By Sharon Eberson
If you’ve wondered what Neil Haskell’s been up to in the 15 years since he finished third on Season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance, look no further than the biggest musical blockbuster of the 21st century. Or maybe you follow one of those lists that shows why Point Park University is one of the top schools for populating stages.
If you are lucky enough to have one, check your Hamilton Broadway opening night Playbill, and there he is, among the swings.
Haskell has part of the juggernaut since it came to Broadway, moving into the ensemble and then on to the role of General Charles Lee – he’s on the losing end of the show’s first dual – and as an understudy for King George.
It is in the latter role that you can see Haskell when the second tour of Hamilton comes to the Benedum Center Tuesday through March 13.
With Haskell’s dancing background – honed at Point Park and then a demanding Pittsburgh CLO season – King George is probably not the first role you’d picture for Haskell.
The tyrant first arrives on stage in a large crown and a robe so heavy, even the slightest movement can have consequences. During the mad king’s big song, “You’ll Be Back,” he barely moves.
“It was a bit surprising for me at first,” Haskell said of being asked to do a singing, stationary role. Of course, he has kept up his acting and vocal training all the while he was dancing in “Altar Boyz” off-Broadway, then in Broadway shows like Bring It On: The Musical, 9 to 5, and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.
“I’ve never had to just stand still on stage; it took a bit of getting used to that,” Haskell said. “But it feels like the right thing to do right now. I love singing these songs and being backstage and hearing the show. Plus, it’s a nice break for my body. After dancing the show for so long, you can’t help but be exhausted and injured. This is a role that can help elongate my career.”
It’s also nice to return to a role that brings smiles all around, including for Haskell.
“I can’t stop smiling every time I do it,” the 34-year-old Haskell said in a phone interview from his previous tour stop in Grand Rapids, Mich.
He realizes how it must sound to say how much the break during the shutdown of live performances was good for him and with a job waiting at the other end.
“It has been hard on so many, and there was so much sadness,” he said. “But doing the show eight times a week, it’s a lot of wear and tear on our bodies,” he said. “There’s always something. Whether it is significant or minuscule, everybody is going through something.”
He talked of lifts that can cause bruised ribs from being held in the same place night after night. And he used the role of Aaron Burr as an example of how the Hamilton turntables make it essential to move and even lean the same way night after night.
Haskell was not complaining or making light of anyone’s pandemic experience, but the Buffalo, N.Y. native allowed that it was really nice that he got to head out to Los Angeles and spend time on the beach, hanging out with a group of friends in the sun.
“I also got to shoot an episode of a TV show [Station 19], and that was a nice change, too,” he said.
As time went on, though, some doubt began to creep in. Would there be a job waiting at the end of the forced hiatus?
“You know, as a couple of months turned into a few more months and a few more, I had my moments of doubt like everyone else – not just that ‘Hamilton’ would come back, but how theater would come back at all.”
During all this time, he was unaware that another Point Park alumnus, Peter Matthew Smith, was playing King George in another tour – the first that had passed through Pittsburgh.
Haskell had been dancing from a very young age when he visited Point Park with a sophomore friend. He recalled taking part in his friend’s class with the inspirational choreographer and educator Kiesha Lalama.
“I thought, ‘I could definitely be happy coming here,’ ” Haskell said.
At the time, the then-college – not yet university – had fewer buildings, and the Playhouse was still in Oakland. During a visit several years ago, before the new Pittsburgh Playhouse emerged Downtown, Haskell marveled at the Conservatory’s relatively new and sizable dance studios, where “an across the floor combo took forever.”
“The teachers I had there were absolutely incredible,” Haskell said of Point Park, mentioning Lalama and the late Ron Tassone among those who helped him leap into dancing as a professional. The 2005 summer season with CLO – including Frank in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and the ensembles of Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, and Grease – also served as preparation for those eight shows a week on Broadway.
Now he is on the road, on a tour that took him home to Buffalo for his first show as a professional actor. Haskell was greeted with a marquee that simply showed King George’s crown and his name in lights.
“That was super awesome,” he said of the welcome fit for a king.
In Pittsburgh, besides his royal duties, he will do the ‘Burgh thing of getting a Primanti’s sandwich, of course, but he also wants to explore places he discovered in more recent visits, like the Mattress Factory installation museum on the North Side.
When he is in the Benedum, he is excited to be back in one of the biggest regional theaters, known for its “ginormous” backstage – the better to move around in his weighty robes.
For those who have seen Hamilton on Broadway and on the road, there are always subtle changes made to keep the show fresh or play to individual actors’ strengths.
Haskell may have a few tricks up his sleeve, but some things never change in the musical version of history: Alexander Hamilton is on a fast track to greatness and tragedy, and King George loses the war and leaves ’em smiling.
Hamilton returns to the Benedum Center Feb. 22-March 13. Tickets and more information: https://trustarts.org/production/69950/hamilton or call 412-456-4800.
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Feature Stories, Show Previews
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