This is a blog post that was born from a conversation with my mom as we were driving down to Cape May. As with any proper road trip, we had chosen a musical to listen to and sing along to. It was my mom’s birthday, so obviously, she got to choose what musical we were listening to. She chose In the Heights…a favorite of hers, and a favorite of mine (which anyone who has read my blog posts can ascertain). On top of that, it’s a fantastic musical to sing along to. But the real conversation was about more than just In the Heights. It was, what I am referring to now, a grudge match between In the Heights and Hamilton.
Please, don’t get me wrong. Both musicals are absolutely fantastic. Lin Manuel Miranda is nothing short of genius. When you look at In the Heights as a first musical, it’s absolutely astounding. But here’s how I feel about it all…and I know it’s something of an unpopular opinion…but I like In the Heights more than Hamilton. There’s a lot to that statement, and I plan on explaining it all. I also promise I’m not trying to sway anyone’s opinion. It’s just something I want to talk about.
First of all, I know that Hamilton is the “it” musical these days. I’ve seen it on stage, and it was absolutely incredible. I can understand why Hamilton is so popular, why everyone says you have to see it if you’re a musical theatre fan. And something else I love about it is that a recording of it is up on Disney+, so it’s completely accessible. Even if you can’t afford to see it on stage (tickets are fucking expensive), it’s right there for watching. So by now, I think pretty much everyone has seen Hamilton. It’s great. But I also think In the Heights is sort of looked over.
In the Heights and Hamilton are very different musicals, and I think that’s where I want to start. Both are filled with passion and emotion. They’re character studies, they’re stories being told. But the thing I think In the Heights has over Hamilton is a raw power, a raw emotion. In some ways, I think this comes from it being a first musical. Hamilton is much more refined, and you can tell it was written by someone who has some experience in what he’s doing. But the raw power that In the Heights has hits you right in the gut. For a long time, I couldn’t even listen to the opening song without tearing up. It’s pretty major.
I think one of my favorite things that sort of edges In the Heights over Hamilton is the characters. Yes, I am a history lover, and I love the life that Lin has breathed into the historical characters in Hamilton. It’s pretty damn amazing what he was able to do with men and women who died centuries ago. But the characters in In the Heights are all his. And they all have stories to tell that came straight from Lin. The characters in In the Heights are powerful and emotional. They do things that take courage and bravery, and they didn’t come from history. These characters bring out so much in me.
Something I hate is that I’ve never seen In the Heights on stage. It was on Broadway at a time where I definitely couldn’t afford tickets, and has only toured in Philly a couple of times. I did have a pretty grainy bootleg that I watched in college, which I guess is something. The movie was good, but I also don’t think it necessarily did the musical justice. Hamilton was incredible on stage, but honestly, I would much rather see In the Heights. And although I feel like I would be sobbing through most of it, I can also imagine the power of seeing Usnavi up there. The cast of characters in In the Heights are unbeatable.
I can’t deny the fact that I think Lin Manuel Miranda has revolutionized musical theatre with Hamilton. It’s popularity is incredible, both with fans of musical theatre and people who might not have been too interested before. But I also think a lot of people don’t think about his start. How young he was when he wrote In the Heights. The stories he told through those characters, through those songs. How this was his start, and he never would have reached the peak of things he has with Hamilton without In the Heights.
Where can Lin go from here? I do hope he keeps writing for us all. Who knows, maybe someday there’ll be an extended grudge match. But for now, I think it’s really important to look at all of these things. In the Heights does more for me than Hamilton does…and that’s okay. I can still love both musicals, and still have my favorite. Like I said at the start, the point of this wasn’t to sway anybody. It’s just about falling in love, and ultimately loving one thing just a little bit more.
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