Review: HAMILTON at Ohio Theatre

The June 9 performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s epic musical HAMILTON may have opened under a cloud of disappointment at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State Street in downtown Columbus). Before the opening curtain, theatergoers learned the roles of Aaron Burr and Angelica Schuyler, two of the lynch pins in the sweeping story of Revolutionary War America, were to be played by understudies Hosea Mundi and Alexandrea Reynolds respectively. Jorge Guerra (Sam Seabury) and Kevin Murakami (Charles Lee) were also understudies who played in the June 9 performance.

However, any displeasure dissipated 15 minutes into the first act of the musical. If one hadn’t seen that marquee, he or she would have never guessed the two were understudies as the pair masterfully filled in for Jimmie J.J. Jeter (Burr) and Marja Harmon (Angelica).

Perhaps that is why HAMILTON, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, should be called the great American musical. It takes a village to pull the masterpiece off. While it is titled HAMILTON, the show is far more than just the rise and fall of the country’s first secretary of treasury (a masterful turn by Tyler Fauntleroy). It’s about the many pieces and people that helped build this country.

Nearly every HAMOPHILE can list their favorite character and often it’s not the lead. The list might include Burr, any of the Schyler sisters, Thomas Jefferson/Marquis de Lafayette, John Laurens/Philip Hamilton, George Washington, King George III, or Hercules Mulligan/James Madison. Pick a character and follow them closely throughout the course of the show and you will see something unique each one of them adds to the larger picture.

HAMILTON is famous for using a turntable stage in the middle of its set, allowing the action to be in a constant state of flux and transition. That piece is also symbolic of the way each character develops through the show. Many of the roles – Hamilton and Eliza in particular – go through large arcs in the run of the show.

Fauntleroy, who also played the title character on the 2023 Philip national tour of HAMILTON, goes through a roulette wheel of emotions. He evolves from a brash, loud revolutionary at the show’s beginning to a uber confident confidant of President Washington. By the end of his journey, Hamilton is broken by the death of his son. His elegantly understated “It’s Quiet Uptown” and his reconciliation with Eliza are among the show’s many highlights.

Mundi captures the complexities as Hamilton’s nemesis Burr. It is fascinating to watch his character go from being a restrained, reluctant rebel to being a bitter, jealous frienemy of Hamilton.

In one of Miranda’s brilliant lines, Burr talks to Hamilton about the Schuyler sisters, “Yo, if you can marry a sister, you're rich, son.” Hamilton responds, “Is it a question of if, Burr, or which one?” By the final curtain, Hamilton has been courted by all three actresses. In the first act of the show, Hamilton marries Eliza (Lauren Mariasoosay) and maintains an emotional affair with Angelica (Reynolds). In the second, Hamilton cheats on his wife with Maria Reynolds (Lily Soto, who plays Peggy in the first act).

As Eliza, Mariasoosay seamlessly goes from the smitten fiancée in the first act to a betrayed wife in the second. Her passionate delivery of “Burn” is chilling; her reading of “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” is the perfect coda for the show. Alexandrea Reynolds is phenomenal as Angelica, who secretly desires Hamilton while she remains fiercely loyal to her sister Eliza. Her spotlight performance of “Satisfied,” her bridesmaid’s toast at Eliza and Alexander’s wedding, is beautifully intoned and dazzlingly choreographed.

A.D. Weaver has a commanding presence as George Washington, who overcomes the perils of leading an under equipped army and his own inner demons of past failures. Weaver brings out the vulnerability of Washington as he serves as a mentor to Hamilton in “History Has Its Eyes On You.” After the war, Washington learns “winning was easy, leading is harder” as he tries to maintain the peace within the political system. His crooning of “One Last Time” is moving and powerful.

Even though he is on stage for less than 10 minutes, Paul Louis Lessard is captivating as King George III. The role is so iconic that the audience is snickering even before the opening notes of “You’ll Be Back” and his vindictive frolic during “The Reynolds Pamphlet” steals the scene.

Those characters have one advantage over most of the prime time players in the show: they only play one character. Five actors, Jared Howelton (Lafayette/Jefferson), Soto (Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds), Kai Thomani Tshikosi (Mulligan/Madison), Auston Henderson (Philip Schuyler/James Reynolds/Doctor), and Nathan Haydel (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton) must transform from one role in the first act to a completely different persona in the second act.

You can’t remove your eyes from Howelton, who plays the bombastic Lafayette in Act 1 and the conniving, yet hilarious Jefferson in Act II. His Schadenfreude dances as Hamilton nosedives drew big guffaws from the audience.

Haydel has an unenviable task of playing the doomed Laurens in the first act and then the equally unlucky Philip Hamilton in the second act. At the start of the second act, Haydel must play Philip as a nine-year-old. Although Haydel nails the voice and the actions of an attention-seeking child, having a 5-foot-11 man playing a nine-year-old who towers over his much smaller mother requires a lot of suspension of belief.

Soto also has a difficult transition from being the socially awkward Peggy in the first act to the seductive Reynolds in the second act. But her sultry delivery of “Say No To This” is one of the best parts of the second half.

Tshikosi also morphs from alpha male Mulligan in the opening act to the skittish Madison in the second while Henderson juggles his three minor roles of Philip Schuyler, James Reynolds, and Doctor perfectly.

HAMILTON will run July 8 through 20 at the Ohio Theatre. Certainly, there are theatergoers out there who will bypass attending the show, saying:

 “I’ve seen it before;”

“I watched it on Disney Plus;”

“I got burned out by the soundtrack.”