Added: 2 years ago
From: InTheHeightsBroadway
Views: 86,539
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:

All Comments (290)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Missing Lin now more the ever..

  • I need to see the show

  • Corbin Bleu as Usnavi is one of the worst miscasts in recent Broadway history.

    Granted, it was impossible to replace Lin-Manuel, you can't match the understanding, heart, and emotional availability that comes with building a show from the ground up. But Corbin lacks even the surface qualities that make a good Usnavi. He takes Lin's flexible cadence and humility and replaces it with a mechanical affect and the same smiley camp he brought to HSM. It's a tragedy for a show as fantastic as this one

  • @BrandonatLeftfield I agree with you, but you have to think; Doesn't that same thing happen every time an original cast member is replaced? You make some good points, but it's comforting to know that he's actually moved on from that line of awful actors that was the HSM cast.

  • @BrandonatLeftfield you are so right

  • @BrandonatLeftfield completely disagree. i really like his more subtle portrayal of usnavi's corkier attributes. better than lin? probably not. though its definitely NOT one of the worst miscasts in recent broadway history. i dont think it should even be considered a miscast. i saw him live and he was phenomenal.

  • omg i love him ^.^ <3

  • his voice just doesnt seem strong enough for it ... although its gotta be incredibly difficult to take over for the guy wrote the musical so...props!

  • DOMINCANOS!

  • my heart dropped when i saw him come out on stage...in the heights was where i learned out of the blue he was starring in the show...and this was when i was in the audience reading the play bill...GREAT broadway show..

  • how old is usnavi supposed to be? corbin sounds a bit young

  • wasn't the tempo a little faster, louder, and up beat?... just asking

  • @eday13 yeah.. but i guess Corbin isn't used to rapping or sumthing like that so that's why he's a bit slower and all that

  • I got to admit Corbin did pretty well, but he can't beat Lin because we can all agree that we're all just so much more accustomed to Lin Manuel as Usnavi.

  • Good for him.

  • His rhythm is a bit off, but besides that he did a pretty good job

  • he did as good a job as someone who isent the original could do i think. but you can tell its not quiet right. lin worked for almost 10 years to write this, and its his dream his character based off him. and you can see it in his eyes if u dont believe me watch the video of the cast recording of the finale. but Corbin did the best job possible.

  • He's better than I expected! However, he can't beat Lin Manuel-Miranda.

  • when i saw it live, i saw corbin. he was great! :) lin is and always will be usnavi, but corbin did a great job!

  • I actually think he's really great Usnavi! Granted, he's got nothing on Lin but he does a really great job. Props to you Corbin :) wayy to break out of that Disney Kid shell.

    The only thing is that he doesn't really look hispanic lol but his accent is pretty good.

  • If all rap was like this, I'd download more of it

  • i just saw this yesterday, ii really don't listen to rap/freestyle, but i liked it so much that i bought the cd :)

  • haha i forgot he was a disney kid

  • he did a great job.

  • i was goiing to see that one but instead i saw Hairspray:)

  • alright corbin!! much better that i thought hed be!! no where near as good as lin though of courseee

  • alright corbin!! much better that i thought hed be!!

  • I saw it last Saturday with Kyle Beltran as Usnavi (and Jordin Sparks as Nina...) and I think Kyle did really really well.

    Lin is definitely the TRUE Usnavi, but Corbin is ridiculous in this. All I see is Chad Danforth!!! :/

  • @ahhhhB wow I saw kyle Beltran and I didn't like him at all :/ also saw the show with Corbin and I loved it....stop portraying like Chad in HSM.Usnavi is a completely different role and he was really awesome in it....I bet you didn't see him as Usnavi.....

  • @ahhhhB i loveddd Kyle and Jordin! I thought Shaun as Sonny was AMAZING!

  • @kyougurlie57 See? I'm glad people agree with me. Hahaha:) Kyle was just the right amount of awkward, which is what his character is meant to be. er.. that's how Lin portrayed him. lol Yeah!! Shaun was soo hilarious too! I smiled everytime he came onstage!

  • saw this! was in the third row, was so wierd watching Corbin Bleu right in front of me in real life but it was awesome!! i love the music and dancing :)

  • yeahh corbin is competing with the REAL usnavi

    Lin wrot e this practically based on himsellf.

    I actually think corbin is trying to sound too much like him

  • nobody can do better than lin because, well, he wrote this damn play, he wrote the part of usnavi for himself. come on now kids, lets be real here.

  • woooooooooooooooooooooooooow he really looked like his dad in this play lol

  • I saw Corbin in ITH back in March and I wasn't sure how he'd be. I know him from HSM and I don't really like him very much in it but I was thoroughly surprised when I saw him as Usnavi. I actually LOVED his Usnavi. He wasn't as good as Lin Manuel but, he was AWESOME live. I also got to meet him and he was VERY nice :-) I don't get why there was so much hate for him online

  • na, the original guy who actually wrote the play, or the songs, is wayy better. i watched this play when it was at 34th street and the tickets were $20 or so. good to see that it has recieved the proper attention. dont sleep on da hispanics/latinos. give us room to do our thing too.

  • i LOVE corbin bleu <33 and i love this song & this play!!

  • i think Corbin Bleu did better but just cause i think that doesn`t mean i don`t know what i`m talking about it just means thats my opinion

  • I love this song. It is so amazing. My friend, Stivers, and the rest of the vocal ensemble at my school sang this song. It gave me shivers to listen to Corbin, cuz of how much he and Stivers sound a like... [shivers].

  • its nice to see tht he moved on from the high school musical stuff and grew up. seriously

  • YO I LOVE MY BRO CORBIN BUT AGREED HE AINT GOT NOTHIN ON MY BRO LIN THE DUDE WHO CREATED WHO WHOLE SHOW INCLUDING BEIN THE ORIGIONATER OF USNAVI BUT YEAH CORBIN DID PRETTY GOOD PLUS HE GOT TO WORK WIT MY GIRL YVETTE WHO PLAYED VANESSA

  • when i went to see this, it totally changed how i look at corbin bleu. i don't think of him as one of those annoying disney stars who can't sing, but as a really talented singer

  • I've only heard wonderful things a bout Corbin. I like his interpretation. While Lin is more whimsical and more of a dreamer, Corbin's Usnavi is determined. This video just convinced me more.

  • corbins black and cant even say manana!

  • can i buy this in a cd?..

  • saw this few nights ago and it was amazing. The whole play was incredible!! I was with my school who got us in to the q and a session with cast which only included four cast members(including corbin) cause the others were busy i guess. But then we waited for autographs and it was really cool. All who came out were very sweet to do so. And corbin signed my phone =)!

  • I LOVED SEEING THIS IN NEWYORK!!!!!

  • It was ok

  • Lin was way better, Lin had way more emotion. Come back Lin!!!

  • Lin Manuel Miranda>Corbin Bleu>Javier Munoz

    I recently saw the show with Corbin, and i absolutely loved it. He had the star factor to make it very interesting. However, the musical was Lin's and he could really put his all into Usnavi. I'm happy i wasn't stuck with Javier Munoz as Usnavi.

  • Corbin Blue pretty much sucked.. it's not his fault of course, but he DOES NOT sound dominican at all, he tried too much with that accent, and this is coming from someone who IS dominican and grew up in Washington Heights

  • Good performance from Corbin... he isn't Lin-Manuel but of course, that's what makes each actor different. There is one thing though, with Corbin the tempo seemed to be much slower than with Lin-Manuel.

  • oh my

  • i saw this in February on a trip to New York...brilliant, wouldn't have been the same without it :)

  • Lin has a intersting voice thats what makes him stand out, Corbin doesn't have that raspy thing going on. I saw both of them live and They are equally good only in different was

  • @KenzTheMac2

    I couldn't have phrases it better. Okay, well maybe I would have used full sentences and corrected that typo, but you basically phrased it perfectlu.

  • he's grown so much. I had no idea he was in this musical until recently

  • wow. i dont think its In the Heights without Lin... I respect the attempt, but i really wouldn't go and see it unless it was Lin.

  • MARRY ME CORBIN!!! YOU ARE AMAZING!!! i LOVE him so much and he sounds so great!!

  • I'm going to see this tomorrow! I can't wait!

  • Oh my gosh, Corbin is really really good in this show!!!!!!! This is actually one of the best performances he's ever did!!!!!!! I still love him

  • y he lookin like LL Cool J lol

  • corbin is amazing!! (:

  • Corbin did alot better than I expected, so props to him. But I kind of wish they would have brought in a newcomer, i mean that's really how the show started on Broadway

  • I prefer Corbin over Lin playing Usnavi but both of them are great actors

  • @ComedyMaster423 are you serious? no really, are you kidding?

  • Urrrggghhh!!!! Corbin isn't even hispanic!!!! Lin-Manuel is way better!!!

  • just saw this today in new york and it was amazing and hilarious! corbin did an amazing job!

  • The amazing Lin-Manuel Miranda performed his last show at the Richard Rodgers Theatre a few years ago. Corbin Bleu is nothing compared to Lin.

  • Wow I find it interesting that he played usnavi! I saw The tour cast tonight and usnavi was way different but I think that's actually really cool that they cast a variety of people :) I'm actually kind of proud of him for breaking out of kid world and doing so well on broadway! Go Corbin! P.s this musical is amazing and I strongly reccomend it!

  • I used to think he was annoying...but then I saw him in this. I have respect for him now : ) He was good!

  • I saw it today & I absolutely loved it; This is my second time seeing it I saw it last year too <3

    Its a great story especially cause Washington Heights is 5 minutes from my house, and its very cultural .

  • Anyone know if Lin's ever coming back? I've been meaning to watch In The Heights with Lin, but before I knew it, Corbin had taken over :T

  • @JonnysVitamins probably not, but there's going to be a movie adaption and lin is reprising his role as usnavi for it. :)

  • Corbin was superb, not only in the fact that he portrayed the character well, but in how much of his time he was willing to spend signing autographs and taking pictures out the stage door... as soon as he walks out there, he's basically committed to half an hour of busy work. So I think he deserves props even just for that. (Though I did think he was really good in the role. Very different from Lin though)

  • wow hes a lot better than i thought hed be! lin is the best obviously but i really like his movement and stage presence. im surprisedd :)

  • WTF!!!

  • Some of you people need to realize that every Usnavi adds a different aspect to the show and all of them are fantastic in their own way. If they weren't good enough, they wouldn't be on the show.

  • Corbin Bleu is ruining the show. He cannot sing or act. He raps like he's constipated and sings like he's in pain. He should stay in Disney channel with all the other bad singers/actors where he belongs. Broadway is no place for him. It is a place for the GOOD singers.

  • Please note that this is a matter of opinion for me, and I do not expecteveryone to agree with me, because I can see everyone loves him. These are only my thoughts.

  • @browdwayloverz If he wasn't fit for the show he wouldn't be in it. I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but comments like that should be kept to yourself.

  • @babybleu1soicy they cast him to attract younger audiences, High School Musical fans. I realize that most people disagree, but I just wanted to put my opinion out there.

  • @browdwayloverz

    he isn't half bad, although I do prefer Lin's voice and aura for this role. However I did watch Corbin in this show recently and there were hundreds of screaming fangirls.. Not exactly my kind of entertainment but it was really an awesome show!

  • @Kavirako "hundreds of screaming fangirls..." again, they got him to attract High School Musical fans.

  • @browdwayloverz Hey, Corbin was amazing. I get that its your opinion, but keep those opinions to yourself

  • @kilikili7890 The internet is a place to express opinions. I am simply stating mine, and I am not saying you should feel the same way. If you think it's a bad opinion, that's your problem.

  • i saw this once he auctioned off his undershirt for 750$ at the end of the show =0

  • I'm from England and I visited New York last week. I've seen a loads of West End productions and was very excited to see a Broadway show. In The Heights did not dissapoint :) I saw him on Saturday nights performance. He was amazing in my opinion. Keep it up Corbin :)

  • corbin is a sweetheart. i must marry him(dont u doubt me)

  • @favour90 you need to pay 60$ to get a picture with him thats autographed

    how do i know?

    i saw him in the play, in the heights is right across the street from the addams family musical on broadway

    but at least the money goes to the aids foundaition

  • wow not bad!!!! I was noticing alot of hating on him and I think he pulls it off. I mean nobody is EVER as good as the originals when it comes to these shows...thats how it always is.

  • Not bad, holy crud. He was actually good. Of course nothing beats an original or Lin-Manuel Miranda. I'm pleasantly surprised.

  • he did a great hob!

  • Man no matter he does he is dam good.... keep it up Corbin

  • Kyle Beltran did really good on the tour

  • corbin is very good but I wish I was Lin too... but anyway the show is absolutely phenomenal! the score is fantastic! I love the music

  • oh, this surprised me. he's a lot better than I thought he would me. he's got nothing on Lin, though, but that should go without saying. but still, not half bad for a disney kid.

  • @lgsm22 hey no no no disney kid, yah disney isn't very good at making movies or tv but if you wanted to get known you'd take an acting job you could get dont look done on him for trying to make it.

  • @lgsm22 Yeah, i aqree. He did qood. But not qood enouqh to beat Lin.

  • @lgsm22 i was just about to say the same thing! haha i completely agree with you

  • @lgsm22 I know when I saw In the Heights in May I was kinda like Corbin Bleu...not setting my expectations high. But he did an exceptional job. You're right, he's definitely not as good as Lin, but he did a great job.

  • I'm not saying that Corbin did a terrible job or anything, but anybody who says that he did better than Lin doesn't know what they're talking about.

  • @danpan89 Well of course he didn't do better than Lin, Lin wrote the musical, he spent what like ten years writing it. It's a part of Lin. Corbin is just a stand in. I guess he's pretty good for a disney kid like Igsm said.

  • @danpan89 Perfectly said.

  • @danpan89 well no one can beat Lin.... Im just UBER excited that Lin is going to do the Los Angeles production of In The Heights on tour... I GOT MY TICKETS... So all im saying is that Lin IS Usnavi and Corbin is just taking over the role and following the footsteps

  • @danpan89 - I'm sure even Corbin knows he can't do as good a job as Lin-Manuel.

  • @danpan89 I agree that Lin was on a completely different level than Corbin, but for who Corbin is, he definately didnt suck.

  • I love Corbin XD

  • he actually looks dominican

  • i love him so much!!

  • @tashafacejb , i agreeee.

  • no no no no NO!!!! :(

    i want Lin Manuel Miranda back!!

    the original cast is phenomenal!

    i saw it BEFORE they won their Tony. i can sense those Tony award winners from a mile away :)

  • get it corbin!

  • About Corbin, this is was his first performance ^^ so I guess he was nervous ;) and trust me now he is more confident and more and he is very great :)

  • ughhh nooo! he jst ruined it! im not dissin corbin but i dont like his performance here. i rly wanted to see lin perform! he is the only who can rly play usnavi. and karen is the best vanessa out there.

  • Corbin is alright. a little more energy and he'll be great. (:

  • I saw the original In Da Heights two times. Corbin is doing as good as he can. Lin grew up near the heights in Inwood. So honestly, as wonderful as it is to cast a lot of african americans in this musical, it takes away from the latino/latina flavor! Those who are latino will agree with me. You can't really fake our accents. Nor can you move the way we move.

  • the original guy rapped w/ way more passion. His rapping gave me goosebumps whichis weird cuz i am sooo not into rap...

  • @MrBP1994 well of course he had more passion. he wrote the damn thing!! granted the originals always better but i think corbins good too.

  • At least he sounds better than Kyle Beltran when he raps, needs more passion though

  • Well, I've seen it 3 times, never with with Lin, but from the 3 that I did see my favorite so far has been Corbin the connection he had with Sonny, and Benny Felt so genuine, I loved it , really enjoyed it.

  • Stop hating, he did great. The shoes he has to fill are just too large. Lin WAS Usnavi.

    In a sense, Corbin is playing Lin. He just falls short in copying Lin's voice and Hispanic accent. Besides that, he seems to have the rest covered. Strong voice and good acting. At least this is what I can tell from this short clip.

  • I prefer Lin but Corbin's not that bad it could be worse

  • u look awesome Corbin and Happy Birthday!!!!

  • I don't like him very much. Lin will ALWAYS be Usnavi.

  • @snazzyemms Took the words RIGHT out of my mouth. Before I saw it, I didn't like Lin. I thought he just cast himself in his own show. Then I saw him in it and he's the only one who can REALLY be that character. AMAZING. Corbin's not bad though. Lin just lived it though.

  • I'd probably like him better if he were Sonny, Usnavi just isn't his part. Maybe if I saw him live I'd like it, but I don't like change, therefore the OBC will always be MY In the Heights cast. I prefer Karen Olivo as Vanessa, instead of that other girl. xD

  • OMG I LOOOOOOVE CORBIN!!! He is so amazing! Lova ya Corbin!

  • he's just not usnavi. to my mind, lin-manuel miranda will only ever usnavi so i hope he plays usnavi in the movie that comes out this year. i have nothing against corbin. he's just not usnavi.

  • To all you haters out there.. Hes doing a great job, all you shit talkers can you uptage him if so go audition and then we will talk shit about you hahahah

  • Corbin i will ALWAYS b behind u now and 4evr I LUV U!!!!

  • i'll just say,,, HE'S NOT LATINO! he'll never gonna be like lin... though he got a good voice 4 the character

  • @GuilleCarvajal Either his mom or dad is Dominican

  • not even that!...

  • I was absolutely pissed when I heard about this... but he's really stepped up to the plate. He doesn't really have enough of an accent for Usnavi, but he does a great job.

  • I totally agree. I was so upset, but this isn't too bad. I love Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I went to see In the Heights about a month ago and saw his (Lin's) understudy who was 20x better than Corbin and was almost as good as Miranda. Again, though. Bad choice. It just kinda ruins the specialness of the show.

  • No sense of rhythm in the rhyme.  Sorry. He's just not a rapper by nature.

  • He's better than whoever did Usnavi after Lin-Manuel Miranda, that's all I can say.

  • he's murdering it. he's got no emotion. everyone is so alive with their singing and etc and he's got no soul in it. Lin, how could you let this happen? is business so bad that the show needed a celebrity like this?

  • 1:09 he should learn spanish... listen how he pronounces "mañana mi pana...

  • @erafilms Ur right! He doesn't even have a simple accent. Javi should have stayed

  • i adore javier munoz, he was incredible when i saw it. but corbin's good too.

  • he can't beat Lin but he is MUCH better than i expected!

  • wow, when i first heard corbin was gonna be playin usnavi, not gonna lie wasn't that too happy about it, but he proved me wrong! he does a great job!

  • hes okay, but im happy i saw this before he joined it, i saw the one right before he came.

  • I saw him in the show last night - he did a great job! I wouldn't judge based on this video, the energy isn't the same when you're not there.

  • @strawberryogurt its true. just saw him today and chilled wit him after the show. ppl dont give him enough credit

  • I'm impressed, he's no Lin, but he's pretty good

  • Comment removed

  • I went in thinking that this couldn't go right, considering the fact that he was in HSM and related to Disney, but his performance was quite surprising! He was amazing and blended in very well!

  • Ok, I was a bit terrified to learn he was in this. I mean, I kinda hate high school musical, but then I thought about it. I mean, you can say he sucks, i mean all the songs are so electronic and processed, soemone with no voice could sing them. But at the sime time, someone actually talented could be singing them and we wouldnet know the difference. I now am actually curois to see more of what he can do, this short bit was very promising. I always figured he would be the most talented HSMer

  • wow....not as bad as i thought it would b. surprised me. i was really nervous when i found out he was in it. but..surprisingly he's not bad..

  • why in the F is he in that show?

  • Ok he is crappy, he has no justification when it comes to his actors (dont comment on this if ur not an actor and know what i am talking about) he looks like he is only doing the movement because he is told to do it and he is stiff, he is a crappy rapper, and only thing he has on lin is that his voice is a little better

  • I'm an actress and i think he did it great. I saw the complete show the last week.

  • Yeah I am an actor. Joshua Scales-you can look me up on here. I am in college for it, and Corbin is a beast so leave him the hell alone. He is doing a very good job in this role...and I have to say he DESERVES IT!

  • is he there now???

  • Sloppy...very very sloppy. Dislike Corbin

  • He's amazing!! As usual...

  • im seeing the show feb 28th at the hippadrome in baltimore i can't wait to see him

  • @casperyana he's playing usnavi on broadway, not the national tour. you'll be seeing kyle beltran as usnavi.

  • gary and i should deff fly out to see this! lol

    how long is the show going?!?

  • i love this so much!!

    i like him better in this then in HSM

  • That was great Corbin!

  • usnavi needs an awkward cadence, this dude has way too much swagger... well im not gonna tell ppl how they run this show, but i wanna catch it again if that Javier Munoz comes back, that guy was amazing.

  • where's Eliseo??!! :(

  • Okay, he proved me wrong, he's damn good!