Sometimes the real impact of a show can't be measured until you've pulled out of the vacuum that is the theater district of New York City. After seeing the show in Chicago last night, any doubt I may have had about the success of the show long-term has been erased. I'm certain that for the next few years, this show is going to be the big deal wherever it plays.
I saw the show once off-broadway and three times on broadway, so I've had the lucky experience of seeing a few different takes on the roles and I'm happy to say that the opening Chicago cast is living up to the expectations set for them by their broadway predecessors. I have to start by giving some serious credit to the ensemble--they're busting their butts up their and selling it. They, by their looks, are VERY young, but they did the roles great justice. From reading their bios in the playbill, it seems that many of the ensemble are primarily dancers who have just started to venture into musical theater. That's obvious by how they move on stage.
Miguel Cervantes plays Hamilton with a lot of intensity. He reminds me more of Javier Munoz then LMM in the sense that he sings better then he raps, but that his rapping is not poor by any means. Visually, it's interesting to watch his interaction with the cast because he appears to be fairly short. It reads as if he's fighting to keep up with the big kids.
Joshua Henry comes alive in the second act--his "Room Where it Happens" and the "World Was Wide Enough" are great. I still feel like he's finding his footing in the role. His voice, however, still makes melt. Hearing him sing "Wait for It" was a highlight. I think that given a few more performances, he'll be making a big impact. He's nearly there. I believe we'll see him in the role on broadway sometime in the future.
Ari Afsar, Karen Olivio, and Samantha Ware make a great set of Schuyler sisters. Ari very graceful in her movement and has a great voice. Karen is intense and seemed very at ease in the role. She has the right balance in her performance and she hits the right notes. She was very well received by the audience. Samantha Ware is possibly the best Peggy/Maria Reynolds I've seen because she makes the distinction between the two very clear. Her Peggy was a frustrated kid who was scared of some things in the world around her. She feels a little like a kid stamping her feet and saying no, but it works. Her Maria was sexy and the right amount of vulnerable. Her intentions were clear as soon as she walks on stage and hits the turntable in the red dress. You don't just feel like she's a women down on her luck.
Chris Lee really, really tried as Lafayette/Jefferson. His Jefferson was better then Lafayette, but I just felt slightly let down. If you've seen Daveed, you have to accept that he was a unicorn. I think we've seen other actors do the role well, but they will never quite have what Daveed had. Chris will grow with the part, I'm sure, but he'll never be Daveed (or Andrew, for that manner).
I've seen three Washington's before seeing Jonathan Kirkland. Chris Jackson, Nicholas Christopher, and Sydney Harcourt all were able to making feel like Washington was a living messiah for these men. They absolutely owned their space and brought tears to me eyes during one last time. Kirkland didn't have that effect on me. He doesn't have the physical size of the other men and his singing just didn't have the same impact on me. Though Jackson isn't significantly older then the other cast members, his command of the stage and presence made him read as an older father figure. Cervantes looks older then Kirkland and that did take away some from the idea that Hamilton was a young man trying to move up when he met Washington. It was slightly awkward during the "Don't call me son!" part.
Wallace Smith was just fine as Mulligan and Madison. He played the two roles very differently and is a really solid pillar for the rest of the cast. I have to say that after seeing him in the bigger roles I've seen him in (Hud in Hair, Enjorlas in Les Mis) and knowing he's also played Simba, among other parts, it's a bit surprising that he's taking a decidedly supporting part. He's definitely at the level, name-wise and talent-wise, where he could lead a sit-down production or tour. Mulligan/Madison is a well written part, though, and he does good. His Mulligan is funny and his Madison is a mix of sickly and sneaky. You can't ask for it much more different then that.
Jose Ramos is a fabulous Laurens/Phillip. If I were to find out tomorrow (hypothetically speaking) that he was being pulled to join the broadway cast, my answer would be asking what took so long. He's passionate and just a little wild as Laurens. He has fire in his belly and you know. He transitions into being a little kid so well. His Phillip moves like a kid--sort of awkward and gangly at first and then as the show goes on, he becomes more adult like--and is just the right amount of goofy. Very well done.
Like many, I doubted Alexander Gemignani as King George. I just didn't know he was funny. Turns out, he does humor very well. He plays the role very differently then the other King Georges have. He plays it more manically and you see a breakdown of him during the show. He becomes a bit nuttier each time he comes on stage. I'm very familiar with him and his acting, but I was not aware how expressive he was with his face until seeing him in this. His smirks and expressions were eaten up by the crowd.
The choreography and music were tight, the ensemble sold it, and without a measuring tape, you'd have no idea this wasn't the exact same set as broadway. I saw the company's six or seventh show ever and I'm not surprised that not everything felt 100% solid yet. But is the show well performed? Absolutely. Is it going to be a huge smash hit? It already is in Chicago. The crowd loved every minute of it and it was a great night out. Seeing this cast this early on has made me 100% confident that the show holds up without a cast of Tony winners or huge names. The show truly is the star. Seeing a big name in it just adds to the experience.
If you have the chance, go see the cast in Chicago. They're a great reminder of how Hamilton continues to evolve.
