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#96: In the Heights with RVA's Piragua Guy, Fernando Rivadeneira Chasing Phantom

Over the past 20 years or so, a handful of shows have revolutionized what can be done on Broadway. You could point to "Hamilton" as one of the biggest of those but that revolution actually started with "In the Heights," which remains my favorite of the two. Call me a traditionalist at heart but I love that it's a warmer and more personal show. And fantasizing about winning the lottery is simply more relatable that worrying about building a new nation.Speaking of warm, my guest for this conversation is the always personable Fernando Rivadeneira who played the Piragua Guy in the Richmond production of "In the Heights" back in 2018. We chat about his discovery of this show and the joy of experiencing the many iterations of it, including the movie version. I loved revisiting the songs of the show – and discovering aspects of the production I never knew about like the web series, Legally Brown. If you've never heard of it before, it's a really fun watch.As always, please check out my website, ChasingPhantom.net, for a little more background on "In the Heights" and associated video clips.
  1. #96: In the Heights with RVA's Piragua Guy, Fernando Rivadeneira
  2. #89: Cactus Flower and manic pixie dream girls with Jordan Schildcrout
  3. #94: Sugar Babies and the history of vaudeville with Phil Crosby
  4. #87: Promises, Promises and the cultural divide with Jesse Rabinowitz
  5. #99 (tie): Memphis, "race records," and DJs with Melissa Chase