“In the Heights,” which won the Tony for Best New Musical in 2008, is a delightful show. It’s got the triple-crown of musical theater achievement: a great score (by Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose star has only risen since creating the show), a great book (by Pulitzer Prize-winner Quiara Alegria Hudes), and great choreography (by Andy Blakenbuehler). While it’s a challenge to pull all three off successfully, the quality of the material is so high that it’s hard to make the show bad.

The production now playing at Cabrillo Music Theatre in Thousand Oaks, which is, for all intents and purposes, a regional replica of the Broadway show (the director and a large chunk of the cast were on the second national tour), doesn’t make “In the Heights” bad, but it doesn’t do its source material justice. Director Morgan Marcell has recreated Blankenbuehler’s choreography and Thomas Kail’s direction, but the magic of the original (and first national tour) productions has been lost in translation.

“In the Heights” takes place around the Fourth of July in Washington Heights, a mostly Dominican-American neighborhood in far uptown Manhattan. Usnavi (Lano Medina) runs a local bodega, and watches and interacts with all his friends and neighbors. His friend Nina (Ayme Olivo) has just returned home after freshman year at Stanford, much to the delight of Benny (Frank Authello Andrus Jr.), who works for her parents’ car company. Usnavi’s cousin, Sonny (Robert Ramirez) and Benny encourage Usnavi to finally make a move on the girl he loves, Vanessa (Rachae Thomas) before she moves downtown. Then, everything changes when the community finds out that Usnavi has sold a winning lottery ticket—but who will receive the $96,000 payout?

These are the stakes for “In the Heights”: not too high, but plenty enjoyable. Though the score features plenty of rap, the musical is decidedly old-school (there’s a Duke Ellington reference in the first 90 seconds of the show). Director Marcell comes from a dance background, and the show’s strongest moments are in the dancing—particularly that of José-Luis Lopez, who plays Graffiti Pete.

Indeed, the male performers shine more than the female performers, which is surprising both because “In the Heights” features multiple strong female characters and the overwhelming ratio of female to male musical theater performers. But Lopez, Andrus Jr., Ramirez, and Jonathan Arana end up providing the show’s most entertaining moments as Graffiti Pete, Benny, and Sonny, and the Piragua Guy, and the other characters pale in comparison.

The orchestra, under Brian Baker, played the score quite well, though there were occasionally a few issues with the orchestra and performers being in different tempos from each other. However, it’s always nice to hear a full orchestra performing a good score, and Baker’s 14-person ensemble does not disappoint.

The show’s flaws are more visible to those who know “In the Heights” quite well, but for those who are unfamiliar with the show, Cabrillo Music Theatre’s production is a mostly-charming introduction to a very charming new musical.

“In the Heights” plays at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza (2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks) through April 6. Tickets are $43.50-$81.50. More information can be found at CabrilloMusicTheatre.com.

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