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...
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.
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.
He's back! But don't worry, we're totally chill about it because this week we're sharing some laughs and some drinks with #FriendoftheShow and star of Be More Chill Will Roland! We're pouring out MANCAN, Tangueray, and Tanteo Jalapeno Tequila while Will spills about flugabones, angler fish, and 'playing nice with the other kids at school.'
