3 musicals on Sunday: In the Heights, West Side Story, Next to Normal

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I saw three shows on Sunday: In The Heights, West Side Story, and Next to Normal. In The Heights matinee let out during West Side Story's intermission, so I joined my parents for the second half of West Side Story, and then we saw Next to Normal in the evening. All musicals.

In The Heights
My sister really liked this one but I only kind of liked it. I found the "Piragua" singer the strongest. I liked the musical Spring Awakening better.

West Side Story
I like this revival. This version has a lot more Spanish than the original. Entire conversations and many parts of songs are in Spanish. The lead woman, Maria, is from Argentina, so she sounds authentic to me. I'll go see this again.

Next to Normal
I liked one song in this musical (Superboy and the Invisible Girl) and I enjoyed watching the cellist (part of the on-stage band) rock out as she played. Other than those highlights, I didn't care for the show. It's about a housewife who becomes mentally ill after losing her son and how that affects her husband and daughter. I couldn't relate to how the family handled the illness. My parents liked it even less than I did. At one point, my mom complained out loud, "oh no!" in exasperation at the husband's apparent "poor me" attitude.

Picture of parents, Uncle Vince, and Kate in front of "Next to Normal"

Photo album:

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