Hats off to Ryan Vasquez - Hamilton

[Skip23]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:06pm

He replaced Daniel Breaker last night as Burr.  Great job.

 

The other cast members?   Not so much.

 

 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:11pm

I posted this on another thread, but is really an unbelievable Burr. I've seen five Burrs, LOJ included, and Vasquez easily takes the cake. One of the greatest performances I've ever seen.

The rest of the cast is indeed only okay (with the exceptions of Michael Luwoye, who is an extraordinary Hamilton, as well as Anthony Lee Medina and Joanna Jones, who are excellent). The Rodgers really needs some cast turnover.

Updated On: 5/27/18 at 04:11 PM

[RicardoMagon]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:19pm

How's Michael Luwoye doing these days? And what makes Ryan Vasquez unbelievable? Is he doing something different? A different take on the role? 

[Skip23]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:24pm

Luwoye just doesn't have the presence or charisma that is needed for Hamilton.  Several times I just forgot that he was the lead character.  He fades.  IMHO.

 

 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:27pm

I saw Ryan many times on tour when he filled in, I guess, while another actor was being rehearsed to take over and Ryan was leaps and bounds better than the guy who took over, but I imagine that guy has settled into the role now and gotten better.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:29pm

RicardoMagon said: "How's Michael Luwoye doing these days? And what makes Ryan Vasquez unbelievable? Is he doing something different? A different take on the role?"

Luwoye is still fantastic. He's playing the role just as powerfully as when I saw him in late 2016 when he was Javi's alternate.

Vasquez gives Burr a trajectory I haven't seen played by many others. He starts off the show young and sort of smarmy (but not as intense and methodical as other Burrs have started the show). You can tell that he could fit in with the Sons of Liberty if he tried, but he just doesn't mesh ideologically (and I've found other Burrs to be the painfully obvious sore thumb of the group from the get-go). He spends the rest of Act I responding to Hamilton more incredulously rather than calculatingly, up until "Room Where It Happens," where he plays the song's climax ("I... want to be..." ) as a real climax. Dixon made the all-important line kind of a joke for laughs; LOJ didn't make it a shocking discovery, since his cunningness was obvious from the opening number. Vasquez's Burr realizes at the same time at the audience how badly he wants to be in the room—which makes the rest of the song much more cathartic and real. His decision to play Burr as smarmy rather than cunning and harsh makes his anger and fury after "Election of 1800" feel so much more genuine, and then "World Was Wide Enough" into the finale is heartbreaking. I get chills just thinking about how he's playing Burr. I would really, really love to see him in the role again.

Updated On: 5/27/18 at 04:29 PM

[Skip23]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:36pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "RicardoMagon said: "How's Michael Luwoye doing these days? And what makes Ryan Vasquez unbelievable? Is he doing something different? A different take on the role?"

Luwoye is still fantastic. He's playing the role just as powerfully as when I saw him in late 2016 when he was Javi's alternate.

Vasquez gives Burr a trajectory I haven't seen played by many others. He starts off the show youngand sort of smarmy (but not as intense andmethodical as other Burrs have started the show). You can tell that he could fit in with the Sons of Liberty if he tried,but he just doesn't mesh ideologically (and I've found other Burrs to be the painfully obvious sore thumb of the group from the get-go). He spends the rest of Act I responding toHamilton more incredulously rather than calculatingly, up until "Room Where It Happens," where he plays the song's climax ("I... want to be..." ) as a real climax. Dixon made theall-important linekind of a joke for laughs; LOJ didn't make it a shocking discovery, since his cunningness was obvious from the opening number. Vasquez's Burr realizes at the same time at the audience how badly he wants to be in the room—whichmakes the rest of the song much more cathartic and real. His decision to play Burr as smarmy rather than cunning and harsh makes his anger and fury after "Election of 1800" feel so much more genuine, and then "World Was Wide Enough" into the finale is heartbreaking. I get chills just thinking about how he's playing Burr. I would really, really love to see him in the role again."

 

I feel that the Burr character is just as important/interesting as Hamilton in this production.  I agree with BC.  Vasquez fleshes out the colors of the role.  True - Room Where It Happens burns the stage with Vasquez doing it.  And (sorry for the non-PC-ness...but) Vasquez has a bit of swish in him and that also adds to the outsider-ness of the character.  He really was the show for me.  Luwoye just fades...sorry.

 

[RicardoMagon]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:39pm

Oh ok. It sounds like Vasquez is making it more of a journey. You can see his mind grinding at the wheel. That's cool. I saw Michael a while ago, I thought he was a great Hamilton. Perhaps the OP saw him on an off night? 

Unrelated question: Does the actor performing Hamilton do 8 shows a week? I know Lin took off some performances during his initial run but I can't remember if that was just a Lin thing or if it's a Hamilton thing. The role is is a monster and I'm sure it's tiring to do it especially on 2 show days.

 

 

[Skip23]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 4:49pm

RicardoMagon said: "Oh ok. It sounds like Vasquez is making it more of a journey. You can see his mind grinding at the wheel. That's cool. I saw Michael a while ago, I thought he was a great Hamilton. Perhaps the OP saw him on an off night?

Unrelated question: Does the actor performing Hamilton do 8 shows a week? I know Lin took off some performances during his initial run but I can't remember if that was just a Lin thing or if it's a Hamilton thing. The role is is a monster and I'm sure it's tiring to do it especially on 2 show days.


I agree, Ricardo.  The role is a bear. 

 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 5:22pm

Ricardo, Luwoye doesn’t do Sunday shows. Hamilton is a 7-show-a-week role. Burr is not.

[RicardoMagon]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 5:28pm

Thanks for the info. Anyone want to say who their favorite Hamilton is (besides Lin)? For me it's between Joseph Morales and Michael. Didnt see Javi  though. 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 5:29pm

RicardoMagon said: "Thanks for the info. Anyone want to say who their favorite Hamilton is (besides Lin)? For me it's between Joseph Morales and Michael. Didnt see Javi though."

Of the ones I've seen, my "ranking" goes 1) Michael Luwoye, 2) Lin-Manuel Miranda, 3) Jevon McFerrin, 4) Javier Muñoz. 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 8:29pm

broadway concierge-your assessment of Ryans take on burr is spot on. His acting is far better than his singing, which is strong but falls below Josh Henry and others ive seen

Love Michael Lowouye as hamilton, and have to guess he had a bad night when the one poster didnt like him. Everyone i know whose seen multiple hamiltons rave about michaels performance, he has so much passion and emotion in his performance, and is an amazing singer and rapper.

[AmeliaBedelia]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 9:49pm

Happy to see this thread about Ryan Vasquez as Burr. I was also at last night's performance thanks to the lottery and thought he was amazing. Brought so much to the role that I hadn't seen before and made me really connect with the character.

Also, I thought Luwoye was phenomenal. He brought so much emotion to the role. It's Quiet Uptown brought me to tears, and I very rarely cry during shows. Sure, his Hamilton didn't seem quite as cocky as others seem to. That's still part of his character but not quite as prominent. I think he portrays Hamilton's ambition and passion very well. Liked him much better than Muñoz, who I thought played the role with too little emotion. Luwoye's performance is more layered and nuanced.

I thought the rest of the cast were mostly good, especially considering there were several other understudies on for last night's performance. I think Lexi in particular has grown as Eliza since I saw her in October 2016 (although I don't like at the very end she kind of screams instead of gasps). I really enjoyed this cast, much better than the last cast I saw.

[RicardoMagon]

Posted: 5/27/18 at 9:52pm

I really like that Lin has had different men of color play the role. I'm looking forward to seeing more African Americans play the role, as well as Asian american, middle eastern, Hispanic, south Asian and so on.

[taylortrensch]

Posted: 5/28/18 at 12:04am

RicardoMagon said: "Thanks for the info. Anyone want to say who their favorite Hamilton is (besides Lin)? For me it's between Joseph Morales and Michael. Didnt see Javi though."

Lin is not one of my favorites, but I adore Donald Webber Jr! 

[antonijan]

Posted: 5/28/18 at 3:28am

Hello to Ryan Vasquez of Long Island Ryan Vasquez, see Ryan Vasquez!!!

[natashalost]

Posted: 5/28/18 at 4:22pm

taylortrensch said: "RicardoMagon said: "Thanks for the info. Anyone want to say who their favorite Hamilton is (besides Lin)? For me it's between Joseph Morales and Michael. Didnt see Javi though."

Lin is not one of my favorites, but I adore Donald Webber Jr!"

As Hamilton I've seen Lin Manuel Miranda, Javier Munoz, Michael Luwoye, Joseph Morales, Jevon McFerrin, and Donald Webber Jr.

Without a doubt the best Hamilton is Donald Webber Jr.

 

As Burr I've seen Leslie Odom, Jr., Joshua Henry, Brandon Victor Dixon, Daniel Breaker, 
Ryan Vasquez, Donald Webber, Jr., and Nik Walker (there might be more but I'm not remembering)

The best Burr is Ryan Vasquez, with Webber Jr., Walker, and Dixon coming close.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/29/18 at 10:35am

Ryan was an ensemble/understudy at Waitress. His understudy performance of the somewhat thankless role of Earl was truly memorable. Love that he is dong well here also.

[Joe Mayo]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 4:27pm

Saw Ryan perform Burr at yesterday's performance. It was my first time seeing Hamilton and I thought he stole the show.

Know this thread is a bit dated, but not surprised he made a similar impression on others.

[Bigserver1]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 4:39pm

Joe Mayo said: "Saw Ryan perform Burr at yesterday's performance. It was my first time seeing Hamilton and I thought he stole the show.

Know this thread is a bit dated, but not surprised he made a similar impression on others."

Ryan filled in as Hamilton the night I saw it on tour back in 2018. I was initially disappointed to see an alternate announced for Hamilton, but he was ridiculous. He gave an incredible performance in the title role, and this makes me want to see him as Burr as well!

[kmissa]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:08pm

Ryan’s great. He was the best George Washington and I’ve seen the show 4 times now. He just finished playing Burr this past weekend and will be covering for Hamilton a few shows in August. Check his Instagram. He will be doing a new show off bway so out of Ham for a bit.

[CarmenA3]

Posted: 7/30/19 at 10:29am

kmissa said: "Ryan’s great. He was the best George Washington and I’ve seen the show 4 times now. He just finished playing Burr this past weekend and will be covering for Hamilton a few shows in August. Check his Instagram. He will be doing a new show off bway so out of Ham for a bit."

I agree as well - excellent the day I saw him. Correct, he is doing Wrong Man at MCC soon. If you want to see him, he is alternating the lead role and plays lead on Sundays :)