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Abuela Claudia (Elise Santora) shares a tender moment with Nina Rosario
(Arielle Jacobs) in the musical "In the Heights," playing through June 13th
at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. Photo by Joan Marcus
Elise Santora has lived the life of a Latina actress in New York and Hollywood. Which means she has played and has seen others play two ubiquitous roles associated with Latina actresses seemingly a zillion times.
But with the newest Latino themed musical which brings the lights up on Washington Heights, opening Wednesday at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, Santora has found the role of Abuela Claudia, a matriarch of the highest order that brings truth and beauty to the American experience as a Latina.
“We haven’t arrived, but I feel like growth is the operative word here. We’ve come a long way from the two roles; the maid and the hooker,” said Santora. “The country is starting to understand the varieties that we come in as Latinas. We are all the colors of the rainbow, different sizes, different hair. Young Latina actresses won’t be fighting those battles on such a deep level as opposed to 20 years ago.”
“In the Heights,” the musical that made Broadway hipper, hotter and younger overnight, finally makes a long-awaited Bay Area stop during an extended national tour. The show has garnered four Tony Awards, a Grammy for best cast album in 2008, and inspired a new film version slated for 2011, directed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, This is It).
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"Heights" won four Tonys and a Grammy for best cast album in 2008.
All this acclaim made "Heights" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda a star. Miranda, who began creating the show as a 19-year-old undergraduate student at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, did with his show what other Latino themed musicals have had trouble doing – sustain a high level of success on the Great White Way. "Zoot Suit," the first Latino show on Broadway, barely made it out of previews in 1979, and closed after 34 days before a much longer, successful run in Los Angeles. "The Capeman," a musical based on New York City gang member Salvador Agron, launched the Broadway debuts of Sara Ramirez, Ruben Blades and Marc Anthony in 1998, and also included Santora in the original cast. Even with some serious star power led by composer Paul Simon, it fell a day short of two months before folding its cape.
There have been some successes. “West Side Story” continues to be one of the great American musicals in theatre history. The well-known adaptation of William Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" which replaced the Capulets and Montagues with Jets and Sharks, launched other famed careers, most notably that of Rita Moreno.
But “Heights,” with its eclectic blend of salsa, hip-hop, merengue, and traditional Latin rhythms, was created by a Latino that lived in the neighborhood, a love letter of sorts to his and other barrios that are filled with piragueros, paleteros and bodegas.
The story follows the vibrant Washington Heights neighborhood, a barrio on the northern tip of Manhattan, and its wide range of characters. There's Usnavi, the owner of a bodega who is trying to return to his motherland of the Dominican Republic, Nina Rosario, a Stanford dropout struggling with funds to pay for college, and her love interest Benny, the only African-American in an all Latino car service business. Throw in Vanessa, trying to save money for a little downtown apartment, and a group of salon chismosas (gossipers), and you have a musical that is rich in texture and verisimilitude.
Which brings us back to Santora. In an illustrious theatre, film and television career which has seen her work with some of the best actors and directors in the world such as Jose Ferrer, Raul Julia and Bebe Neuwirth, Santora has found the purest and magical of roles in Abuela Claudia. And she does not hesitate to thank Miranda for that “gift.”
“It’s a role where we can portray our own people in an honest way,” said Santora, who herself is half-Puerto Rican and half-Cuban. “Nothing feels conflicted. I get to play someone for the first time in 30 years on such a full and positive level. It is a gift that he’s provided.”
The national touring company of "In the Heights." Photo by Joan Marcus
And what has been provided is a show that just surpassed 900 performances on Broadway and counting earlier this month. With a tour that is still doing big business in the traditional and non-traditional Latino markets, "Heights," continues to bring in a new type of theatregoer, which only helps the art form's sustainability.
“Sometimes there’s a mystery for the success of one show, which is inherent to the business,” said Santora. “If I were to take a stab as to why that is, some of that is timing. We’ve come to a place where those doors have opened, which is a tribute to how well the show is done.”
And it is not just the Latino theme that is thriving. Broadway continues to re-invent itself, which allows a greater accessibility for a wider range of storytelling. Green Day's “American Idiot,” "Fela!,” with its powerful Afrobeat rhythms, and now the crisp hip-hop beats of rap music fill New York playhouses like the St. James, the O’Neill and the Richard Rodgers.
“The key to success is that the story is universal,” said Santora. “The music and story are creating and moving the story along. It’s not just music for music’s sake. The rap is never put in gratuitously.
“The music is meeting the form of Broadway theatre.”
Examining Elise Santora, in her own words
On working with “In the Heights” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda:
“He is a brilliant artist, an excellent human being. My first meeting with Lin outside of auditions, it was my first day there, and he said, ‘There you are, welcome home Elise,’ and gave me a big hug. What you see is what you get. Just a regular guy that has all the energy and articulation for a new form of artistry.”
On the gift that Miranda gave to her by creating the role of “Abuela Claudia":
“For me personally, I’m part of that generation that was in the business during the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, pre-Jennifer Lopez, making a living at a time where it was very difficult to do so, just because you were Latino. To be here full circle, I am present and giving a voice at a time where I thought I had lost my voice. Time was ticking, I was getting older, and now I’m in a new place.”
EXAMINE IT FOR YOURSELF
Shorenstein Hayes Nederlander of San Francisco presents the national tour of “In the Heights”
Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Book by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Directed by Thomas Kail
May 12th – June 13th
Running time is 2 hours, 30 minutes (includes 20 minute intermission)
The Curran Theatre, 445 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
Tickets range from $30 - $99
For more information and to buy tickets, visit SHNSF’s official website.
Email David John Chavez at dchavez04@att.net
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