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| L - R Michael Luwoye and Isaiah Johnson |
By Joe Straw
Moments before the start of this production at the Pantages
Theater in Hollywood, there was a peculiar disquieting moment as the lights
dimmed, followed by a slow rising reverberation, a grumble, a settling rumble,
and then finally a vocal roar of anticipation was heightened as the slow fade
continued into darkness.
And on this sold-out night, as the stage lights came up, the
audience let loose a spirited roar to the sounds of the orchestra’s DAN, DA, DA, DA,
DAN DAN DAN!
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
Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Thomas Kail,
is a brilliant musical love story that uplifts the human spirit while giving
birth to an awakening populace. It is a mosaic of diversity, inlaid, and hand
painted, carefully placed in the foreground that bequeaths new life to independence.
The beats, all in glorious sounds, bring forth a sincere inner existence of
human foibles, love, and jealously that moves tortuous souls to a tragic
endpoint.
Created characters in this play, both men and women, have far-reaching
political objectives that move through a spirited maniacal fight all with the foresight
of building a new nation.
And, yet, only one is fuelled by a personal lust, a hidden jealously,
the nemesis, and the antagonist Aaron Burr (Joshua Henry). But, abjectly, and subjectively, through the
course of their relationship, Burr is bested by Hamilton (Michael Luwoye) at
every conceivable turn. And yet Burr stays in the game much longer than he has
a right to.
Why is explained in Burr’s philosophy.
Talk Less
Smile more
Don’t let them know what you’re against
Or what you’re for– Burr
Unfortunately for Burr, this would be his undoing as his
philosophy and language placed him persona non-grata in a bar among the likes
of fashionable orators and doers like Marquis de Lafayette (Jordan Donica), Hercules
Mulligan (Mathenee Treco) and John Laurens (Rebén J. Carbajal); each of them
knowing what they want—liberty.
Burr, check what we got
Mr. Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot
I think your pants look hot
Laurens, I like you a lot
Let’s hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin’ the pot. – Hamilton
(Just a side note:
Ron Chernow, the writer of Hamilton
the book, suggests that Hamilton may have had a complicated relationship with Laurens.
The letters written by Hamilton were suggestive and indicated a desire for
intimacy; in contrast, it appears that Laurens was unable to return, either emotionally
or in writing, similar feelings.)
Hamilton, not immune to physical purity, is opened to liking
Laurens but is pulled away by Angelica (Sabrina Sloan), who, from across the
room sees a coruscation, a sparkle emanating from this man who was going up the
stairs with another man. She approaches
him and pulls him away from his endeavor.
Angelica asks him about his family. She gathers much from that
single pause, and instance, brief though it may have been, of Hamilton’s modest
background and unspoken pains. And so Angelica
inaugurates Hamilton to her sister, Eliza (Julian K. Harriman).
And although Angelica knows her relationship with Hamilton cannot
happen, she remains deeply in love with him. Peggy Schuyler (Amber Iman), a
clement judge of nature, is there to keep her sisters in line and everyone else
honest.
Soon, everyone’s attention turns to the war currently raging. Aaron Burr is in the room with George
Washington (Isaiah Johnson); moments later, Hamilton enters the room.
As I was saying, sir,
I look forward to seeing your strategy play out. - Burr
Burr? – Washington
Sir? - Burr
Close the door on your way out. – Washington
Ouch!
Wrong words, chosen carefully, eliminates Burr from any
position with Washington during the un-winning stages of the Revolutionary War.
Hamilton, 22 years old at the time, still
in the room, waits, immediately apologizes, and thinks he’s in a lot of trouble.
But Washington wants Hamilton as his right-hand man, which
he offers with the simple giving of a pen. It is a strong symbolic gesture that’s
given to a man whose strength is in the use of his words. Although not fully satisfied and still wanting
to be out on the battlefront, Hamilton takes the position.
All the political operatives in this story, mostly Hamilton,
Jefferson, and Madison have an agenda, which falls within their political
thinking and motivation for higher office.
Hamilton had a temper to go along with his beliefs and he
shows it at times. It’s especially evident
when Major General Charles Lee (Daniel Ching) goes after Washington, and Lee and
Hamilton’s best friend, John Laurens, have a duel.
Washington learns of the duel after the fact and sends Hamilton
home.
Scenic Designer, David
Korins, provides us with a magnificent dark set. The base is of wood and
ropes, a metaphor of ships and people coming to the Americas in the 18th
century who settle into the places of commerce, businesses, bars, and other venues
of social gathering. The huge revolving stage accentuates the people moving in
the direction of building a new nation.
Paul Tazewel,
Costume Designer, places a lot of symbolism on the dress of the ensemble
dancers, with tightfitting undergarment and the women wearing a light bustier.
All are draped in a light brown, a wash of color of Dutch hemp paper or other
parchments of the day. The purpose to showcase the unsettling times, of paper
and words flying. The black boots, worn by the men and women, are symbolic of the
black ink – the method in which Hamilton, and others of the day, created galvanized
thoughts on paper. The main characters are adorned in colorful hues that represent
their station in life and the way life came to them. The work is magnificent,
inspired, and wonderfully creative.
Andy Blankenbuehler’s
choreography is genius and is inspired by the music that moves the choreography
toward an overall objective. Along with being revolutionary (pun), it is
evolutionary in the way it incorporates different styles of dance to complete this
history, 18th century waltz, to ballet, swing, contemporary, hip hop,
and a popping dance. At times, the revolving stage moves the characters back in
time.
Michael Luwoye as
Alexander Hamilton was completely blocked by another actor downstage left when
he said his name. Struggling to see the actor one waited to get reacquainted during
the words of “In New York you can be a
new man.” Hamilton’s egalitarian beliefs stop short of freeing men of color in
order to placate the south. Luwoye presents an impressive figure in the
strength of the character and in voice and manner.
Julia K. Harriman,
a standby for the many leads, went on as Eliza Hamilton on this night and did
well. Stretching over the body of her son, Phillip, holding whatever life is
left in his body, she takes Hamilton’s hand and thrust it away, a wonderful
moment. That said, her overall intention, her objective, was subjective, which is
the key for gathering the emotional support that an audience craves. (This is
also a woman who had eight children with Hamilton.)
Joshua Henry
plays Aaron Burr. Burr has misgivings after he shoots Hamilton. It is an interesting choice, full of fear, of
killing a man so many admired. But Burr
has been trying to get rid of Hamilton since he met him; he is sinister and
envious. In that pivotal moment, one wonders if there are other choices he
should have employed. Henry gives the character heart and a kind of warmth
despite the fact that Burr was indirectly responsible for killing Phillip Hamilton
and then killing Hamilton.
Sabrina Sloan does
a fine turn as Angelica Schuyler. Still it would have helped to see the moment
when she realizes that she made the wrong choice. We hear it in song but we don’t quite see it
on stage. Sloan’s voice is spectacular and we get the truly emotional moments
on stage through song.
Isaiah Johnson
comes on strong as George Washington and never lets up. His voice is superb; his manner expresses an
inner as well as an outer strength. Overall, his work is a work of art that
should not be missed.
Jordan Donica
plays both Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson and does admirably well in
both roles. Donica towers above the rest of the cast and the fro, as Jefferson,
appears to place him another foot higher. He is impish as Jefferson, dancing
when he has the goods on Hamilton. He is truly delightful in both roles with a
commanding presence and a strong voice.
Mathenee Treco
has a grand time as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison both characters. He
comes off as a bowling ball of a man knocking down the revolutionary pins with
the easiest of discretions. Acting,
singing, and rapping should not be this much fun for one man.
Rubén J. Carbajal
is John Laurens and Philip Hamilton. There was a lot of truth to the portrayals
of both roles. Philip Hamilton came off
as very small and very much a boy while John Laurens was a character different
in complexity and manner. The work was inspiring.
Amber Iman was
very sultry as Maria Reynolds, her voice has an underlying want, a dark opaque
luster, accompanied by her delicate raillery, to get into a discomforting
intimacy, played for whatever she wanted, and that was Hamilton. She also portrayed Peggy Schuyler and was
remarkably different in that role.
Rory O’Malley
shines as King George. His vocals were
magnificent; he also provided the funniest highlights to the show. The King,
who is out of touch, in England, wants his subjects to toe the line, all with
the wave of his scepter.
Ryan Vasquez
brings a nice touch to the characters he portrays—Philip Schuyler and the
Doctor. James Reynolds is also a
fascinating character, costumed in dark brown colors and oddly dressed in a
manner that stood out from the rest of the cast—18th century pimp
perhaps? There he stood, holding out his
hands near his head, waiting for the money to come gently to him, without even
asking. Nicely done.
Andrew Wojtal is
Loyalist Samuel Seabury, American Episcopal, and not a big fan of Alexander
Hamilton. Seabury was imprisoned in Connecticut for six weeks and by 1778
became loyal to the new government. But here he is, on top of a box, reading
from a scroll although we did not know the man or his relationship to Hamilton.
(Farmer Refuted, written by Hamilton,
was a rebuttal to A.W. Farmer letters “A
View of the Controversy between Great Britain and her Colonies” Seabury’s
nom de plume.)
Daniel Ching
plays Charles Lee and Raymond Baynard
plays George Eacker the man who shoots and kills Phillip Hamilton.
Other members of the ensemble who gave spirit to the
populace of the day are Dan Belnavis,
Jennifer Geller, Sabrina Imamura, Lauren Kias, Jennifer Locke, Raven Thomas, and Keenan D. Washington.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
woke up one night to the sounds of an American lullaby, haunting melodies,
urging the words of freedom.
Raise a glass to
freedom
Something they can
never take away
No matter what they
tell you.
Even in the dream, the plot suddenly begets personal nightmares,
hardships, and people’s struggle to unify a nation. Freedom comes at a price. They sing about it with color: and fling the
ideas that only a few whites were responsible that save the day for their kind. This is an all-inclusive dream, an
examination of what the world could be. It
is a never-ending quest for the colorful reality of one nation. Miranda
provides us with that idea, that narrative.
Thomas Kail’s
direction is impressive. There is never a
moment where the space is not filled with activity. Actors bring in props and set pieces and the
action keeps moving, continuously, sometimes in slow motion, and without pause.
There is very little dialogue and most of
the words are rapped or sung which leaves characters little time to develop a
strong physical relationship, e.g. Hamilton with Laurens, Angelica, Eliza. If you’ve read Ron Chernow’s book, you get
glimpses of the relationships on stage as they whisk by in a matter of seconds.
Time is a matter of an announcement, and it passes quickly without guessing that
Hamilton had eight children with Eliza.
And, as a side note, there seemed to be an emotional
component missing of want which was physically
and emotionally lacking on this night as characters moved about in song:
Hamilton’s primary want is to help the nation.
There is also Angelica’s strong physical want for Hamilton, which one
didn’t see, a reluctant want Hamilton has with Maria Reynolds, and a natural
want for not losing Eliza.
Emotional clarity is also important: Angelica Schuyler
immediately dumps Hamilton “looking for a mind at work” simply because of his
station in life. (He was the mind, not the money.) And then pawns him off on her unsuspecting sister,
Eliza. Angelica, still in love with
Hamilton, marries John Barker Church (not in show), rich from selling goods to
the Continental Army, and moves her, with his money to England with him.
That said, the essential element is the driving force of
Kail’s direction, one that reinforces Miranda’s vision by the diversity in casting. It is one that conspicuously changes the
narrative - that only stodgy old white men in powdered wigs, with their
seditious cries, created this new nation. Change sometime comes in small
increments, but that change is coming, and it is excitingly reinforced in this
musical.
Lighting Design by Howell
Binkley was remarkable as well as the Sound Design by Nevin Steinberg.
Charles G. LaPointe
was responsible for the modern Hair and Wig Design, which at times forgets
about time and space and wonderfully creative.
The Orchestra these days seems to minimal compared to the
orchestras from the days I was employed at the Pantages but nevertheless they
put out a great sound. They are as follows:
Julian Reeve – Conductor/Keyboard 1
Andrew Cerullo – Associate Conductor/Keyboard 2
John Mader – Drums
Kathleen Robertson – Violin
Adriana Zoppo – Concertmaster
Jody Rubin – Viola/Violin
Paula Fehrenbach – Cello
Trey Henry – Bass/Electric Bass/Key Bass
Paul Viapiano – Electric Guitar/Acoustic Guitar/Banjo
Wade Culbreath – Percussion/Keyboards
Brian Miller – Orchestra Contractor
Julian Reeve - Contractor
Run! Run! Run! And take someone who is on the cusp of political thinking. Now playing in San Diego Civic Theatre through January 28, 2018.
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