Historic Compton High School Musical “In The Heights”
by Charles Jackson Jr
Students from Compton High performed at the Dr. Dre Performing Arts Theatre for the first time since its completion. The musical “In the Heights” was outstanding, and the student actors did an excellent job of bringing the production to the community.
One audience member mentioned, “This was the best inner-city musical I have seen since ‘West Side Story.'” The performance featured an outstanding demonstration of music, drama, dance, choreography, and messaging. It included everything, and the entire cast excelled in every aspect of their performance.
The cast are all scholars of Compton Unified School District, and they could all have promising careers in theatre and the film industry. Some leading characters just took off with their roles. Jonathan Sandoval Garcia, who played the lead role as Usnavi de la Vegas, was superb in his acting, singing, rapping, and dancing, and gave it all as a performer. Jonathan is already a seasoned actor, a sophomore in high school, and has had several roles in some major film and stage productions. He is an incredible star on stage and academically. He maintains a 4.0 GPA and is a leader in the marching band.
Miley Lyons did an outstanding performance as Nina Rosario; Kevin J. Uriarte Cazarez played Kevin Rosario; Hestefania C. Palencia was Camila Rosario; Xavier A. Goodlow was Benny; Riley M. Lyons was Vanessa; Jersee K. Sims played Sonny; and Christal D. Clay played the role of Abuela Claudia. The entire cast did an excellent job in their roles, bringing to life the exciting characters that make up this intriguing story.
“In the Heights” was directed and choreographed by Rufina Perez-Gutierrez, and she did an incredible job with the Compton scholars, bringing together a cast, crew, and production staff to produce one of the best plays to come to this community.
Although there were only a few performances, this play deserves to be seen by the entire community as it reflects the pride and resilience of Compton. Hopefully, more performances will be scheduled at the Dr. Dre Performing Arts Center.
