Hamilton Seattle

[canadian fan]

Posted: 2/19/18 at 8:23pm

Sorry for another Hamilton thread but I didn't seen any thread about the touring production.  Saw Hamilton in Seattle this past weekend. I hadn't seen this show before, but of course anyone who follows theatre knows basically what the show is about.  It goes without saying having purchased season tickets to the Seattle Broadway season essentially to guarantee my seat for Hamilton, we were very excited to finally see the show.  It did not disappoint. If its possible it exceeded my expectations. What a beautiful production.  I truly felt that I was watching art. I don't know what that even means, hard to put into words, but thats what it felt like. The stage, the performances, the score, the choreography....everything was top notch and so well done. Not to critique all the roles, but for me the sisters were the shining stars here. And thats not to diminish anyone else in anyway. All the performances were fantastic.  Glad I finally had a chance to see this, hope everyone else seeing this show enjoyed it as much as we did. 

[Kitzka]

Posted: 2/19/18 at 8:52pm

Thanks for posting your thoughts and review.

I have a mild Hamilton obsession and have been very lucky and have seen the OBC, the original
Chicago cast, the touring cast in SF (I was there on a business trip) and have another business trip to Seattle in about 10 days. My meeting schedule is a little in flux but I think I have Saturday matinee time free and I'm staying 4 blocks from the theater. I'm really tempted to see this tour since it's a different cast than I saw in SF a year ago.

My boss won't notice right?

[canadian fan]

Posted: 2/19/18 at 8:59pm

your secret is safe with me :)

[conealpetterson]

Posted: 2/19/18 at 9:21pm

I heard some audio from this touring company and Shoba sounds fantastic as Eliza.  I thought Nik Walker sounded great as Burr too.  How was he in person?

[canadian fan]

Posted: 2/19/18 at 9:34pm

I thought Nic Walker was the male standout. And Shoba was my favourite performance. Her rendition of Burn was very close to Phillipa Soos version.  I have been meaning to look Shoba up as I saw in her Bio she was in the Great Comet. We saw that show on Broadway last May, but I don't remember her, and she was so outstanding in this I don't know how thats possible.....time to go check my playbill!!

[natafied]

Posted: 2/19/18 at 11:15pm

I'm excited to hear this! I'm seeing them on an upcoming stop, and I'm nervous about my seat/view (don't know if "nervous" is quite the right word, but the seat's all the way off to the side) but still very excited.

Shoba was a swing in Great Comet, but she also understudied Natasha. From what I've seen of her online, she's wonderful, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing her perform.

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 3/11/18 at 4:27am

Saw this tonight. So great. Will write a more detailed review tomorrow once I’m home

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 3/11/18 at 11:29pm

So I've now had 24 hrs to process what I saw last night. After seeing the original company I was hopeful that the magic would be replicated and it was. Nik Walker was out and it was Desmond Sean Ellington's first 2 shows as Burr yesterday. I think he got better as he went along. His Wait for It lacked the magic it had with Leslie Odom Jr but he redeemed himself and knocked it out of the park with Room Where it Happens. I think he will only get stronger as he does the role more.

In terms of the women I thought all 3 were really strong. Ta'rea sounded great on Satisfied and Shoba's Burn was just as good as Soo and like Desmond I thought she got better as the show went on.

Unfortunately I found Marcus Choi a bit underwhelming. What it really showed me was the physical presence that Chris Jackson had as Washington. I found Choi didn't have command of the stage in the same way but thought he sounded great on One Last Time.

Now to the standouts.... Kyle Scatliffe totally crushed it. He definitely held his own through Guns and Ships and could enunciate the crazy fast raps with charisma. He actually reminded me a lot of Daveed. Elijah Malcomb as Laurens/Phillip was also great. When I saw it in NY Anthony Ramos was out so I can't compare but Malcomb brought the right amount of swag and cheekiness to Laurens and has the vocal chops to hold his own too. 

Finally, Joseph Morales....wow he was great! He plays the role in a very similar way to Lin and added the perfect emotion at the varying moments in Hamilton's life. He had the charisma, the stage presence, and the vocals, and at the same time is able to make Hamilton his own. 

We sat in row JJ, the second last row of the orchestra which gave me a chance to see the overall show as I wasn't close enough to see specific facial emotions. The ensemble were great, the dancing was great, and in all it was just as awesome as seeing it in NY.

 

[A Canadian in NYC]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 1:35pm

Was fortunate to catch the Hamilton performance in Seattle yesterday and my first words are... WOW!!  I honestly wasn't expecting this calibre for a tour - which is very smallminded of me I realize.  The stage was perfect. The acoustics at The Paramount are excellent.  It's a larger theatre so there's always a worry for me how the sound will be.  But it was wonderful.  I sat further back than I normally would for a performance (Row DD Orch).  I really enjoyed being able to see all the dancing and choreography come together - you tend to miss that sitting closer up.  I still prefer close up - I like to feel the spray and see the expression. 

So, first off Joseph Morales was... incredible... WOW!!!   His style was a bit different than LMM, but boy did he ever sound like him.  I could have sworn it was LMM at times.  I also loved Nik Walker as Burr - perfect compliment to Morales.  The other stand outs for me were Shoba for Eliza and Fergie for Mulligan/Madison.   Kyle was a litte too "in your face" for me as Lafayette/Jefferson.  I preferred Daveed Diggs portrayal in this role.  However, Kyle got a lot of love from the audience so I think that was just me making comparisons.  Choi was a good George Washington, but he didn't have the stage presence that Jackson or Christopher had.   I see he played The Engineer in SB and I can only imagine he would be excellent in that role - his voice is spectacular.  Getting back to Eliza, I think Shoba is now my new favourite Eliza.  I didn't love Phillipa in the role . I know that goes against many of you - but I thought she was the weakest link in the OBC.  Shoba was perfect.  Her Burn was amazing and I loved how she ended the show.  

Everyone else was very very good. 

The tour seems to take a more relaxed approach to many of the scenes.  "Farmer Refuted" with Hamilton and Seabury was really played up and hilarious and of course King George III was over the top.  Very funny portrayal - again different than what I've seen with Groff, Rannells and O"Malley.

The audience was really into it.  I thought for a moment that Walker was going to get a SO for "The Room Where it Happens".  he didn't - but it was a very prolonged ovation. 

I'm seeing the NYC show this May and I'm super stoked for it - I had taken a Hamilton hiatus and now I'm back in love.

I wish this Tour lots of luck and good fortune as it moves on - if you are going to see this cast in the future you have much to look forward to!   

[antonijan]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 2:15pm

Can anybody save me an encore playbill...i can pay