Corbin Bleu debuts on Broadway's "In The Heights"

So here is my rave review of Corbin Bleu in "In The Heights".

To be honest, I was not really expecting much for some odd reason. I think it's the notion that Hollywood actors -- specially from the Disney talent mill High School Musical -- are not serious actors like the veterans of Broadway. I also found the choice of Corbin to play Usnavi a bit of a stretch since he doesn't look Dominican or hispanic.

However, after Corbin sang/rapped the opening lines of "In the Heights" -- I was immediately convinced that he was a great choice to play this role. He was fantastic. He rapped with ease and confidence which is what this role demands and brought just enough star-power that this role has been lacking since Lin-Manuel Miranda left last year. Usnavi is the lead, and Corbin made you believe it.

I've seen this show 5 times with 5 different guys playing Usnavi, and just after Lin-Manuel Miranda who created the role, Corbin would be the best.

You could also sense a renewed energy in the cast having Corbin there and the audience reacted to everything. It was a great show tonight.

The only drawback that I see with this casting is that Corbin is a bit too young. Corbin's Usnavi paired with Robin De Jesus' Sonny looked more like high school buddies instead of the wise older cousin mentoring the brash younger cousin. But it is what it is -- it was actually fun to watch them together.

If you are coming to New York in the next couple of months (or if you live here already) - go watch "In The Heights" with Corbin Bleu. Highly recommended. He'll be around until April 25, 2010.

After the show, I waited outside to get his picture and he was very nice to me. Since I was using my cellphone, he made sure that I got the picture before moving on. I asked him if he had Twitter, and it's at @corbinbleu

Oh, and I also saw Robin de Jesus - who again is just amazing.