Seven Performers enter, a Pianist is introduced. Set to the backdrop of the history of the Great White Way from past to present, and set to a gut punching-hilarious score based off of one of the greatest musicals to date Spamilton took off full speed ahead. From hilarious lyrics devised by the great minds behind Forbidden Broadway, and including a Lin-Manuel look a-like the audience experienced 90 minutes of unadulterated laughter, song, and dance.
When Lin-Manuel Miranda set out to tell the story of how one person turned the world upside down and changed it forever, did he consider that he, himself was about to accomplish the very same thing-that is-change the world by changing the way we think about education itself?
If we could actually 'rewind' time, some in academia might have chuckled at the very core of the EduHam program, an education program that presupposes that American History students can comprehend and retain complex materials through rap music. Sounds a little insane doesn't it?
"Hamilton" needs no introduction. If you are not walking around memorizing the lyrics and wearing "A.Ham" hats, then you know someone who is. Now, Hamilton brings the room where it happens to the New Orleans' Saenger Theatre.
What more can be said about the juggernaut "Hamilton" that hasn't already been written? An ornate, elaborate leveled wooden backdrop and mobile staircases with minimal, simple set pieces and turntables floors showcased the exquisitely and insanely-talented lead actors and the equally-matched ensemble that brought each note to vivid life. The superb music - a blend of hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, and traditional Broadway tunes - was complemented by nearly nonstop, furiously-paced choreography.
Not since Sondheim have we had a musical so complex in lyrics, so layered in rhetoric, so rich in motif, and so conscious of characters' competing perspectives on one another. It is a concert of overlap, interplay, meta-reference, and occasionally even time travel...
As with each passing season, 2018 proved to be another exceptional year for theater not only in Souther California in general but also in Orange County---my home base. This year, the OC finally welcomed the debut of what has become this century's most awarded and most renowned stage musical ever about the Founding Father etched regally on the 10 dollar bill. Meanwhile, So. Cal. enjoyed a powerful surge of new stage works that explored Asian-American experiences, a positive step forward in the presentation of diverse voices we seldom hear from on the stage. A pair of touring musicals---both opening in the O.C. in early 2019---made such an impact in their Los Angeles engagements for me personally that I had to include them in my list, even though I have not 'officially' reviewed the productions for print. With that said, here is my 'Best of 2018' from Orange County and adjacent locales nearby---a mixture of outstanding shows and brilliant performances that made a lasting, memorable imprint in my theatergoing experience this year.
If you're like me - overly familiar with the original cast recording - hearing a whole new set of voices can at first be jarring in their unfamiliarity. But that quickly subsides and you get sucked right in to the new voices and rhythms. And those new rhythms, those new inflections, those new and different character choices made by a whole new set of actors are exactly the extra level of genius I mentioned. The work is so much bigger than the original cast.
Based on Ron Chernow's 2004 biographical novel titled Alexander Hamilton, the musical, Hamilton, tells the true story of one of America's Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton. An immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation's first Treasury Secretary.
With a company that mostly outclassed the replacement cast I saw on Broadway, the HAMILTON tour not only set off a ticketbuying frenzy across Charlotte, it fulfilled theatergoers' wildest expectations.
That's right, #TCTheater friends, music-theater's favorite founding father has finally arrived in Minneapolis, along with all of this friends. Three years after opening on Broadway and becoming the biggest theater sensation in years, maybe even decades, the second national tour is playing at the Opheum Theatre for a six-week run. I'm lucky enough to have seen it four times now, and it's still just as epic and thrilling, if not quite as mind-blowing as the first time. HAMILTON is the rare thing that not only lives up to the hype, it exceeds it. In fact it's not really about the hype at all, the 'all the cool people are seeing HAMILTON so I guess I should see it too.' You shouldn't go see HAMILTON so you can impress your friends and neighbors, you should go see HAMILTON because it's the quintessential American story told through the quintessential American art form - musical theater. It's one of those ground-breaking milestone events in the history of theater that has forever changed it. And it's also three jam-packed hours of music, dance, stories, entertainment, and inspiration. If you don't already have your tickets don't despair. There are tickets still available through the official channels, and you can enter a daily lottery in which 40 lucky people win the chance to buy tickets for $10. I don't think I need to try to convince anyone to go see it, or tell you how incredibly amazing it is. You already know that, the rest is up to you.
The story goes that while on vacation from performing in his hit Broadway show 'In the Heights,' Lin-Manuel Miranda read a copy of the biography, 'Alexander Hamilton' by Ron Chernow.
For three years, I have obsessed over the Original Broadway Cast Album of Lin-Manuel Miranda's ingeniously constructed, powerfully-rendered musical masterpiece HAMILTON, mostly because it just wasn't possible for me to see the show at its home at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Fast forward to Fall of 2017 and the show finally makes its long stop in Los Angeles. I snagged a ticket and it was transcendent. Fast forward again to now May 2018, and the show's second national tour has finally arrived in my back yard at OC's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa for a three-week run through May 27. This production not only successfully reignited my love for this show, but it has also promptly solidified it as, in my humble opinion, one of the best musicals of all time. Apart from being one of the most undeniably creative stage shows ever produced for the American theater, HAMILTON is also one of the most deeply moving and shrewdly intelligent stage musicals I have ever experienced---made even better thanks to an insanely talented ensemble cast that raps, sings, and acts their way into this gripping, very American story.
All that hype? Completely justified.
The national tour of the smash hit musical HAMILTON ignites the Eccles Theater in its long-awaited Utah debut. HAMILTON will be remembered throughout the annals of musical theatre as a show that changed the trajectory of the art form. If you are one of the lucky ones with a ticket to see this phenomenal production, you will always remember that you had a seat in the room where it happened.
Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: go behind the scenes of KING KONG, Lin-Manuel Miranda talks about bringing HAMILTON to Puerto Rico, and Pasek and Paul dish on working with Alan Menken on ALADDIN!
BroadwayWorld has a first look at the 2nd National Tour of HAMILTON, lead by Joseph Morales and Nik Walker as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, respectively.
Yes, it's true. The undeniable juggernaut that is the multiple Tony Award winner, including for Best Musical, 'Hamilton' has descended upon Seattle. Just like in New York for so long, theatergoers here will now be uttering the same query to each other, 'Have you seen 'Hamilton' yet?' And if you were lucky enough to snag some tickets through a Season subscription, the general sale or maybe the daily 'Hamilton' lottery you'll be able to answer with a resounding 'YES, and it was AMAZING!' But why is it amazing and how does this one stack up to the original cast with which most are so familiar? Well, Dear Readers, let's talk.
Lin-Manuel Miranda took to Twitter to share the locations of the national tour of Hamilton for 2018. The tour kicks off in San Diego on January 6th, and will perform in 20 cities around the country including Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, London, Houston, Salt Lake City and many more.
Producer Jeffrey Seller has announced that JOSEPH MORALES and NIK WALKER will lead the second national tour of Hamilton as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, respectively.
