Review: HAMILTON at Broadway San Diego

By the looks of the audience filling the San Diego Civic Theatre, even ten years later, “Hamilton” still has audiences clamoring to be in the room where it happens. “Hamilton”  is running at Broadway San Diego through May 18th.

I’ve had the privilege of seeing “Hamilton” a few times, but it was a few years and a few viewings of the filmed version in the past, and I had to wonder how time has treated the musical.  After a meteoric rise where it stormed the stage, presented a version of history filled with rhythm and rhyme, and engaged people beyond their theatre seat, it is valid to wonder if it all still holds up a decade later.  Turns out, thanks to the top-notch creative team creating it, and the equally talented casts over the years,  Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pop-culture juggernaut is still sharp, stylish, and relevant. 

The heart of the show is the friendship between Alexander Hamilton (Blaine Alden Krauss) and Aaron Burr (Deon’te Goodman) who are friends with the benefits of dramatic tension. Krauss has a rich voice, a confident swagger, and plenty of humor as the intelligent, energetic, defiant, and exhausting overachiever Hamilton.  Goodman is more than a match as Burr with his layers of ambition, and restraint,, yearning to belong but ever hesitant to truly commit to anything.  Goodman is vocally great, but it’s his performance that is truly effective as emotions flicker over his face briefly before Burr can fully gather his composure.  Together, both performers have a real chemistry that makes their friendship believable, which slowly burns into a tragedy that ends with a showdown at dawn.

Other standouts include Jisel Soleil Ayon, as older sister Angelica, who had the audience cheering with “Satisfied,” Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama, as Hamilton’s wife Eliza, who offers a compelling emotional arc that culminates in her ballad “Burn,” and Kameron Richardson, who commands the audience easily as George Washington. Paul Louis Lessard, as was the petulant King George III, was a crowd favorite who graced us with his appearance before making a British exit.

The choreography by Andy Blakenbuehler also plays a vital and visceral role, painting pictures between razor-sharp, athletic movements and stillness.  There is military precision in one moment, then sweeping grace in the next.  Combined with the direction by Thomas Kail, it creates all-encompassing tableaux.

The entire ensemble is excellent and works to keep this musical in tip-top shape as it enters its tenth year. You are likelier to hear someone singing “Guns and Ships” in the lobby than meet someone who hasn’t heard of this show. Yet, there was a lady behind me who had never seen or heard anything about it, so there is always someone who is experiencing it for the first time.

Beyond the fancy footwork, rhymes, and cabinet battle raps, the show is still a poignant reminder that complacency isn’t patriotic. This country was founded on revolution by flawed men who believed in risking everything for a better future by standing up to tyrants. Long live the revolution, and pass the playbill.

How To Get Tickets

“Hamilton” presented by Broadway San Diego runs through May 18th.  For ticket and showtime information, go to www.broadwaysd.com

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