If you had one shot, you need to watch this musical
Alexander Hamilton is on a mission to make his mark in American History. He is here to show us the power and will of the immigrants. With notoriety, comes obstacles. Will Alexander Hamilton take every chance to become ingrained in U.S. history? Let’s find out in my review of Hamilton, the Musical.
There has to be something to this musical for being being constantly sold out everywhere it goes. My family paid a pretty penny just to sit together in the Mezzanine and I’ll tell you, it was worth it. Would have liked to have paid face value, but it sells out and resold for a reason. That reason is because this is a great musical.
***Warning: Spoilers***
Being a musical, it certainly has great music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. With the exception of a few lines, the entire script/score is sung/rapped. There is hip-hop, r&b, soul, and everything in between the lines of urban music. For completely original music, there are surprisingly catchy and memorable songs, but because they fill a whole show with them, some fall by the wayside. Once you get past the School House Rock vibe, the score was a breath of fresh air for stage musicals.
Our cast for the night did great! My highlights were Alexander Hamilton, the Schuyler Sisters, the King, and the supporting cast. Michael Luwoye as Alexander Hamilton brought a controlled power to the role and was very pronounced with his raps. Solea Pfeifer as Eliza Schuyler was a force to be reckoned with. She shined in her main songs, and emoted off of the charts in “Burn”. Emmy Raver-Lampman as Angelica Schuyler was very soulful. It was like I was listening to Mary J. Blige in “Satisfied”. Rory O’Malley as the (King) was so funny. He was very cartoony whenever he appeared. Lastly, the supporting cast was well rounded. They did great in both dancing and singing and supported the other players well.
The stage production was amazing. Being experienced with film/stage equipment, I was completely awestruck by the lighting. They were able to shape and transform them to be part of the choreography. In the middle of the stage were 2 turntables built into the floor. Everything was well coordinated to have players spin on them and end up on their marks, even as they repeat some scenes in rewind situations. This was a very refreshing production for those intricate touches.
This is a reimagining of the early days of America, which has its ups and downs. Casting people of color in most of the major roles gives us a look at history with the accompaniment of urban music and dance. Although we get this refreshing look at history, it still is history. It was fun learning about these events through rap and song, but in the end, it was a little hard to follow. Learning about war tactics was easy, but when we got to law making, it almost went in one ear and out of the other. I did get an overall picture of what was going on, but the details escape me.
I am very fond of the genres explored in this show. I was the only one that I can see in my vicinity bobbing my head throughout the show. I’m not completely sure if those that aren’t big fans of the music genres would fall in love with the show as much as I did. But thanks to that, it made a history lesson very entertaining. Along with a strong cast, stage production, and a great score by Lin-Manuel Miranda, this is one musical that you cannot miss.