Is Hamilton one of the most demanding male roles to play?

Do you mean "demanding" in terms of the physical stamina required to do the role? Because in terms of vocal/acting demand, I think Burr is much tricker than Hamilton.

Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch comes to mind first.  Hedwig is a much more demanding role and, as far as I know, was an eight show a week role on Broadway.  AND, aside from when John Cameron Mitchell hurt himself on stage, no Hedwig ever missed a performance on Broadway. 

Vocally, Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar or Freddie in Chess.

Hamilton may be on stage for most of the show, but Hamilton is an easy role in terms of physical or vocal stamina.  

Updated On: 6/2/18 at 05:01 PM

Sondheimite said: "Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch comes to mind first. Hedwig is a much more demanding role and, as far as I know, was an eight show a week role on Broadway. AND, aside from when John Cameron Mitchell hurt himself on stage, no Hedwig ever missed a performance on Broadway.

Vocally, Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar or Freddie in Chess.

Hamilton may be on stage for most of the show, but Hamilton is an easy role in terms of physical or vocal stamina."

 

I agree about Hedwig. Thats a crazy role. Judas as well. I disagree on Hamilton though. 

HogansHero said: "Miranda wrote it for himself, and consequently it is not technically demanding as long as you wake up in the morning rapping like he does, and there is virtually no dancing. It's a long show in which he is very present, and it has more words to be sung than any musical ever written (I am pretty sure). But I'd bet if you asked people who have done a lot of big roles in musicals, it would not be in the top 20 of anyone's list."

Miranda wakes up rapping like he does and even he did 7 shows a week. Are you saying the actor playing Hamilton should be doing 8 shows instead of 7? I think a hole in your argument is that alot of men who have done big roles ( Sweeney, Hedwig, Judas, Valjean) will never be playing Hamilton, at least not professionally and have never had to rap and sing at the same time. It's comparing apples to oranges, which is why I guess this topic is hard.

I think Lin has written a very different type of role for a very different skill set. I'd also like to point out that many of the men who have played Hamilton ( Michael Luwoye, Jin Ha, Joseph Morales, Miguel  Cervantes, and others) don't wake up rapping like Lin does.

If there was a top 20 list, I personally would think Hamilton would make top 15.

I've heard your opinion on Hamilton, but what do you think about the character of Burr?

Updated On: 6/2/18 at 06:49 PM

I think we have to have a distinction between exhausting and demanding. I don't think either role is exhausting physically. Though I would say, i implore everyone to go sing Hamilton's part in  "My shot". It's an incredibly taxing song on the vocal chords. Do that and then sing all of Hamilton's parts in the rest of the show. It's pretty brutal. 

But Hogan, it's interesting you find Burr more demanding than Hamilton. Please elaborate. 

But then why not just re-install the 8 shows a week after he left the cast? 

I would say Jekyll/Hyde is definitely up there. As is whoever's playing the D'Ysquith Family in Gentleman's Guide. We're all entitled to our opinions, but the role of Hamilton would definitely not break my Top 25. I don't think the music is particularly challenging to sing in the scheme of musical theatre scores, and I agree with Jarethan that it really feels like an ensemble show more than anything. 

Again not an actor, but I have always thought of it as a demanding role.  Partly because it seems to work best when played by a man of a certain age, but more because it just seems like such an intense role.  

RicardoMagon said: "I think we have to have a distinction between exhausting and demanding. I don't think either role is exhausting physically. Though I would say, i implore everyoneto go sing Hamilton's part in "My shot". It's an incredibly taxing song on the vocal chords. Do that and then sing all of Hamilton's parts in the rest of the show. It's pretty brutal.

But Hogan, it's interesting you find Burr more demanding than Hamilton. Please elaborate."

The exhaustion in the role is in spitting out 11 times as many words as any other singer, not the exhaustion of a heavy dance track. But I would not say that the role taxes the vocal chords significantly. Burr is more forcefully sung and has a lot more dancing/movement. (In fact, as I noted, LMM created Hamilton for his own non-dance oriented self.) I doubt Miranda could dance Room without being laughed off the stage.  And yes, Frankie Valli is many times more demanding.