I’m sure most of you haven’t heard that word before. It’s a German word that means “seated rehearsal.” Sitzprobes came to prominence in the opera world. They soon became part of the musical theatre process and something everyone on a show looks forward to because it can only mean one thing—opening night is coming soon.

You are still probably wondering what we actually do at a sitzprobe. Well, sorry to disappoint you hardcore German speakers out there, but we don’t actually sit at all. We stand!   And the most exciting part of the sitzprobe: we get to sing through the show  with an orchestra for the first time!

During most musical rehearsals a pianist plays along with the singers while the team works their way through the show. Separately,  musicians learn their music and have rehearsals with their conductor. In Williston productions the orchestra doesn’t come in until tech week. Sitzprobe, in this case about a week before our first tech rehearsal, is the opportunity for the musicians, singers, and music director to work together.

It’s an exciting time! Our sitzprobe was Monday, April 18.  With the orchestra playing with us we certainly felt the reality of our situation—opening night is coming up fast. It was also particularly special because the music in In the Heights is as much of a character as any person you will see on the stage. The sounds of the neighborhood are in the percussion. The feeling of the Caribbean comes through in the horns. Suddenly the hustle and bustle of New York City and the smell of salt air in  Puerta Plata D.R.; La Vibora, Cuba; and Arecibo, Puerto Rico don’t feel so far away.

The excitement is even greater this year because thanks to the generous senior class gift, the Williston Theatre program is now the proud owner of a set of individual wireless microphones. These mics, which will be worn by anyone with a singing solo, will enable our audience to hear the actors perfectly. While we rented them for our last musical, Urinetown, these mics are ours!

Sitzprobe was a busy night. We tested mic levels and orchestra tempo. We had to make sure the mic packs fit the actors and the mics themselves were staying in place. Despite all that, spirits were pretty high as we put more of the finishing touches of the musical in place.

In the Heights runs April 28-30 and May 5-7. For tickets and more information visit our ticket website. 

Graffiti plays an important role in the story of In the Heights. Without giving too much away, I will say that one character is named Graffiti Pete. My knowledge about graffiti and its origins was pretty minimal at the start of this rehearsal process. I knew that Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator, composer, and star of In the Heights, wouldn’t have put Graffiti Pete in the show without a reason, and so I needed to learn more about the origins of the art form.

Luckily, our choreographer, Debra Vega, invited Wane COD, a graffiti artist who grew up in New York and has worked for corporations like Sean Jean and Nike,  to help us out. Wane is a legend in the graffiti world, so we are enormously lucky to have had the opportunity to work with him!

Back in February Wane came to visit the cast of In the Heights. He gave us a presentation on the evolution of graffiti from an underground community of taggers to a widely respected art form practiced all over the world. Since its inception in the 1970s, graffiti was an art form of survival.

Practiced mostly by teenagers, writers (as graffiti artists are known) were kids who took their moms’ kitchen cleaner to help make their writing thicker and more visible. Younger writers were mentored by older kids who had been around longer—traditions were handed down from one generation of taggers to another, who then built on those traditions. It was a community and a home for the writers. (This is when the light bulbs started to go off in my head. Community! Home! This is what In the Heights is all about! Aha!)

While gang members did capitalize on the work of the graffiti pioneers, that was a small piece of a much larger movement, the goal of which was to represent underserved neighborhoods. While graffiti actually started in Philadelphia, it came to prominence with writers in The Bronx. Graffiti art soon got the attention of the downtown art scene in Manhattan, and writers could see a way out of their circumstances through their art. Graffiti is now practiced all over the world and its role in empowering and celebrating communities through public art is well established.

Wane came back to Williston in early April to teach tech theatre students about the origins of graffiti and to show them some skills they’ll apply to the set for In the Heights. He also spent some time with Gabby Record ’17, who is playing Graffiti Pete in our production, so she could get to know how to handle a spray can. Wane will also put his own mark on the show with an original work, but you’ll have to come see the show to get more details.

Again, I don’t want to give away any plot points, but as I suspected, Miranda’s rendition of Graffiti Pete is another way to celebrate community and the power of art. One of the many reasons I love this play!

For more information on the production or to order tickets visit our ticket website. 

On Wednesday January 21st the cast of In the Heights took a research trip to New York City. The play takes place in Washington Heights, a predominantly Dominican neighborhood in upper Manhattan, so it was only natural that we should visit the neighborhood and learn all we could about life between 155th and 181st streets. Neha Nascimento ’17 (who plays salon owner Daniela in our production) said, “It is one thing to look at pictures of the neighborhood. It’s another thing to actually experience and see it face to face.” Not only did we take in the neighborhood, we soaked up all of the information we could with a visit to CUNY, lunch with members of the original Broadway cast of In the Heights, and a performance of Fun Home on Broadway.

We started the day at CUNY’s Dominican Studies Institute around 10am, which houses a library and archives. We were lucky enough to talk with Assistant Professor Anthony Stevens, librarian Jhensen Ortiz, and archivist Jessy Perez. There was a plethora of incredible information they passed along to us, most notably about the strong community ties in Washington heights and the impact those ties had on changing the political landscape of New York City and empowering the residents of Washington Heights. This is part of the reason that the neighborhood, despite rampant poverty, emerged after the devastation of the 1980’s crack epidemic as a strong and stable neighborhood. The power of  community is a central theme in In the Heights so the cast found this point particularly compelling. We also learned about the role music plays in Dominican culture (a huge one), and the Dominican hero, the first non-Native American resident of what would become New York City, Juan Rodriguez, who arrived in 1613 on a ship belonging to Dutch merchants.

After our work at CUNY was done we made our way to Times Square to meet Eliseo Roman and Robin de Jesus, who originated the roles of Piragua Guy and Sonny, respectively, in the original Broadway production of In the Heights.  Our choroepgrapher Debra Vega organized the lunch with Mr. Roman- the two used to do theatre together in the early 2000’s. Mr. Roman is currently on Broadway in On Your Feet, a musical based on the life of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Mr. de Jesus is currently in Wicked, and has been nominated for two Tony awards (the first nomination was for his role in In the Heights). It was unbelievable to hear these two Broadway veterans talk about bringing the original production of In the Heights to life, and how the play evolved throughout the workshop process (Piragua Guy’s song was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda on a fifteen-minute break). They left us with some incredible stories. During the off-Broadway run of In the Heights there were only two dressing rooms- one for the guys and one for the girls. The actors were shoulder to shoulder every day before the show started. Sharing stories while getting into costume, hair and make-up brought the cast together. They became a family.  The sense of community was palpable for the audience, and was part of what made the show so special. When the show moved to Broadway, the dressing rooms were spread out all over the Richard Rogers Theatre. Many actors would not see their costars until they got onstage. Mr. de Jesus told us that Christopher Jackson, (who played Benny and is now on Broadway playing George Washington in Hamilton) organized a group prayer before each show to allow the actors to connect before they got onstage to keep their connection alive. Mr. de Jesus implored the cast to get to know one another and not be shy about making new friends- an invaluable life lesson- and something that will make the show come alive. Both Mr. de Jesus and Mr. Roman spoke about how In the Heights made Latino stories visible on Broadway for the first time. To be a part of that experience was life-changing for both of them. For the first time they played characters whose stories were similar to their own and they were not playing stereotypes. After lunch, Mr. Roman left for a wig fitting before his 2pm performance and Mr. de Jesus prepared to take in a movie on a rare Wednesday off.  To see these actors, who by all accounts are at the top of their field, so open to talk to us and genuinely excited about our production, was inspiring and humbling.

After lunch we rushed a few blocks north to the Circle in the Square Theatre to see Fun Home, which won the Tony in 2015 for Best Musical. The show is based on Allison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel which follows a young Allison as she navigates a childhood raised in a funeral home, her college years as she comes to grips with her sexuality, and her adult years as she processes her relationship with her father. Her own fully out of the closet life contributed to her father, a closeted gay man, having a nervous breakdown. The story, told in snapshots as an adult Allison struggles to write her graphic novel, moves seamlessly through time and space and does not fit neatly into categories. It is a family story told through music, where you find yourself laughing and crying at the same time. It was amazing for our young actors to see Broadway vets Michael Cerveris (who plays Allison’s father Bruce) and Judy Kuhn (playing Allison’s mother Helen) along with a cast made of many newcomers (including a cohort of child actors) give their all to their roles and bring such specificity to each character choice.

Our day finished with a trip uptown on the A train to Washington Heights itself. We got off at 168th Street and Broadway, walked west towards Jumel Place, and back toward Broadway and 175th. We were able to see Caridad restaurant (referenced in the play), a number of Bodegas (we visited my old favorite on 168th), and took in a breathtaking view of the George Washington Bridge. We were treated well at El Malecon, a Washington Heights establishment, for dinner. It would be hard to pick a favorite part of the meal, but I’d have to say the coconut flan was an overall favorite.

We left the city a little before 7pm. Tired, but enriched and ready to pour ourselves into the story of In the Heights.

In the Heights runs April 25-27 and May 5-7 at the Williston Theatre. Tickets will go on sale in early April.

The production team would like to thank the Dean’s Office, the Athletic Department, and the parents of our cast for helping to make this trip a success. 

This trip was made possible in part by a gift to the theatre program from Austin Sarat and Stephanie Sandler. We are very grateful for their support. 

For a student perspective on the trip, please see Nate Gordon’s article in The Willistonian.