There are certain shows that feel less like a night at the theatre and more like a block party you are lucky enough to have wandered into.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” has always lived in that warm, rhythmic, deeply human space, and in the hands of Musical Theatre West, it becomes something even more specific — a love letter to community that lands squarely in the heart of Long Beach.
Before it became a Broadway sensation, “In the Heights” began as a college project by a then unknown Lin-Manuel Miranda at Wesleyan University, an ambitious attempt to fuse hip hop, salsa and traditional musical theatre storytelling into something that reflected the rhythms of his own upbringing.
By the time it reached Broadway in 2008, the show had become a cultural milestone, winning the Tony Awards for Best Musical and reshaping what stories could live at the center of the American stage.
Musical Theatre West’s production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” is on show through April 26. (Photo courtesy Long Beach Playhouse/TAKE/Sujan Creative).
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Musical Theatre West’s production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” is on show through April 26. (Photo courtesy Long Beach Playhouse/TAKE/Sujan Creative).
From the moment the lights come up, Musical Theatre West leans fully into that pulse. The production feels alive, not like a preserved hit but like a breathing neighborhood. At the center, Rubén J. Carbajal’s Usnavi anchors the evening with charm and quiet longing, while Angelica Lozada Ramos brings warmth and resolve to Vanessa.
The central love story between Amanda Aceves-Lopez’s Nina and Antwone Barnes’s Benny is particularly affecting, grounded in vulnerability and sincerity. Mario Rocha’s Kevin Rosario and Elvira Barjau’s Camila provide the necessary generational tension and grace, while Suzanna Guzmán delivers a deeply moving Abuela Claudia, embodying the memory and soul of the community.
Supporting performances add texture and vitality. Adam Leiva’s Sonny is bright and urgent, Veronica Vazquez Jackson and Rianny Vasquez energize the salon scenes as Daniela and Carla, and Patrick Viloria and Berto Fernández round out the world with specificity and charm.
The ensemble moves with cohesion and purpose, creating a neighborhood that feels fully inhabited. The choreography has a lived in quality, and vocally the company meets the demands of Miranda’s rapid fire score with clarity and intention. High energy numbers land with thrilling force, but it is the quieter moments, conversations about home, legacy, and belonging, that resonate most deeply.
Design elements support the storytelling with elegance, allowing the actors to fill in the world without distraction. Everything works in service of a production that feels generous, joyful, and grounded in emotional truth.
Which is why one choice stands out.
Musical Theatre West’s commitment to young performers is admirable, and the inclusion of a student ensemble featuring Joseph Arias, Jaiden Beatty, Hannah Joy Cachola, Teddy Ghose, Vihaan Jadhav, Isabella Luna, Tristan Moya, Noah Peralta, Nava Tate, and Victoria Viramontes, is both welcome and important. These are exactly the kinds of young, hungry, scrappy artists this musical celebrates.
Yet it feels oddly at odds with that spirit to see them, at key moments, relegated to performing from the audience, waving flags rather than participating fully in the choreography. Whether this is the result of Actors’ Equity Association considerations or staging limitations, the effect is distancing in a show built on inclusion.
One cannot help but wonder what Lin-Manuel Miranda might say if he saw these performers, who represent the very future his work champions, placed at the margins instead of at the center of the dance.
If you go: “In the Heights”
Where: Musical Theatre West at CSULB’s Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St.
When: Runs through April 26.
Cost: Tickets start at $25.
Info: musical.org or call the box office at (562) 856-1999.
‘Harvey’ at Long Beach Playhouse
There’s something quietly radical about producing Harvey in 2026. In an age where irony tends to outrun sincerity, this gentle, oddball comedy about kindness, imagination, and the possibility of unseen companions asks both its audience and its performers to slow down, to believe, just a little, in something softer.
The current staging at Long Beach Playhouse by Bob Fetes, leans into that softness with a clear affection for the material. This is a company that understands the play’s enduring charm and, more importantly, its quiet stakes. Because while “Harvey” is often remembered for its whimsy, a six-foot invisible rabbit and all, the play is, at its core, about social conformity, loneliness, and the cost of choosing kindness over correctness.
Long Beach Playhouse’s production of “Harvey” will open on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Playhouse).
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Long Beach Playhouse’s production of “Harvey” will open on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Long Beach Playhouse).
At the center of it all is Elwood P. Dowd, played with a grounded ease, by Tod Walker, that resists the temptation to drift into caricature. There’s a sincerity here, a lived-in calm, that allows the character’s eccentricities to feel less like a joke and more like a philosophy. Opposite him, Harriet Witmeyer as Veta Louise Simmons anchors the familial tension with a similarly daggy yet, realistic approach, her frustrations feel earned, her panic rooted in something recognizable rather than merely theatrical. Together, these two performances operate on a wavelength that feels almost contemporary in its naturalism.
Which, perhaps, is where the production finds its only real point of imbalance.
Surrounding these central performances is a cast that, more often than not, embraces a broader, more melodramatic style, one that harkens back to an earlier era of comedic playing. It’s not without its pleasures. There are moments of heightened farce that land cleanly, and the audience responds in kind. But the contrast between the grounded center and the more presentational supporting work creates a tonal push-and-pull that the production never quite resolves. One can feel two slightly different “Harveys” unfolding at once: one rooted in quiet humanity, the other in stylized comedy.
Still, there is much to admire here.
Visually, the production is charming. The costumes, in particular, are thoughtfully chosen and period-appropriate, contributing nicely to the world of the play. There’s a clear eye for texture and silhouette. That said, one couldn’t help but wish for just a touch more polish, some pieces appeared in need of a pressing iron, a small detail, perhaps, but one that speaks to the difference between “lovely” and “fully realized.”
And yet, despite these minor inconsistencies, the production succeeds where it matters most: it reminds us why “Harvey” continues to endure. There is a generosity of spirit in this staging, a willingness to let the play’s inherent sweetness breathe without apology.
In a cultural moment that often rewards sharp edges and cynical wit, there’s something quietly rebellious about spending an evening with Elwood P. Dowd, raising a glass to a friend only he can see. Well, maybe not only him, for at the end of the play it is indicated that Harvey was coming down the aisle I was seated on, and I moved my foot out of his way.
If you go: “Harvey”
Where: Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage, 5021 E. Anaheim St.
When: Runs through May 2.
Cost: Friday tickets cost $27 for adults, $20 for students and seniors. Saturday and Sunday tickets cost $32 for adults, $25 for seniors, and $20 for students.
Info: lbplayhouse.org