By Bob Hoover
Let’s face it. Hardly anything new can be said about Hamilton. Now six years old, Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s masterpiece is the most honored and successful musical in American theater history.
Then again, there’s nothing new about Hamilton. While other classical musicals like Oklahoma and Company have been updated, it rolls on unchanged in telling the remarkable biography of Alexander Hamilton, who seized the opportunity of the American Revolution to rise up to prominence and influence under President Washington.
Seeing Hamilton for the third time, in this road company version, now playing at the Benedum, I caught the musical from new angles. It’s so complex in every dimension – lyrics, composition, staging, storytelling – that it demands multiple viewings to appreciate its brilliance fully.
Sure, Miranda’s songs are sprinkled with cliches, his characters slip into caricature, and its story is history simplified. (Only a sentence about the Whiskey Rebellion, among other events). But, the swirling, at times dizzying, nature of Hamilton‘s unapologetic patriotism turns audiences into loyal fans.
It’s such a well-made musical that even a second-rate cast can’t ruin it. If we’re talking baseball, we’re watching the Altoona Curve here. The leads Pierre Jean Gonzalez in the title role, Jared Dixon as Aaron Burr, Stephanie Jae Park as Eliza, and Ta’rea Campbell as Angelica, the Schuyler sisters, have the pipes, but not the chops.
Dixon’s best moment is, of course, “The Room Where It Happened,” while Burr’s other big number, “Theodosia,” lacked feeling.
Gonzalez was comfortable as the young Hamilton in Act 1 but less sure of his character’s later days, obvious in the melancholy “It’s Quiet Uptown.”
Neither Park or Campbell bring little feeling or clear phrasing to their numbers which are often indistinct. Blame it on the sound system, perhaps, but their indifference to the words might be the problem.
Other characters seem poorly cast, including Marcus Choi as a rather short George Washington, Warren Egypt Franklin, who plays Lafayette, and Jefferson as clowns. As for Neil Haskell as King George, the less said, the better.
They all have tough acts to follow, of course.
The production, as a whole, lacked precision. The dancers lost their places, actors wandered around the vast set, and their timing was off in a few key scenes.
Thankfully, the orchestra led by Roberto Sinha played Miranda’s score with assurance, guaranteeing that this version of Hamilton still carried the original’s power and that the seats at the Benedum will stay full until this production leaves town.
Check for ticket availability at: https://trustarts.org/production/69950/hamilton
Categories: Reviews
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