You'll be pleased to know that you can officially stop using the term my bad: it is no longer part of the lexicon. This is evidenced by the fact that Broadway's hottest, most street-savvy production in years, In the Heights, has excluded it entirely. And what's good for Broadway, well ... you should just stop using it.

ITH's story line is deceptively sleepy and a playbill reading doesn't do justice to the production's high-voltage value: A close-knit Latino neighborhood in upper Manhattan struggles against imminent development and yet another blackout, as its inhabitants battle through their various issues and wonder at an uncertain future. The lead, Usnavi (played by the show's composer/lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda), is a bodega owner who longs to return to his native land; the neighborhood's fetching Great Hope returns from school a despondent failure; a lovely yearns for more from life; businesses fold; romance blooms; people dance; there's a death. But the collective energy of the score, choreography, and soloists will undoubtedly make the show a hit among Broadway mainstays, memorabilia-buying tourists, and even those who typically shun all things theater. The reason: The show feels less Broadway than it does a full-fledged summertime street party.

And not a moment too soon for Broadway loyals long lulled into hibernation by shows their parents' parents talked about nostalgically. Of the new school, ITH is likely to have the greatest—and well-deserved—longevity.

What's particularly striking is that the humor isn't an over-workshopped sedative, and the production doesn't replace its colloquial charms with tired Disney-like parlor tricks. The show's got punch. Similarly, it is emotionally convincing, fed by hip-hop, merengue, and salsa rhythms that tease crowds in and out of subplots. You won't be alone in mouthing assorted refrains as you scramble out the theater's doors onto 46th Street.

Downsides? Not many. Broadway's legacy is, after all, that of an over-long cliché and this show's relatively short and to the celebratory point. There is the rather stale love interest between the sad student and the driven young neighborhood buck, but even this is salvaged by the show's smart treatment and fast-moving scenes. And besides, I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that dude totally nails her. But then, maybe it is. My bad.