Road Trip: Taking In "In The Heights" With PDX Opera

Thursday, 07 October 2010 12:34 | Written by Byron

HEIGHT TIMES: There was a television show in the mid-60's with Bobby Sherman and its theme song was something like "The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen...are in Seattle."

And it was true in Seattle, at least on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Those were the gorgeous, rain-free days I joined staff members of the Portland Opera for a quick train trip north to the Emerald City for dinner, a show and an overnight stay. The train was Amtrak. And the show was the colorfully chaotic "In The Heights." That Tony award winning Broadway show (it won Best Musical) is keeping shop in Seattle's ornate and otherworldly 5th Avenue Theater for the few weeks prior to its arrival at Portland's own Keller Auditorium on October 19. And I have to say, the show is amazing...but I am getting ahead of myself.

Much like this show, which zooms in on the comings and goings of the New York neighborhood known as Washington Heights, the staff of the Portland Opera who work on the Broadway shows that pop up in our town, are also their own community of colorful characters. And, like the folks in "In The Heights," these art lovers also have a message to deliver to a diverse audience via song and dance.

And, just like the show, I had a chance to watch them "perform" a little bit over the last two days.

Like any art lover, they love to party, and our "party" kicked off before we even left the Portland station. That's where the Opera's Eric Steinhauser opened up his "travel bar" complete with cocktail mix and plenty of "juice." Our train car was pretty empty so I did my best to engage/annoy those (like the boy below, right) who were lucky enough to join in on our traveling cocktail lounge.

In Seattle we stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel. I ended up in a swanky suite (strangely I think its exactly the same one I always get when I've visited this hotel). The other "kids" checked into big rooms with even bigger jacuzzi tubs.

We didn't have a ton of time before the show, so we went to a restaurant next to the hotel called Von's. I have to say it was the weirdest eating experience I've had in a long time. We dubbed the cuisine "Northwest pub-fare" but for me it was more like "cafeteria-con-fusion" complete with a crudite platter that looked like it just was swiped from Safeway and a "tower of onion rings." It was also "decorated" in beer taps. Yes, beer taps. Sports bars are big in Seattle.

The somewhat strange restaurant was a great warm-up for "In The Heights," which throws you into a different dialect and culture far from the streets of the Northwest. It is a beautiful show. The music is lively. And the choreography is compelling, especially during Act II, when the show heats up. As for the story itself? It's fairly simple and shows how everyone in a community is connected, just like the good folks at the Opera are (that's my good friend Julia Sheridan below left with her nephew).

Now the reason that I was even with the crew who handle the "Broadway Across America" shows was due in large part to the fact they had a big meeting with their producing partners the day after we saw "In The Heights." I had heard (okay, I asked) that they might be discussing possible shows for next season, including the incredibly popular, "Jersey Boys. When I met everyone at the train station after their meetings (I spent the day shopping) I asked them if Portland would be getting "Jersey Boys." My train buddies wouldn't give me an answer to that question, but they were smiling, so I guess that would be a good omen.

Although our quick trip north was complete by Wednesday afternoon, it doesn't mean it's over. Far from it. I still get another chance to see the wonder that is "In The Heights" when it hits Portland. And, in true Byron Beck, fashion I even ran into a celebrity on the streets of Seattle—literally.

It was the incredibly hot Canadian Tenor Clifton Murray. Eric and I ran into him near the stage door of the Paramount Theater after our show and, yes, I snapped a picture with him.

And that, my friends, is the story of my last 48 stylish hours: music, song, travel, dance, food, friends and celebs. It doesn't get much better than that. And I have Broadway Across America to thank for that.

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