Hamilton has returned to the stage.
Hamilton, the musical production has returned to the stage after the 2019 pandemic surfaced. CVID-19 left Broadway as a whole shook as live showings are the key component.
A recorded version of Hamilton was released on Disney Plus in 2020 with the original cast. Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator and lead role of Alexander Hamilton extended his vision for an at-home experience for all to see.
Hamilton isn’t the first production to be released as a “movie.” Cats the Musical is one of the more famously known shows that has been recorded for the small screen back in 1998.
One key aspect of any Broadway show is the set, and it doesn’t change much during a performance. The story works around the stage and part of Hamilton’s stage literally spins clockwise. Nothing compares to watching the show live!
San Jose was more than excited to be hosting the show at the San Jose Center for The Performing Arts.
Three requirements were needed to get in. A ticket of course. Along with proof of vaccination and ID with the matching information. The lines were quite fast and the staff worked diligently.
The show doesn’t slow down for latecomers, so be sure to get there on time, plus it/s quite distracting when people are crouching to the seats.
The Northern American tour casting of Hamilton is currently made up of three different crews. The shows that were featured in the Bay Area were made up by the “ And Peggy” cast named after the third Schuyler sister.
Julius Thomas III starred as the lead Alexander Hamilton and Donald Weber Junior as Aaron Burr. The cast is diverse and has been prevalent in a mostly POC cast. The casting director, “Bernie Telsey” has spoken to IndieWire on why that is.
“It was created with the idea that anyone can do anything. . . it’s much more about consciously making a choice to do something, being seen for the color you are”
Another unique approach, but not unseen, is the dialect.
The songs are influenced by hip-hop and rap although taking place in 1776. A comparison could be made to the modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet released in 1996 starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague. The setting is in modern times with the dialect and story being the same.
While the show is titled Hamilton, the story is told by Aaron Burr as he is the one to open up the show with the famous line;
“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
And a Scotsman dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot
In the Caribbean by providence impoverished
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton Essentially want the same thing, to be someone important. Their means of achieving success are very different. Where Burr prefers to play by the rules and take the most logical choice, Hamilton is impatient and lets it be known what he wants.
This becomes both men’s downfall. Hamilton’s pride ends up killing his image, marriage, and his life. Burr was the man to pull the trigger.
“I’m the damn fool who shot him,” Burr’s lyric speaks to his life after killing Hamilton.
The success of Hamilton boomed in the mid-2010s, and although Lin-Manuel Miranda had already been working in the music and Broadway industry, this opened a door to more opportunities for Miranda.
Miranda wrote music for the popular film Moana, released in 2016. He even features some of his vocals in the background of some songs. “In the Heights” was another musical that Miranda was able to bring to movie production. Miranda’s Hamilton castmate, Anthony Ramos, starred as the lead in the role that Miranda once played.
The shows plan to continue well into 2022 so there’s still time to see when Hamilton will return to a city near you.