I saw Wayne Brady on Tuesday, and while he hit all the right notes, I found him extremely lacking in presence. Burr no longer felt like a leading role, or the prime narrator, he just felt like another one of the guys, a role on the same level as Washington, Lafayette, and Mulligan. Because of that, the through line of the tension between Burr and Hamilton didn't really come through, and the show just felt very episodic and expositional. I was amazed in how one performer lacking gravitas could so drastically change the trajectory of the show.
He smiled through almost every moment of the show. It was easy to tell that he was really excited to be in Hamilton, but I feel like his performance suffered because of it. He didn't throw himself into his numbers as much as Leslie did. A couple days later, I have already kind of forgotten about Brady. He really didn't do much to leave any kind of impression. He wasn't bad, but he was nothing compared to those who played the role before him.
That said, he got thunderous applause after each of his numbers, so perhaps I'm in the minority. I was really excited to see Josh Henry's performance, and then suddenly it was announced that he was leaving. All my friends who saw the show in the fall were raving about Henry, so I was disappointed to not be able to see him. I tried to go in with an open mind, but Brady just didn't bring it the way I wanted him to. Of course, it was only his first performance. He has room to grow.