For the last two months, Bellingham’s New Prospect Theatre has been filled with the sounds of salsa, bachata, merengue and the tapping of dozens of feet. If all goes well, “oohs,” “aahs,” and thunderous applause will join that symphony during Little Lemon Production’s sold-out debut of “In the Heights” Friday evening.
Inside New Prospect and other local venues, a majority-Latino ensemble cast of about 20 has spent countless hours rehearsing and re-rehearsing every step of the dance-heavy musical, originally by Lin-Manuel Miranda (known for “Hamilton”) in the early 2000s.
Much of this work has been led by first-time director Ismael Julian Landeros and first-time choreographer Emily Trujillo Martens.
Landeros, who has been performing and working backstage in productions across Whatcom County for two and a half years, will join his “In the Heights” peers as an ensemble member on stage.
During rehearsals, he watches his performers intently, making sure they’re staying on beat and pushing them to do so when they’re not. Landeros also sings along from his chair in the audience and claps after a great performance — which is often.
“It was a little scary at first,” Landeros said about taking on his first production as a director. “I always wanted to make sure I was saying the right thing and being on it. I think slowly the cast started to understand how I work and then it just became very one and cohesive.”
He attributed much of his know-how to watching and working with Adaryn Blair Healy, Little Lemon’s co-founder, who has directed or co-directed all of the company’s previous productions.
Healy founded the production company with their friend Brody Buck in 2019, when they were 15 and 16, respectively. “In the Heights” marks Little Lemon’s 14th production; the company’s next show is a two-weekend run of the musical “Pippin” this August.
Healy said Little Lemon’s founding principle was to tell authentic stories. At first, this meant working on productions that reflected teenage life, like the company’s first production, “13! The Musical.”
“It’s gotten older with me,” said Healy, whose goals for Little Lemon include authentically representing all people “whether that’s ability, or racial/ethnic identity or gender and sexuality. We just want to tell stories that reflect the world outside.”
And it seems the community has responded well to the company’s mission. Healy said Little Lemon is entirely self-funded, with ticket sales from one production funding development for the next.
All five showings of “In the Heights” at the New Prospect Theatre are sold out.
“It just goes to show that there was and is an interest for these stories and this show,” Healy said. “The amount of people that have commented on our Instagram and been like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re doing this show’ — it’s so exciting for Whatcom County as a whole.”
In some ways, Little Lemon’s plucky beginnings share a narrative thread with the musical itself. The plot, which takes place over three days in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, touches heavily on themes of community and found family.
One scroll through the Little Lemon website will reveal many of the same names across its dozen-plus productions. Landeros played the eponymous character in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”; costume designer Hazel VanBuskirk has both costumed and featured in past plays, as have musical directors Audrey Fry and Bek Gruber.
While the passion to put on as ambitious a production as “In the Heights” was already present at Little Lemon, how a musical’s choreography is handled can make or break it. In came Martens, whose years as a dancer prepared her for the task.
“We have a lot of different styles represented like salsa and bachata and some really fun partner dancing and hip-hop and a little bit of jazz,” Martens said. “It’s been really fun, having experience in all those styles. I’ve been able to take that knowledge and turn it almost into a custom dictionary or library of moves for the show. So you have little motifs pop up.”
Martens said she enjoyed researching the musical easter eggs writer Miranda dropped in throughout the show that reference mainstay musicals like Cole Porter’s “Kiss Me, Kate” and the Latin House classic, Proyecto Uno’s “El Tiburón.”
“I would look up clips and be like, ‘OK, this is what [Miranda] was referring to. How can we add in a little jazzy move from that musical and put it into this show?’” Martens said. “I wanted to play off all the research that he put in creating the show and make sure we’re honoring those details and depths in the choreography.”
Part of what makes the show unique in Whatcom County’s community theater scene is that almost the entire cast is Hispanic. While it’s not uncommon for productions in the area to feature people of color in roles, Landeros said it took some digging and asking around to bring together more than a dozen Latino performers to fill out the main cast and ensemble.
“This is a group of performers who have never really gotten to perform together because we’re all so split up,” Landeros said. “You go to watch a show, and there’s probably, at max, one to three people of color in the show.”
“In the Heights” will premiere at the New Prospect Theatre at 7 p.m. Friday, July 10. Two shows will follow on Saturday and two on Sunday. Though they are all sold out, those interested can join the show’s waitlist here. Info: littlelemonproductions.org.
Santiago Ochoa is a CDN visual journalist; reach him at santiagoochoa@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 105.
