#IM SORRY FOR RANTING IVE BERN SITTING ON THIS ANGER FOR YEARS AKSKDJ

[thewingedwolf]

@addictsitter wait omg i got so mad i couldn’t fit in a reply aksjdj

that’s REAL, like first of all justice for the MEAT of claudia’s entire story, like the shock in the audience when she sings the “what do i do with this winning ticket” is the CRUX of her story, it’s the fact that she can finally achieve her dreams literal HOURS before her death, she spent her whole life working and now she’s too old to ENJOY THE WINNINGS, she’s not just angry that she’s dying, she’s devastated that she’s dying WHEN SHE FINALLY GOT THE MONEY. i don’t understand why he cut so much of the lottery story line, because it makes the second act feel soooo empty bc half the songs are about claudia & the lottery 😭😭 like why would you CUT THAT. SHES MY FAVORITE.

ANYWAYS. the moment they cast jimmy smits as kevin i was like they’re gonna cut camilla to give kevin a bigger role aren’t they. but then they didn’t even do that. jimmy smits didn’t even get to sing inutil! he doesn’t even get to have this very relevant, very complex story with benny where he has to confront some prejudices within his own character when he completely lets down this young man he’s been mentoring. benny exists solely to be the boy back home who doesn’t want to drag nina down. and nina doesn’t just get to fail & reckon with the expectations put on her as a first gen college student, she has to Experience A Racism. it KILLS ME the way he fucked with that storyline specifically bc lmm shopped around the show for years bc people kept pressuring him to write something more dramatic for nina, like a teen pregnancy, and he stood on the fact that her losing her scholarship was high stakes enough and he was right!!!! it’s just SOoo hamfisted and inauthentic when you cut the entire family dynamic within the rosarios, and cut the lottery until the last minute.

and YES like, this is no disrespect to melissa. i think she’s a talented actress, i think she’s a good singer, she seems like a person with integrity, but vanessa is supposed to scan as like, The Neighborhood It Girl, and melissa js…idk, like, i think she comes across more cute? like, Vanessa has a grittiness & humor & bitterness to her, and Melissa is more wholesome. Even her voice, it’s clear as a bell, and that’s great but not for this specific role! Also like, okay, For Me, part of what’s funny about Usnavi & Vanessa is that she’s clearly The Hot One but she’s down horrendous for this nerd, like she’s just as awkward with him as he is with her, and I think anthony got the awkwardness but Melissa didn’t, it really changed the vibe! also the way she bites her r’s are crazy to me lol

it sucks bc i think it’s a visually gorgeous movie, i love that he was really cookin and trying to lean into the fantasy aspect of a musical! and the camerawork with the choreography was really good, very striking, it captured the FEELING of watching the show, like that excitement of seeing everyone dance live. but the script……..atrocious. i hate that this is what in the heights is for so many people, it drives me up a wall.