By Pat Septak 

Broadway’s newest sensation about the upper Manhattan Dominican-American neighborhood of Washington Heights has finally made it to Pittsburgh. The plot of IN THE HEIGHTS takes place over three days at the neighborhood bodega, through the use of Latin beats, pop tunes and rap. Kyle Beltran, a Carnegie Mellon graduate, leads the cast as Usavni, the bodega owner, who inherits his late grandmother’s lottery winnings,  closes down his store and dreams of returning to his parents’ homeland in the Dominican Republic. But he soon discovers that saying goodbye to the characters who live on the block isn’t as easy as he thought. He becomes torn about leaving after realizing that his neighbors are his real family, especially Vanessa (Sabrina Sloan), the object of his affections. 

All of the action takes place within an urban setting in which a giant silhouette of the George Washington Bridge looms in the background.  The neighborhood is occupied by several businesses, including a deli, a hair salon and Rosario’s Car Service, which is run by Kevin and Camila (Daniel Bolero and Natalie Toro, respectively), who spend most of their time pondering the future of their daughter, college freshman Nina (Arielle Jacobs).

The score features hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and soul music. This variety of beats is the driving force behind the Tony-winning choreography. But one really has to pay close attention to everything that’s happening on stage or else they may miss some of the best dance moves of the show. That’s because while the main characters are shaking things up in the spotlight during the club/carnival scenes, there may be some dance movements by the ensemble happening simultaneously somewhere  in the corner of the stage. In one particular scene, towards the end of Act 1, emotions sizzle when Usnavi and Vanessa heat things up at a dance club. Tension escalates as the stage lights up with fireworks, followed by a citywide blackout. The scene is particularly memorable for its visual and emotional intensity, serving as a metaphor for the situation at hand.

 After a 15-minute intermission, the second act becomes a turning point for several characters in the show, particularly for Nina’s mother (Camila) who expresses her devotion as a wife and mother with “Enough”, and Natalie Toro delivers the song with passion. Overall the musical numbers are rich in culture but they may not be to everyone’s liking. Many of the songs, as is common in modern musicals, are more like sung conversations than they are celebrated ideas, which means one is less likely to remember the tunes once they leave the theater.

IN THE HEIGHTS boasts a youthful and energetic cast. At times, though, it feels as if the Latin rhythms overshadow the characters emotions, giving the impression that the story lacks heart, as opposed to a “West Side Story” or “Wicked”. Whether it’s destined to become a classic remains to be seen. The fact that the musical’s 2008 Broadway production was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won the Tony Award for Best Musical at the 62nd Tony Awards, is certainly a good sign. If you’re looking for pulse-racing excitement, infectious characters and a culturally diverse musical score, you’ll enjoy IN THE HEIGHTS.  (Playing at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh as part of the PNC Broadway Across America series through Sunday. Call 412-456-6666 for tickets.)

Nominations for the 30th annual Golden Raspberry Awards were announced this morning — and the news was all about Sandra Bullock.

Despite having the best year of her career, the Oscar frontrunner picked up a Worst Actress nomination for her performance in the critically panned ‘All About Steve.’ The flick was also nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Couple (Bullock and co-star Bradley Cooper).

‘Land of the Lost’ and ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ led the pack with 7 nominations each.

In true Razzie fashion, some of Hollywood’s biggest names were dishonored, including perennial Razzie targets Eddie Murphy (Worst Actor, ‘Imagine That’), John Travolta (Worst Actor, ‘Old Dogs’) and Megan Fox (’Jennifer’s Body’ and ‘Transformers 2′). Also nominated was Miley Cyrus for ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie,’ as were ‘Twilight’ megastars Robert Pattinson (Worst Supporting Actor; Worst Couple), Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner (Worst Couple).

Meanwhile, Beyonce’s Grammy buzz came to a screeching halt this morning, as the ‘Obsessed’ star was nominated alongside Bullock, Cyrus, Fox and Sarah Jessica Parker (’Did You Hear About the Morgans?’) in the Worst Actress category.

And if that wasn’t enough, the Razzies also took a look back at the worst films and actors of the last decade. Among the nominees were 8-time Razzie winner ‘Battlefield Earth,’ ‘Gigli,’ Ben Affleck, Lindsay Lohan and, of course, Madonna.

Check out the full list of nominees below:

Worst Picture
‘All About Steve’
‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’
‘Land of the Lost’
‘Old Dogs’
‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’

Worst Director
Michael Bay, ‘Trannies, Too’
Walt Becker, ‘Old Dogs’
Brad Silberling, ‘Land of the Lost’
Stephen Sommers, ‘G.I. Joe’
Phil Traill, ‘All About Steve’

Worst Actor
All Three Jonas Brothers, ‘Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience’
Will Ferrell, ‘Land of the Lost’
Steve Martin, ‘Pink Panther 2′
Eddie Murphy, ‘Imagine That’
John Travolta, ‘Old Dogs’

Worst Actress
Beyonce, ‘Obsessed’
Sandra Bullock, ‘All About Steve’
Miley Cyrus, ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie’
Megan Fox, ‘Jennifer’s Body’ and ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’
Sarah Jessica Parker, ‘Did You Hear About the Morgans?’

Worst Supporting Actor
Billy Ray Cyrus, ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie’
Hugh Hefner, ‘Miss March’
Robert Pattinson, ‘New Moon’
Jorma Taccone, ‘Land of the Lost’
Marlon Wayans, ‘G.I. Joe’

Worst Supporting Actress
Candice Bergen, ‘Bride Wars’
Ali Larter, ‘Obsessed’
Sienna Miller, ‘G.I. Joe’
Kelly Preston, ‘Old Dogs’
Julie White, ‘Trannies, Too’

Worst Screen Couple
Any Two (or More) Jonas Brothers, ‘The Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert experience’
Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper, ‘All About Steve’
Will Ferrell and Any Co-Star, Creature or “Comic Riff,” ‘Land of the Lost’
Shia LaBeouf and Either Megan Fox OR any Transformer, ‘Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen’
Kristen Stewart and EITHER Robert Pattinson OR Taylor Whatz-His-Fang, ‘New Moon’

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel
‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’
‘Land of the Lost’
‘Pink Panther 2′
‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’
‘New Moon’

Worst Picture of the Decade
‘Battlefield Earth’
‘Freddy Got Fingered’
‘Gigli’
‘I Know Who Killed Me’
‘Swept Away’

Worst Actor of the Decade
Ben Affleck
Eddie Murphy
Mike Myers
Rob Schneider
John Travolta

Worst Actress of the Decade
Mariah Carey
Paris Hilton
Lindsay Lohan
Jennifer Lopez
Madonna

Full details at Razzies.com.

Grammy officially pays homage to Michael Jackson this weekend with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony Saturday and then a spectacular 3-D tribute at the big show Sunday.

So who from the Jackson clan will be representing the late entertainer?

According to CNN, Jackson’s two eldest children, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael, 12, are scheduled to take the stage at Saturday’s Special Merit Awards ceremony at L.A.’s Wilshire Ebell Theater.

So far, their appearance has not been confirmed by either the Grammys or the Jackson family. Also unknown: Whether the children – or any other Jackson family members – will take part in Sunday night’s 3-D musical tribute to Jackson during the primetime Grammy telecast from the Staples Center.

Barack Obama has allocated £4.3billion to spend on maintaining the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile - £370million more than what was budgeted by George Bush.

The budget will also be increased by more than £3.1billion over the next five years.

The announcement comes despite the American President declaring nuclear weapons were the ‘greatest danger’ to U.S. people during in his State of the Union address on Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1247049/Nobel-Peace-Prize-winner-Barack-Obama-ups-spending-nuclear-weapons-George-Bush.html#ixzz0e264mZrO

Jennifer Aniston’s rekindled love affair with 300 beefcake Gerard Butler has shifted into overdrive - she’s asked him to move in with her!

The couple split last September after a brief summer romance, but reunited in January to promote their new film, The Bounty Hunter.

 And during a recent whirlwind, champagne-fueled weekend of flirting and public kisses, Jennifer propositioned Gerard with an offer too good to refuse, revealed an insider

“Gerard could barely contain his excitement when Jen suggested that he move into her Beverly Hills mansion,” continued the insider.

“Before the words, ‘Move in with me,’ were out of Jen’s mouth, Gerard shouted out, ‘Yes!’

“He loves spending time with Jen and thinks they’ll have a ball living together.”

Sparks began to fly once more when Jen and Gerard, both 40, got together in early January for a sizzling two-day desert photo shoot for an upcoming W magazine cover. Gerard was dressed as a cop and Jen was decked out in lingerie.

Things got even steamier when the two were tapped to present awards together at the Golden Globes ceremony in L.A. on Jan. 17.

The hot-to-trot lovers flirted through their joint presentation duties at the Globes - and then sent tongues wagging when they slipped backstage for champagne and kisses.

“Jen feels like her summer fling with Gerard was a test-run,” explained the insider. “The timing was wrong then, but now that she has had a chance to re-evaluate - she wants to give love another try.”

Jennifer has spent the past few years remodeling her $15 million Beverly Hills mansion, and there’s nothing she wants more than to have someone to share it with, adds the insider.

 And she believes Gerard is just the kind of man she has been looking for.”