In the Heights
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Usnavi de la Vega
- Role originated by Lin-Manuel Miranda; portrayed by Anthony Ramos in the movie
- Author Avatar: Lin-Manuel Miranda also wrote the lyrics and music.
- Cannot Spit It Out: He absolutely cannot ask Vanessa out, he has no skill with romance and can barely admit his feelings even after they go on a date.
- Catchphrase: "No pare! Sigue, sigue!", Spanish for "Don’t stop! Keep going, keep going!".
- Deadpan Snarker: A lot of his verses involve him ribbing the cast, specifically Benny, Sonny, and Graffiti Pete.
- Kick the Dog: In the film only, he berates Vanessa for dancing with most of the men in The Club, even though he said it was ok and ended up ignoring her after she explicitly stated she didn't want him to leave her to go buy drinks for them.
- Like Brother and Sister: With Nina.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Turns out his parents after the first thing they saw in America. As in, a ship with "U.S. Navy" on the side of it.
- Motor Mouth: Quick-witted and can sometimes speak fast due to nerves. Especially when in the vicinity of Vanessa.
- Only Sane Man: During the "96,000" number, he points out that the $96,000 lottery prize isn't nearly enough money to afford the things the characters dream about using it for, especially since a good amount of the prize will be taken for taxes.
- Out-of-Character Moment: While typically a kind and nonconfrontational fellow, he shows an abrasive side in the film's version of "Blackout" where he admonishes Vanessa for "shaking [her] ass for half of the Heights." However, he's also very drunk and emotionally overwhelmed in that scene, and he eventually reconciles with her.
- Promotion to Parent: He's taking care of Sonny and one of the his lines in "Finale" lampshades this."Abuela, rest in peace, you live in my memories / But Sonny’s gotta eat, and this corner is my destiny."
- Raised by Grandparents: That would be raised by Abuela Claudia, she's not really his abuela, but she practically raised him, her corner was his escuela. But in all seriousness, Usnavi is one of the closest characters to Claudia, being one of the few characters to share the lotto with her and being the first to help her out in the blackout.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Usnavi has a noticeably greater vocabulary and can fire off complex metaphors off the top of his head, as seen when he tries to chat up a hot girl at the club.
- Team Mom: Usnavi seems to take over the role after the finale, acting as the "street-light" for the community—providing illumination, learning and passing on their shared stories and heritages, and binding them together. And, of course, providing sweet, sweet coffee.
- True Companions: Benny jokingly calls him a "streetlight" in the first eponymous song of the musical, and he laments this:"Yeah I'm a streetlight chokin' on the heat/the world spins around while I'm frozen to the street/the people that I know all keep on rolling down the street/but everyday is different so I'm switching up the beat."
- But, when we get to the Finale when he finally realizes he's always been home, he changes his tune to:
"Yeah, I'm a streetlight chillin' in the heat/I illuminate the stories of the people in the street/Some have happy endings, some are bitter sweet/But I love them all and that's what makes my life complete!" - Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: No one besides Usnavi himself points it out, but "Usnavi" is not a real name in the slightest. He makes note of it several times, noting that "you probably never heard my name" and that in regards to the name, "I worked with what [my parents] gave me."
Nina Rosario
- Role originated by Mandy Gonzalez; portrayed by Leslie Grace in the movie
- Big Sister Mentor: In the film, she has this relationship with Sonny due to both of them being smart, ambitious, and activist-minded. When Sonny learns that his undocumented status means it's likely he won't be able to attend college, he laments to Nina that he wanted to be The One Who Made It Out like she is. Nina in turn decides to return to Stanford and pursue an education in immigration law so she can help people like Sonny.
- Daddy's Girl: Nina, even though she and Kevin begin arguing more and more during the show, loves her father deeply and in turn, he would sacrifice anything for Nina.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: "Breathe" describes Nina's anxiety over having struggled and spent so much to get to college without having any idea what to do with her life. The song doesn't resolve her conflict though, and she decides to avoid the issue until Benny accidentally guilts her about it in "When You're Home." At this point, Benny's kindness and acceptance help her to be happy in spite of her uncertainty. In "Everything I Know," reflecting on Abuela's death and how dearly she held everyone in the barrio gives Nina the resolve to go back to Stanford to honor Abuela.
- Elite School Means Elite Brain: The play is set in a closely knit, middle-to-lower-class Latino community in New York. Nina is their pride and joy—a smart girl who not only made it to college, but to Stanford University all the way across the country on partial scholarship. It turns out that she cracked under the pressure of being The One Who Made It Out and the difficulties of being in college and dropped out, but is convinced to return.
- Joins to Fit In: She mentions this about herself in "When You're Home"
- "I feel like all my life I'm trying to find the answers/Working harder/Learning Spanish/Learning all I can/I thought I might find the answer out at Stanford/But I'd just stare out at the sea thinking/Where am I supposed to be?"
- Loved by All: Nina is beloved by her Latino Washington Heights community for her bright promise as a first-generation college student, so much so that her homecoming from college is anticipated by much of the neighborhood. This makes it even harder for her to admit that she had to drop out after she lost her scholarship, but is also what brings her back around by the end of the play. The only time anyone has anything truly unkind to say about Nina is when Benny drunkenly blames her for her father's actions, which he apologizes for after the blackout.
- The One Who Made It Out: Double subverted with Nina. She dropped out of Stanford, but is going back in the fall.
- "Not So Different" Remark: She and her father, Kevin, both love each other very much, but they're also both very stubborn and have a hard time admitting when they're wrong. This is noted by Camila in her song "Enough".
- Secret Relationship: Her father reacts badly to her and Benny.
- Stepford Smiler: As detailed in "Breathe"
- "Straighten the spine/Smile for the neighbors/Everything's fine, everything's cool/The standard reply "lots of tests, lots of papers"/Smile, wave goodbye and pray to the sky/
Oh God!"
- "Straighten the spine/Smile for the neighbors/Everything's fine, everything's cool/The standard reply "lots of tests, lots of papers"/Smile, wave goodbye and pray to the sky/
Abuela Claudia
- Role originated by Olga Merediz; portrayed by Merediz again in the movie
- Afterlife Express: The movie has Paciencia y Fe as her Dying Dream Death Song set entirely on subway trains and stations.
- Catchphrase: She has two phrases she lives by and repeats at every opportunity: "Alabanza," meaning "bring praise to this," and "Paciencia y Fe," meaning "Patience and Faith."
- Cool Old Lady: Extremely kind and well respected by everyone in the neighborhood. It's telling that even Usnavi spares her of his usual quips. This makes her death all the more tragic.
- Death Song: The movie makes Paciencia y Fe her Dying Dream as she passed in her sleep.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the film adaptation, she passes away on the night of the blackout, while in the stage version, she doesn't die until the next day (specifically after "Carnaval Del Barrio").
- Dying Dream: Paciencia y Fe is her dream before she dies in the film.
- '80s Hair: You can tell which of her photographs were taken in the eighties just by the volume of her hair.
- Parental Substitute: She raised Usnavi in the absence of his parents.
- Stairway to Heaven: Paciencia y Fe ends with her ascending stairs out of the subway leading into a bright white light.
- Team Mom: Abuela Claudia, who's not really anyone's abuela, but she practically raised them all, with her corner acting as a second home for the characters, which Nina in particular realizes in Act II. Usnavi seems to take over the role after the finale, acting as the "street-light" for the community—providing illumination, learning and passing on their shared stories and heritages, and binding them together. And providing sweet, sweet coffee.
Vanessa
- Role originated by Karen Olivo; portrayed by Melissa Barrera in the movie
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the theater production she's rather snappy, the film version expands on her backstory to make her a bit more sad than sassy. She is also given a Pet the Dog moment when she helps clean a stain off Usnavi's shirt.
- Cannot Spit It Out: "Champagne" shows that she's just as in love with Usnavi as he is with her, but she never makes a move and only comes to admit her feelings when it seems too late.
- Casting Gag: Vanessa Hudgens played Vanessa in a Kennedy Center staging, joking in a promo
that she prefers to play characters who share her first name. - Defrosting Ice Queen: Vanessa is dismissive of the barrio and only dreams of leaving it behind along with all its inhabitants. By the end, she comes to value it and all the people that live in the Heights.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Vanessa is a tame version of this trope. Usnavi and most of the guys drool over her but no one actually gets ridiculous about it (as in it never gets to Informed Attractiveness levels). Vanessa herself doesn't think it's that big of a deal.
- Oblivious to Love: Vanessa pretends that she doesn't know about Usnavi's feelings, and also pretends that she doesn't reciprocate them.
- Operation: Jealousy: She's insulted when Usnavi seems indifferent to her in the bar, so she agrees to dance with some dude in order to make him jealous. In turn, Usnavi asks with a random girl to get back at her. Incidentally, that random girl was earlier used by Daniela to try and make Vanessa admit her feelings for Usnavi.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Vanessa refuses to dignify the catcalls of the boorish men from the Heights and only seems interested in Usnavi, one of the nicest people in the Barrio.
- Spicy Latina: The clearest example in the cast, being tough, independent, and sexy.
Benny
- Role originated by Christopher Jackson; portrayed by Corey Hawkins in the movie
- Adaptational Nice Guy: The film towns done his Kick the Dog moments with Nina, he doesn't get upset or blame her Kevin sells his business to pay for her college, and the antagonistic duet between him and Nina during Blackout is instead given to Usnavi and Vanessa instead.
- Beta Couple: He and Nina make up one of these, in a much more straightforward and honest relationship than the one Vaness and Usnavi are in.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: Daniella claims Benny has quite a big... taxi, and no one really denies her claim. In the original Broadway version, and any version following the Original Cast Precedent for an African-American Benny (including the movie), this gag falls under Black Is Bigger in Bed.
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life
- Gratuitous Spanish: Benny is the only character with no knowledge of Spanish, despite his best efforts. He sprinkles his speech with what Spanish he does know, though it's not much more advanced than cognates like "Atencíon."
- Love Hurts: Benny's relationship with Nina causes him quite a bit of heartache. Ultimately, they have to live knowing they may never see each other past when the sun goes down on Nina's last day back in the barrio.
- Nested Ownership: He boasts that if he wins 96k from the lottery, he'll invest it so well that his money'll be making money.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Benny is a braggart, a Casanova, and occasionally has a bit of a temper (i.e. him getting mad at Nina, and then started a bar fight after he sees her dancing with another guy at the club), but nonetheless his genuine love for Nina and desire to be accepted by Kevin easily make him sympathetic and likable to the audience.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: As part of his job at the dispatch, Benny spends Act I in a suit and tie, even when spending his off-time with Nina and Usnavi.
- Token Minority: Generally, Benny isn't played by a Latin actor, to reflect the character's role as an outsider to the rest of the barrio. The original Broadway production and the movie depict him as the Token Black, but he can really be any race besides Latino.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Benny is desperately trying to earn the approval of Mister Rosario, and takes it deeply personally when he's fired by him. Not only is Mr. Rosario a father figure through Benny's relationship with Nina, but he's also been an authority figure for Benny since he was opening fire hydrants on the streets.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Benny and Usnavi share a rather self-depreciating relationship together. One of the first things Benny says to Usnavi in the play is that "he ain't got no skill" and then Usnavi spends "96,000" deconstructing Benny's lottery dreams.
Sonny
- Role originated by Robin de Jesús; portrayed by Gregory Diaz in the movie
- Adorably Precocious Child: Despite him being 16, this is how he's treated by the adult residents of the barrio, particularly in 96,000, where, after his ambitious speech about how he would genuinely improve the lives of the barrio, Vanessa replies with a very patronizing "you are so cute!"
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Subverted in that Sonny is fairly intelligent with a comically strong vocabulary (he seems to take after Usnavi a bit) and interest in politics and social activism. He also has shades of being the Only Sane Man as his introspections on what Usnavi's departure and the closing of the surrounding shops means for the community causes him to despair when others are partying.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: In the film, he's a slacker when it comes to working at the bodega, but he's a bright kid who does well in school and has his eyes set on attending college.
- Hidden Depths: While he's little more than a goofy slacker kid on the surface, "96,000" shows that he has passionate ideas about how to support his community and fight racism in the nation.
- The Illegal: In the film, his parents brought him to the US when he was a baby without any documentation.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Sonny's youthfulness and innocence tend to overshadow his rather in-depth political knowledge.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Sonny belongs in this role, with his youth often coming at the butt of jokes, but it's also Played for Drama, because Sonny's ideas and beliefs are dismissed as "cute" because of his age even if they are well thought-out.
- Soapbox Sadie: In some performances, Sonny will literally step up on a box before going into his political rant in "96,000." Notably, the narrative doesn't dismiss his opinions on the matter as frivolous, but the characters clearly do.
Daniela
- Role originated by Andrea Burns; portrayed by Daphne Rubin-Vega in the movie
- Adaptational Sexuality: Her sexuality isn't mentioned in the stage show, while her film incarnation is either a lesbian or bisexual.
- Age-Gap Romance: In the film, she's about a decade older than Carla, her girlfriend.
- Catchphrase: She shares "No me diga" with Carla, which loosely translates to "You don't say," generally referring to their tendency to share sensationalist gossip with each other.
- Gossipy Hens: Daniela is the queen of this, nothing happens that she doesn't hear about, even if it only happened that morning. Specifically, she finds out that Benny and Nina slept with each other the morning it happened even though they told no one, no one saw them together and she hadn't seen them since Nina caught a haircut from her yesterday.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: In the stage version, her and Carla.
- Promoted to Love Interest: The movie turns Daniela and Carla into a couple.
- Spicy Latina: Daniela has the most blatant accent of the original Broadway cast, and it reflects in her dramatic and loud personality.
- Those Two Girls: With Carla.
- When I Was Your Age...: Daniela pulls this on the first-generation members of the barrio, admonishing them for complaining about heat and boredom when both were much worse when she was growing up in Puerto Rico.
Carla
- Role originated by Janet Dacal; portrayed by Stephanie Beatriz in the movie
- Adaptational Sexuality: Her sexuality never comes up in the stage show, but in the movie she's dating Daniela.
- Age-Gap Romance: Assuming they share the ages of their actresses, Daniela is around eleven years older than her girlfriend Carla in the film.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Played for Laughs in the movie, where she shoots a massive Death Glare at a guy dancing with Daniela during "Carnaval del Barrio" and eventually shoos him away.
- The Ditz: Carla is frequently quite a few steps behind everyone else in a conversation, failing to understand Daneila's innuendo in "No Me Diga" and having trouble comprehending Daniela's idea for the carnaval in "Carnaval de Barrio."
- Gossipy Hens: With Daniela.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: In the play, her and Daniela.
- Promoted to Love Interest: The movie turns Daniela and Carla into a couple.
- Those Two Girls: With Daniela.
Secondary
Kevin Rosario
- Role originated by Carlos Gomez; portrayed by Jimmy Smits in the movie
- Happily Married: To Camila in the stage production.
- Good Parents: Stubborn as he may be, there's no doubts that he loves Nina. He willing to sacrifice everything to help his daughter get further in life.
- Kick the Dog: His general treatment of Benny. Despite Benny desperately craving his approval, Kevin will never see him as good enough to be with his daughter. He eventually gets called out on this by his wife and before the finale he even tries to make amends for having fired Benny.
- The One Who Made It Out: His ancestors were all farmers, and Kevin paints a dismal picture of their dependence on unpredictable weather. Kevin immigrated to America, worked as a mechanic, and eventually bought a business with his wife; he has enough money to attempt to pay Stanford tuition for Nina.
- Papa Wolf: He loves his daughter and is even willing to sell his business to help pay for her tuition.
- Pet the Dog: During "When You're Home," Benny remembers when he was a kid, he'd bust open the fire hydrants, then inevitably get caught by the cops and have to run, and he'd end up at the Rosarios' dispatch and beg to be allowed to hide there. Kevin would be irritated and snide about it, but he always still let Benny in.
- So Proud of You: Firmly believes that Nina will change the world.
Camila Rosario
- Role originated by Priscilla Lopez
- Death by Adaptation: Of the film adaptation, as Quiara Hudes felt that the stakes of Nina's story would be higher if she came from a single-parent home, and so Camilla is mentioned as having passed prior to the movie.
- Good Parents: She loves her daughter as much as Kevin does and is noticeably less harsh when criticizing her. She tells Nina that she and her father would do anything to help her succeed.
- Happily Married: To Kevin.
- Spicy Latina: She's not afraid to call the rest of her family out.
- Pet the Dog: Compared to Kevin, she is very kind to Benny and even considers him an "honorary Hispanic". She takes no issue in his relationship with Nina, and When she calls him out on his behavior throughout the play, one of the first things she does is tell him off for treating Benny so poorly.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Delivers an EPIC one to Kevin and Nina. The former for being such a Control Freak as well as kicking Benny out and selling the business without consulting with her, and the latter for hiding away rather than trusting her parents despite the fact that they would do anything to help her.
The Piragua Guy
- Role originated by Eliseo Román; portrayed by Lin-Manuel Miranda in the movie
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Mildly. While his film incarnation is still bitter towards the Mr. Softee guy, there's no hint that he resorted to Vehicular Sabotage over it like there is in most stage productions. We also see Mr. Softee in the movie, and he comes off as a Smug Snake, unlike the stage version who is never seen at all. Plus, in the last moments of the movie, the Piragua Guy offers Mr. Softee a free piragua, suggesting the two might bury the hatchet.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He's known to the community only as "Piraguero".
- Remake Cameo: In the movie adaptation, he is played by Lin Manuel Miranda, the original Usnavi de la Vega.
- Sitcom Archnemesis: He's locked in a mostly offstage rivalry with the Mr. Softee truck driver. It's more visible in the movie adaptation though.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: In his second song, Piragua (Reprise), after Mr. Softee's truck has broken down, all of Mr. Softee's customers immediately come to him, earning him lots of money.
- Triumphant Reprise: His second song, Piragua (Reprise), is this.
- Unknown Rival: Implied to be this to Mr. Softee, who never appears and may or may not even be aware of the Piragua Guy's existence. Averted in the movie, where Mr. Softee definitely knows and is pretty smug about taking all the customers.
- Vehicular Sabotage: In some productions, when he talks about his rival’s ice cream truck breaking down, he’s brandishing a hammer or wrench to indicate that he did it.
Graffiti Pete
- Role originated by Seth Stewart; portrayed by Noah Catala in the movie
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Even when addressing him directly, everyone calls him "Graffiti Pete" rather than just "Pete".
- Hidden Depths: During "Blackout" the first thing he does is go over to the bodega to help Sonny get out safely. When his best friend insists on staying to defend the store he immediately draws some Roman candles to lead the vandals away from the store.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Pete only appears about five times throughout the whole show, but he sets off the fireworks that drive the climax of the show and paints the mural of Abuela that makes Usnavi decide to stay in the Barrio.
