Every generation or so, the musical theater takes a quantum leap of originality, into unexpected, uncharted territory. The latest such milestone is unquestionably Hamilton, the saga of an orphan immigrant Founding Father, told with a largely hip-hop score by a cast of performers of color.
For once, you can believe the hype. Hamilton is as engrossing, entertaining and educational as you have undoubtedly heard. Almost as important is the care in casting, sound design and physical production that has been taken with the national tour now playing at the Kravis Center’s Dreyfoos Hall through Feb. 16.
Regardless of how much you have paid to see this genuine phenomenon – and tickets are not inexpensive – you will be getting value for your money. If, that is, you have been lucky enough to acquire some.
Conceived and written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also played the title role in the original cast, this MacArthur Grant “genius” saw the theatrical potential in musicalizing the life of our first secretary of the Treasury, the designer of our nation’s financial system. Ambitious, hubristic and prone to making enemies, Hamilton became a longtime adversary of Aaron Burr, whose legacy is primarily that he shot and killed Hamilton in a pistol duel.
The virtually sung-through show takes such A-list figures from history as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison off their pedestals and humanizes them in their efforts to forge this fledgling nation. The contemporary score – which includes rock, jazz and pure Broadway in addition to rap – further challenges our images of these men and has apparently drawn a new, younger audience to the musical theater.
Hamilton is anything but a static history lesson, thanks to the work of two frequent collaborators of Miranda’s – director Thomas Kail and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler. The first act, from Hamilton’s arrival in the United States through the Revolutionary War to his appointment to Washington’s Cabinet, is told with near-continuous dance movement. The action slows in the darker second half, but the songs keep driving past like a freight train. Theatergoers are advised to become familiar with the cast recording in advance to maximize their understanding and enjoyment of the show.
The score has many standout numbers. There’s the opening introduction of Hamilton and Burr, as exciting as any textbook exposition. Then there’s Hamilton’s want song, “My Shot.” The first entrance of the Schuyler sisters – Hamilton’s wife-to-be Eliza and her sibs – in a tribute to New York City. The second act arrival of frisky Thomas Jefferson from Paris (“What’d I Miss?”). An account of secretive negotiations over dinner (“The Room Where It Happens,” also reportedly the title of John Bolton’s tell-all book). And on and on.
The lives and careers of Burr and Hamilton are so intertwined – Iago to his Othello – and the Kravis has two first-rate performers to anchor this touring company. Josh Tower (Burr) is quick to anger with each slight by his rival, yet he can also switch gears with a tender number like “Dear Theodosia.” Edred Utomi’s Hamilton is very much the “young, scrappy and hungry” fighter that Miranda describes and as vocally nimble as the role requires.
Other first-rate performers in an ensemble without a weak link include Zoe Jensen as Hamilton’s neglected wife Eliza, Bryson Bruce’s rock star Jefferson, the commanding presence of Paul Oakley Stovall as Washington and Peter Matthew Smith as a devilish King George III in three show-stealing cameos.
Scenic designer David Korins has adapted well his exposed brick and wood playing space for the road, dramatically lit by Howell Binkley. And Paul Tazewell’s costumes merge period style with contemporary touches, an apt metaphor for the entire show.
In a variety of forms, Hamilton is destined to be with us for a long time to come. This sublime production, alas, will only be here for the next two weeks.
HAMILTON, Kravis Center Dreyfoos Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Through Sunday, Feb. 16. $67.50 – $407.50, with limited availability. A $10 online lottery daily. 561-832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.