Theatre Observation Essay

At the end of August I was lucky enough to go down to the Barrio and watch In The Heights for the second time. The story follows a group of young, Latin neighbours trying to fit into New York and make a life for themselves. The group have grown up together but are slowly drifting apart because of school, jobs and the fact that the rent in the neighbour is being put up because of gentrification. The show was by Lin Manuel Miranda, who, if you've read some of my other posts you’ll know i’m a little bit obsessed with. I went down to watch the show for the first time, without really knowing what it was about and what to expect, just that I was going to watch a performance created by one of the most talented men on the planet right now.

The Theatre was one of the most amazing theatres I have ever been to. As soon as you walk in you're greeted with the smell of popcorn, the layout of the front of house is just so so beautiful and even the toilets looked amazing. The staging of it was different to the other shows that I had scene. The stage was in the middle of the room with seats on either side, almost like an in the round performance but the seats weren't all the way around. I know from previous performances in college how hard it is to do a show in the round and making sure you're aware of the audience at all times so that they can see you,

I have never seen anyone with as much talent as Phillipa. Both times I saw her, she had the audience in the palm of her hands! Her comedy timing was perfect and the amount of sass she brings to the character of Daniela is next level. The chemistry that she has with whoever is playing Vanessa or Carla (they were different both times) is nothing like I've ever seen before. If there is a Phillipa Stefani School Of Sass and Acting then sign me up! Unfortunately she has now finished her run in In The Heights, but fortunately you can see her in the upcoming Rent tour, starting in