morales was in Chorus Line and she actually played. Her name is Priscilla Lopez and she plays Nina's mum in the original production of.
Speaker 1:In the Heights, nice. The writer who we have butchered her name I'm so sorry also had Puerto Rican background. Yeah, I am Yuznavi. Oh God, I am Usnavi. You've probably never heard my name.
Speaker 2:This is kind of weird. Usnavi, yeah, usnavi, usnavi, usnavi. It's meant to be U-S-N-A-V-I.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Usnavi, that's it, that's it.
Speaker 1:I'm not sure we're saying that. Right, we are Yuznavi, we are. Anyway, he's a narrator and he introduces himself, as you said, named for the inscription his parents saw on the side of a US Navy ship they saw on their arrival into America. Yuznavi, it's better if you say it fast, we're thinking about it. Yusnavi runs a local, a little local general store or bodega We'll get onto that maybe later and the musical follows the life and all aspects of living in the Heights. There is poverty here, as they say, there are fights and endless debts and bills to pay, and the action takes place in the background of literally a long, hot summer. It's very hot, hot, hot.
Speaker 2:It is.
Speaker 1:To the point it causes blackouts and all sorts of things. Overhanging the entire drama, meanwhile, is the general speculation over which of Usnavi's that's it. I'm getting it now. Usnavi's customers is in line for the 96,000 US dollars lottery ticket having been bought, having been bought at his shop. So someone has bought the winning and passed myself. I can't believe I've got the name, the main name of the person, wrong. Like I knew this episode would be difficult.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But we've now butchered the writer's name and we can't actually say the name of the main flipping character Use Navi, that's it. So yeah, the winning lottery ticket has been bought at his shop. As the action unfolds, we see the ties that bind Yuznavi to the heights and the loyalties of his extended family, the friendships and support of the community at large and their pride in what they have built.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. This is a musical about finding hope and living life, and I love it.
Speaker 1:Use Navi. I'm just going to keep singing that bit because I then can do it. It's a bit like when you're in a plane. You have to do an accent and you've got the one word or the one phrase that you need to get you into that accent. Get out of my swamp, that's my.
Speaker 2:Shrek Interesting, interesting.
Speaker 1:That's my line.
Speaker 2:I am not going to say any of these lines.
Speaker 1:Are you not? You're going to leave me to do all the?
Speaker 2:No, I'm not going to be able to say them correctly, so just another, an apology.
Speaker 1:To be fair, you need to apologise for the last episode too, for your misinformation.
Speaker 2:I mean, I left out a very key letter.
Speaker 1:So I said in our, I said who would have thought it would boil down to a letter?
Speaker 2:I know I said in our parade episode that the Dixie song was played at General Lee's. What was it? I said I need to get my notes again General Lee's Surrender. And I said, oh, we know him from Hamilton, but it's a different General Lee because according to EP, there's about 90 years difference. So the fact that I'd written down General Robert E Lee I think the E was important.
Speaker 1:You're thinking the E is very important.
Speaker 2:Yeah, to show that it was a different.
Speaker 1:It shows a difference in 90 years.
Speaker 2:So it actually wasn't a connection to Hamilton, which is the reason for this. So I mean anything I say, let's all take it with a pinch of salt.
Speaker 1:Well, In the Heights. Back to In the Heights In the Heights After their 2005 tryouts in. Connecticut, and then.
Speaker 2:In Waterford, Connecticut.
Speaker 1:Oh, excuse you.
Speaker 2:I did read that and think it was.
Speaker 1:Waterford Ireland. We're going to the Waterford Festival, connecticut. Oh, excuse you, I did read that and think it was Waterford Ireland. We're going to the Waterford Festival, folks. And then in 2007, on Offway, offway Broadway, offway, offbroadway Run, oh my goodness. This is going to be one of those episodes, isn't it? The show then finally opened in Broadway In 2008. On the Richard Rogers Theatre. I love the name of that theatre.
Speaker 2:Film adaptation was released in 2021, even though it was filmed about two years prior to that Holy moly.
Speaker 1:that had some legs to get to the actual screen, didn't it? It didn't do. It was linked to the Harvey Weinstein and then they had to remove themselves from that, and then Covid happened, and then what else? There was something else.
Speaker 2:Well, they decided to. Well, lin Manuel Miranda. After speaking to him, I know this personally.
Speaker 1:You were on the phone to him the other day weren't you. You could have asked what the name of the writer was.
Speaker 2:I could have. I felt that see Hamilton was meant to originally be released in theatres but because of COVID they released it on Disney+. Yeah, and they felt that then by releasing Hamilton on Disney+ and more people could access it, then they would put In the Heights on the big screen. So they felt that one would be better on a streaming service straight away and one needed to wait until people could get back out to the theatre or the cinema after the pandemic. So interesting choice. But I'm not. I didn't hate it because then I got to see Hamilton sooner than yeah, me too.
Speaker 1:And to be honest with you, the price of tickets. It's the only way I'm going to see Hamilton's Sinner. Yeah, me too. And to be honest with you, the price of tickets. It's the only way I'm going to see Hamilton anytime soon.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Well In the Heights was nominated for 13 Tony Awards. 13. Yeah, winning four.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 1:For Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations.
Speaker 2:I know so In the Heights was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Speaker 1:It was indeed, and the cast album won a Grammy. Yeah, exactly. The cast recording was released June 2008 and won the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. Beating recordings of the Little Mermaid, Young, Frankenstein and the revivals of Gypsy and South Pacific.
Speaker 2:Crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Crazy, but it shows you that a musical like that was waiting to happen, as in people were wanting it, willing it and it was successful $105 million in ticket sales by 2011.
Speaker 1:Amazing. The Broadway production closed in 2011 after 1,184 performances. Then there was an off West End production. There was the UK premiere at the South Warwick Playhouse from May to June 2014. And then it transferred to King's Cross Theatre in October 2015. It was also nominated for four Olivier's Winning three for David Bedella and his best my good friend, david Bedella, good friend In his best supporting role. Drew McHoney one of my favourite choreographers for Best Choreography. And then Outstanding Achievement in Music for Lin-Manuel Miranda. Yeah, great, listen. This show has been everywhere. Yeah, like every. I think it's the longest list of countries I've read since we started our podcast.
Speaker 1:Since one of the old, old ones like Gypsy or 42nd Street or something like that, but like Philippines, Manila, Philippines, Panama, Brazil, Tokyo and Japan, Melbourne and Australia, Vancouver, Canada, Seoul, South Korea, Peru, Germany a Spanish premiere in 2017, Denmark, Mexico, Poland I mean world domination Lin-Manuel Miranda, much, yeah. So there we go.
Speaker 2:Amazing.
Speaker 1:You're going to be proud of me.
Speaker 2:There's a documentary there is what's the documentary called?
Speaker 1:It's called In the Heights Chasing Broadway Dreams it is great, and can I just tell you you will be even more proud of me. I told you gold stars all around this season. I watched it, Did you? I certainly did.
Speaker 2:Was that your first time watching it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't know about it. Who did you know? No, I didn't know about it until I was researching and it said there is a documentary. I went there's a documentary Flip, she'll be all over this documentary. I was off so I was like do you know what? I'm going to take a wee bit of time to sit. It was very good, yeah, I really liked it.
Speaker 2:I thought it was very raw. Like I said, I've seen it. Yeah, I re-watched it for the third time. I came to it. So I was kind of obsessed with Hamilton for a while and then discovered Chasing Broadway Dreams, which I thought was about Hamilton. I was like why are they talking about Washington Heights?
Speaker 1:what is Washington Heights? Washington Heights in the break of day, what is?
Speaker 2:this. And then I was like, oh, this is his, this is what he's done. Another musical yeah, his first one so then I watched that, and then that led me on to Freestyle Supreme, which was his rap group. So there's a wee documentary on that too. So I mean, if you're in and there's also a Hamilton documentary- One documentary is okay for now.
Speaker 1:It does document the journey taken by the cast and the crew to bring the show to Broadway and to later winning those Tony Awards for Best Musical and the like.
Speaker 2:And just I love them being able to see it up on screen and like seeing how family life was impacted by being on broadway yeah, like off broadway and just all of those things yeah, it was really good, it was excellent it is a good documentary.
Speaker 2:Go watch it. Go watch it. Did you know that? Um, uh, the original story was going to be a love triangle between Benny, nina and Lincoln. Lincoln is not in the final production that we know now, but Lincoln was going to be Nina's brother and Lincoln was going to actually be in love with Benny, and then Benny was in love with Nina.
Speaker 1:Oh, interesting.
Speaker 2:So there's been a couple and in Washington Heights M-E-M. Washington Heights is the only part of the original song left.
Speaker 1:Oh, isn't it amazing the journey songs go on, like talking to Nico, like the number of rewrites, yeah. It's crazy, shall we talk about our musical lyrical lingo then Well, there'll be a lot of Spanish. Yes, okay, Full disclosure. I've never done Spanish in my life. I'll try my very best, but I don't mean any offence if I do mispronounce something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I'm definitely not.
Speaker 1:And it's not that I don't go and listen to the words or listen to the soundtrack. I, just when it comes to them recording, can't remember what I've heard.
Speaker 2:Same, and I just don't have that brain for learning languages. So I look at it and go, my memories get worse.
Speaker 1:like to be quite honest with you.
Speaker 2:In the Heights we have the man selling ice cold Paragua.
Speaker 1:Paragua, paragua.
Speaker 2:There we go. So he goes Paragua, parcha, cherry, strawberry and just for today, I got mammy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you also had China in there too, that you left out China. Yeah, you also had China in there too that you left out. China yeah, he sings Parcha China Cherry Strawberry, and just for today I got Mammy.
Speaker 2:Oh, I just thought it was Parcha Cherry Strawberry. So he is selling a Puerto Rican frozen treat shaved ice it's like a slush puppy right. It is like a snow cone, but America's snow cones is round, while Puerto Rican's frozen ice is pointy. So that's the difference between the two. Parcha is one of my favourite flavours Passion fruit.
Speaker 1:That's correct.
Speaker 2:And Mami is a fruit which is native to Mexico and Central America.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and China that you left out was orange. Ah yes, and since the Paraguara is Puerto Rican, he refers to the orange by the local term, china rather than Naranja.
Speaker 2:Ah, OK, Learning, you're learning. Learning In the Heights is a very long opening number Is it the longest opening number there has ever been.
Speaker 1:Quite possibly, but I think it's helpful in setting up like the Heights and the people.
Speaker 2:It's like nine minutes 45 seconds long.
Speaker 1:You're right, it is very, very long.
Speaker 2:And it sort of gets to that very end where it goes da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, and I skip Because I'm like I know what you're about to say in the heights.
Speaker 1:In Washington Heights.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Great mic drop but I'm like, oh gosh, I'm done. But yeah, so it's him. And I actually love the beginning, where the music is class, because there's the rhythm, there's the cultural influences from all the different neighborhoods and people that have moved there and immigrated there and sort of slowly builds and then it gets bigger and louder and vibrant.
Speaker 1:From the word go, go. It gets your feet going, doesn't it? Yeah, like your feet can't stop but move. Yeah, bodega is the local general store that is Navi has, and Lin-Manuel Miranda said that his earliest memory takes place in a bodega on Dickman Street in Washington Heights.
Speaker 2:Oh, nice, nice.
Speaker 1:Hence I think that's maybe why he kind of went with Pulled down the awning.
Speaker 2:Good morning, good morning, yeah.
Speaker 1:The next one. It means grandmother in Spanish yes, abuela, ab. Yes, abuela, abuela, abuela, well done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, ten out of ten I know that because my daughter was obsessed with Adora when she was younger.
Speaker 1:Say it again Abuela. Abuela. So abuela means grandmother in Spanish. It is also used throughout the musical to convey respect, honour and courtesy for the grand dame of the neighbourhood. Now Yusnavi, and Say it again.
Speaker 2:Abuela.
Speaker 1:Abuela Claudia's relationship seems to have a bit of an autobiographical overtone for Lin-Manuel Miranda Because he had his own Abuela Mundi. She wasn't actually his Abuela, wasn't his grandmother, but he once stated that she practically raised him. So it just kind of shows that like kind of respect to elders and that exact line is in.
Speaker 2:You know she's not really my abuela, but she practically raised me, yeah, exactly. This barrio. He says that this barrio, which means neighborhood in Spanish, Very good. Okay, there's a lot of Spanish in here isn't there, which means neighborhood in Spanish.
Speaker 1:Very good, okay, yeah, there's a lot of Spanish in here, isn't there? So I didn't take the Spanish translations because I knew that was only going to go one way. Yeah, so I'm stopping at words like singular words, singular words In the introduction of the character Sunny and in the Heights, because we're still on that opening number, which is 24 hours long as Usnavi introduces Sunny.
Speaker 1:His line provides evidence of Sunny's laid-back attitude, which Usnavi often perceives as laziness. So Usnavi's lines not only use rhyme really clever in a quick and succinct manner, but it also is a goldmine of common expressions.
Speaker 1:So whilst talking about Sunny, or introducing Sunny, he mentions dime a dozen, a mum and pop shop and a stop and shop, so dime a dozen, means something mum and pop shop and a stop and shop, so dime a dozen, means something that is so common that each individual unit holds little value. A suitable description for the bodegas in the Heights A mum and pop shop is like a family owned business, like a bodega. Yusnavi ran with his parents before they died and he now runs with his cousin, and Stop and Shop is like a stylized way of saying a one-stop shop. Yeah, did you have them too? We're so in tune with each other, aren't we?
Speaker 2:We're so in tune. So he opens, or In the Heights opens, with him sort of addressing the audience, and he says my pana, and that means to address the audience. Um, and he's saying he says my pana, and that means to address the audience while they are singing, but also just means hey, partner. And from that he introduces who he is and where he is at the bodega and then, as people come, in, you, that is how you're introduced to the main characters and it's great because they're all have a little bit of like personality to them and you kind of can get a feel then of all the different characters within there.
Speaker 1:And they've all got their own wee things going on, which is cool yeah and you can kind of hear when they all have a song.
Speaker 2:Later, as the musical progresses, you can hear their song within In the Heights. So it's a very, very clever opening number.
Speaker 1:Because Lin-Manuel Miranda's a genius.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very clever. So the abuela says, he says oh, I'll not be selling coffee if everything is warm and tepid. So obviously people come in and get their coffee, buy their lotto, get a paper, get whatever it is they need. And then she says try my grandmother's old recipe, condensed milk yeah. Have you ever had coffee with?
Speaker 1:condensed milk?
Speaker 2:No, it is lovely, oh sweet, too sweet. I love condensed milk.
Speaker 1:I like condensed milk too, but I don't know. And a coffee, I'm not so sure, and I also Do you not get a few pumps in your? A few pumps in my coffee, as in syrups? No, definitely not.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what the point was.
Speaker 1:I used to Do you know what? Actually, on the pumps, I am feeling really proud because I'm a big fan of pumpkin spice lattes, but those syrups are really, really not good for you. Yeah, like really the amount of sugar. And I have got through autumnal season because, let's be honest, honest we're on the way to Christmas. It's winter now. Right, I know the leaves are still falling, but they've taken out the pumpkin spice lattes out of the the coffee places I might go to, and I haven't had one this autumnal season. How good, and I mean that's willpower that is, isn't it?
Speaker 2:that's very good.
Speaker 1:I love pumpkin spice lattes, yeah. Similarly, I love the gingerbread lattes that are about to come in and I'm not doing it. I don't like gingerbread, I love. Do you know, those are the only syrups I like, right, because a few of our friends love their vanilla yes of lattes, and I'm like, yeah, those pumpkin spice lattes and gingerbread lattes are the only ones I like, but I have ripped them out of my life because I'm a saddo well, just, I mean we're tangent tangent um.
Speaker 2:At the weekend I took my daughter to said coffee shop a coffee shop and asked for the um do you do the wicked drinks? And they were like, is that a tiktok thing? I was like, no, it's on your website. They did make them. So my daughter had the glinda one and I had the elphaba one.
Speaker 1:So what are they?
Speaker 2:so the elphaba is a cold um brew with matcha and mint. It's not the nicest but glinda's is just like a refresher. It's like dragon fruit and coconut.
Speaker 1:Oh that sounds nice.
Speaker 2:There's no coffee in it, but yeah.
Speaker 1:Are you ready for the world to go wicked mad? I think it's going to be overkill.
Speaker 2:I think it's like a Robinson's or Salon, you know for just.
Speaker 1:I know, I just think it's going to go insane. Mentally, know, I just think it's going to go insane. We don't need it.
Speaker 2:Mentally insane, I mean, we still need to book our tickets and we need to go.
Speaker 1:That's true. Anyway moving on Back. Shall we breathe, Sorry?
Speaker 2:Abuela says after she says about Condensed milk. Condensed milk in the coffee and that's how he's able to sell the coffee for the day. She says the line of her song Paseo Bay.
Speaker 1:I think you were close enough to be fair Paseo Bay Episodes like this I wish we could play. I know, Bits of the music.
Speaker 2:Season three. We'll do that. Season three. It means patience and faith, but she says that like this is what her song is and but yeah, I didn't know what. That's what that meant.
Speaker 1:I'm just getting the track list up, just in case we have any more of those.
Speaker 2:We do that.
Speaker 1:What in the Heights? That's what we're doing.
Speaker 2:In the Heights. So, yeah, that's all I had for the 19 hours and 42 seconds song.
Speaker 1:Passé a fée, you were right, Was I kind of close yeah absolutely Breathe Nina's song, beautiful song, yeah, so Nina is like basically dropping out of college, isn't that right? Yes, and she's like oh, what are my parents going to say? I'm going to have let everyone down. I'm the only one from the family who's gone off to university and here I am, back home and not wanting to return to uni and all the rest of it and we were introduced to our parents.
Speaker 2:In the stage show we have her mum and her dad, but in the film it's just the dad.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:They changed that.
Speaker 1:And that's the role that David Bedella won his Olivier for.
Speaker 2:So we know from in the Heights in the introduction is that they run the local cab company but they're saving money because Nina is off to college and tuition fees are mad steep, so everything you buy is mad cheap. And then he comes in and he goes $20 on today's lottery.
Speaker 2:So we know that the family is you, you know, pulling their purse strings tight to make sure, nina can go and she comes and unfortunately she's not loving it the way that she, she, um, thought that she would, but she was almost hope for in the heights for somebody who got out of there and went to college and, um, she feels bad about coming home yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, in in her song, breathe one of the lines she says uh is with my eye, with my eyes on the horizon. No, I can't sing, I don't have the tune. With my eyes on the horizon, just me and the gwb asking g nina, what will you be? Gwb, no idea george washington bridge, which connects washington heights to fort lee. Now, what will you be GWB? No idea. George Washington Bridge, that's right, which connects Washington Heights to Fort Lee, new Jersey.
Speaker 2:Must be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Fun fact, the role Benny, which is Nina's love interest, was originated by Chris Jackson. You see him in the documentary. You see him in the documentary. He went on to play GW George Washington in then Mumwell's next Broadway musical, Hamilton. I don't know if you've heard of it.
Speaker 2:I have yeah.
Speaker 1:She also then sings as the radio plays, old, forgotten Boleros. Do you have that one?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have that too. So well, boleros are two things, but in this kind of Boleros are also little tiny jackets. Ah, I never thought of the jackets, yeah.
Speaker 1:I just think of what are they called Torval and Dean?
Speaker 2:Anytime.
Speaker 1:I hear bolero. That's all I think of Torval and Dean.
Speaker 2:But what Nina is referring to is a genre of song which originated in Eastern Cuba in the late 19th century.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so a type of Latin music and dance popular Cuba, Spain and Puerto Rico.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the very first line of Breathe is in Spanish.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh you're brave, Like, why are you doing that to yourself?
Speaker 2:We've had this conversation. No, poor, stop it.
Speaker 1:Stop, stop, no more Spanish.
Speaker 2:We agree we can't speak it. Why are we trying? Okay, let's not do that. It's beautiful.
Speaker 1:It means keep walking the path for your whole life and breathe you should have just said that and let the people go and listen. No stop, oh gosh, um, let's move on. The genre of boleros peaked in popularity in the mid-20th century, and I suppose listening to the boleros would bring back those memories of an era that Nina was nostalgic for.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I'm just not going to be able to say any worse than that we agreed this.
Speaker 1:I have no idea why you put yourself out there.
Speaker 2:Because you know what In my head sometimes I'm like I can do this, you can speak. Spanish. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1:I love.
Speaker 2:I love one, two, three.
Speaker 1:Is that Benny's Dispatch? Yeah, yeah, I like Benny, I think Benny's class, I like that and I.
Speaker 2:I actually um think I prefer the relationship in the film to the stage show yeah um, because it's just cute yeah, it's cute anyway.
Speaker 1:he sings in Benny's Dispatch, west End's your best friend.
Speaker 2:I wish I could rap, to be fair, I know, and the problem is you listen to this and you're like, yeah, I can do that, like I was practising for ours on my karaoke, but it's much harder.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I take my hat off to anyone who can rap, so he raps. West End's your Best Friend If you Catch the Lights and Don't Take the Diggin' Mandy. West End's your best friend if you catch the lights and don't take the digging. Mandy Ramirez. Yeah, well done, tim is in town this weekend. It was all right, wasn't it? Epr, hi, ramirez. He's nodding, ramirez. Anyway, a few things. Yeah, to catch the lights is to reach the traffic lights while they're green. Taxi drivers are quite good at that. They are. They're slowing down until, yeah, deegan is the Deegan Expressway in the Bronx.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And Mandy Mandy, yeah, mandy Mandy, say it again. Ramirez Ramirez. What is wrong with my brain, Ramirez Ramirez?
Speaker 2:Say it again Ramirez.
Speaker 1:What is wrong with my brain? Ramirez is a Dominican baseball player who grew up in the Heights, One of the great baseball players of the late 90s and early noughties, Batting I went to say battling, but it's actually batting 555 home runs and being awarded the World Series MVP in the historic Red Sox 2004 series win. Are you impressed, Aaron Yep?
Speaker 2:And do you even know what any of that means?
Speaker 1:I have no idea what any of that means, but I do know that if he's visiting, the traffic is going to be heavy on the Deegan which goes by the Yankee Stadium. So, benny's right, if you catch the lights, don't take the Deegan. Mandy Ramirez is in town. Did I still say it wrong? I give up. I'm tapping out.
Speaker 2:No, you've done very well, you've done very well.
Speaker 1:Moving on, yeah Quickly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, go, I just had obviously Pensee and Fay. Oh God, I've lost, I'm completely gone. Patience and Faith that we saw.
Speaker 1:I like the song Paraguay, paraguay they sing. It's hotter than the islands are tonight and Mr Softee's trying to shut me down.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Mr Softee.
Speaker 2:Is the ice cream.
Speaker 1:American ice cream truck franchisor.
Speaker 2:Like our Mr Whippy.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and considering they both sell frozen goods, mr Softee and Paragua.
Speaker 2:Paragua shaved ice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the Paragua guy would consider the truck a competitor.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:He's just in a little cart walking about the streets bit of, yeah, also the kind of competition between small scale and large scale. Is that gentrification?
Speaker 2:Yes, it is indeed Woohoo.
Speaker 1:Go me.
Speaker 2:Coming in and taking over.
Speaker 1:I can't speak Spanish, but I know big words.
Speaker 2:Well done you.
Speaker 1:Well done you Do you have anything else, I have something else there. I mean, I'm missing a page if we were to really open this musical up, we could probably go line by line oh my goodness, it's, super clever super clever.
Speaker 2:A lot of content, a lot of Spanish there's a lot of Spanish, but I think at the heart of it, it's all about community, immigration, culture and identity and how they are very important and how we can learn from each other.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But still staying true to your culture and values and how representation is important.
Speaker 1:Thousand percent.
Speaker 2:No matter where you are in the world.
Speaker 1:And I think they did a good job of the film.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really like the film.
Speaker 1:So did I Really like the film?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really like the film. So did I Really like the film? Yeah, I liked their changes. Some of the songs were edited Some of them. Some of the storylines were changed a bit. I think the I can't remember the name of the song, but there's a song that is actually Benny and Nina sing in the stage version, but the film it's just it's Navi and his love interest singing it and it makes more sense.
Speaker 1:Vanessa.
Speaker 2:Vanessa 96,000. What do you think of that song?
Speaker 1:it's another one that gets stuck in your head, doesn't it? 96,000 yeah and then.
Speaker 2:I win the lottery you won't see me again.
Speaker 1:Alright, then stay broke lottery. You won't see me again alright, then stay broke.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they. Originally in the stage version it's Donald Trump they're going to be caddy for. And then they remove that for the film and say Tiger Woods no comment.
Speaker 1:In the current climate and what's going on this week, I'm saying nothing.
Speaker 2:But just a good little how they reviewed the situation.
Speaker 1:Always reviewing the situation.
Speaker 2:And yeah, lynn, we bestie here.
Speaker 1:Your best friend Lynn.
Speaker 2:Munwell. That's what he likes to do is use people in lots of his different projects. So the guy that originally played Sonny because Lin-Manuel Miranda played Usnavi- and they look so young, don't they? Oh, my goodness, the guy that plays Sonny is the guy that plays Michael in Tick Tick Boom, correct. And then obviously, the guy that plays Benny is George Washington, and then we have who plays Lawrence and Philip in Hamilton plays Yuznavi in the film. And then one of the three hairdressers is the Mirabelle. From what is that? It's the Disney.
Speaker 1:You've actually lost it. Oh, coco, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 1:Not Coco, it was the one that came after.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:About the Bruno Bruno.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Bruno, enchanto, enchanto.
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness, you can tell it's late.
Speaker 1:It's late, it's late, it's a lot.
Speaker 2:But there's a lot of connections.
Speaker 1:Well, he has his people, doesn't he, that he trusts and he surrounds himself With people he wants to be surrounded by.
Speaker 2:So at the end of the day, if you want to learn some Spanish, go and listen. You probably didn't hear that there At the end of the day.
Speaker 1:If you want, to learn some Spanish, go and listen EP. You probably didn't hear that there. He just said listening to In the Heights worked for us learning our Spanish.
Speaker 2:He's very rude. If you want to learn some Spanish, go and listen to In the Heights. Just go and listen to it.
Speaker 1:It's great. It is great. It's a great soundtrack, controversial. You're going to kill me, as are many of the listeners. I actually prefer it over Hamilton.
Speaker 2:Interesting.
Speaker 1:I do, I do.
Speaker 2:Is it because you haven't?
Speaker 1:No, I've seen Hamilton Because.
Speaker 2:I feel like I've seen Hamilton.
Speaker 1:I've seen Hamilton. I think I just find Hamilton very heavy A lot of the well, it's too long, to be fair. I think in the house could be shaved down a bit too. But I find I think Hamilton it's quite heavy a lot of the time, like it's very, it's very driven and forceful and quite military in its style, which is fair enough. That's what it's about. But I enjoyed the party like carnival kind of like atmosphere in the Heights. I think in the Heights songs are catchier. Yeah, like even Black Eyed Fireworks, fireworks, fireworks. Listen, I'm not. It's not taking anything away from Hamilton, it's a piece of genius. But I to listen to you, I prefer the Ben Nights.
Speaker 2:I can understand how you have come to that conclusion.
Speaker 1:I disagree with you, but I understand I can definitely understand have come to that conclusion.
Speaker 2:I disagree with you, but I understand I can definitely understand how you've got there. I think it's good fun. I do really enjoy the film. My daughter loves it. I mean she loves.
Speaker 1:Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Speaker 2:She can quote Hamilton and she can quote In the Heights.
Speaker 1:Which blows my mind, because I actually really struggle to do that for both of them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no.
Speaker 1:Like I've written down lines there and I'm going, I know how that goes, and then you go to say it or to sing it and you're like, no, I can't remember how that goes now.
Speaker 2:But for both of them whenever they came out, and I think that this is another reason why theatre needs to be accessible to everyone. She just watched it on repeat, you know, and she loved it and she got so much out of it and she just did it and she just thinks it's great, like both are so different, but she just she was able to visualize it because she was watching it, and then she was like that's class, and then she was able to watch a film version of a musical, um, yeah, and she can literally quote it.
Speaker 1:So she would be better speaking the spanish than us okay because she was really good why did we not bring her in that? She was a little bit raging, she would and she will be raging at us when she hears this episode and hears how we butchered most of the lyrics in this wonderful show.
Speaker 2:I can't wait for you to see our production of Yorktown from Hamilton. I can't wait to see it either maybe we'll do In the Heights as well.
Speaker 1:Maybe we'll do 96,000 96,000 yeah, we'll do that if I win the lottery, I won't be here next week.
Speaker 2:Because you win the lottery.
Speaker 1:I'll be gone.
Speaker 2:Because you get paid for this.
Speaker 1:No, I don't, that's my point. If I win the lottery, I'll be gone Until next week. Then.
Speaker 2:Until next week. Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1:Bye.
