‘In The Heights’ has far-reaching appeal

By John Benson

When it comes to Broadway productions, the old producer adage of “Will It Play in Peoria?” remains true today. That is, will a creative musical or heavy drama find an interested audience in Middle America?

For Broadway actress Natalie Toro, she had the same question regarding the national touring production of “In The Heights,” which comes to Cleveland on Tuesday through Feb. 21 in the Palace Theatre. However, instead of Peoria, Toro, who plays the “In The Heights” role of Camila, wondered if the Tony Award- winning musical about a vibrant New York City community would play in Appleton, Wis.

“What was interesting about seeing ‘In The Heights’ playing on Broadway was seeing how a New York City audience could relate, obviously,” said Toro, calling from Buffalo, N.Y. “But a lot of the audiences are tourists, and when I looked around, you had a lot of Caucasians. And I thought, ‘Oh my God, how are these people going to react?’ And they were living for it. It was amazing. We just played in Appleton, Wis., and you wonder if a musical like this will fly there. And they were on their feet. They just love it. It’s amazing.

“Even when I saw it for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect. I had seen a lot of the footage on television, and I knew it was a lot of different kinds of music, but I didn’t know the story line. It really gets you. It really taps your heartstrings and it makes you want to call your grandmother. It makes you want to get in touch with your parents. It’s a real feel-good musical.”

A Broadway veteran, Toro said “In the Heights” marks a new chapter in her acting career. And it’s not a transition some actresses take to kindly. A recent episode of “30 Rock” revolved around Jane Krakowski’s self-centered character Jenna as she mistakenly thought she was auditioning for the role of a teenager – not the teen’s mother – in a television show. Toro said by playing a mother for the first time in “In The Heights,” she can relate to this uncomfortable realization.

“As far as a role, Camila is not that challenging,” Toro said. “I played Evita, and there is nothing like that. But this is the first time I’m playing a mom, and that’s interesting. It’s hard to make that move. And eventually, you have to do it, but what’s cool about my role is she’s a really cool mom. She’d be the type of mom I would be. It’s one of those things where my heart is very young.”

In a nutshell, a young heart is also what drives the Latino-based “In The Heights,” which is set in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan. However, Toro feels the location translates into any ethnic community.

“It’s just that Washington Heights in New York is a very eclectic, ethnic community,” Toro said. “I think [writer] Lin-Manuel Miranda wanted to capture what it feels like to walk down 185th Street and Broadway in Washington Heights. You will hear out of peoples’ windows all different kinds of music. It’s amazing how he has captured all of that. Usually with musicals, it’s one style of music or a musical-theater style. But this has like hip-hop, salsa, merengue, regular Broadway pop. It’s amazing how he was able to combine all of that music. So this musical can be put in any neighborhood. It’s really a celebration of America.”

if you go

What: “In The Heights”

When: Tuesday through Feb. 21 (times vary)

Where: Palace Theatre, 1615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland

Tickets: $10 to $70; call (216) 241-6000 or (866) 546-1353, or go to PlayhouseSquare.org