Posted: 10/15/16 at 1:11pm
Finally made it back to the show last week to catch the replacements for the first time! Pleased to say that with the exception of one, the principal cast replacements thus far are phenomenal.
Michael Luwoye was on as Hamilton when I went, and boy, oh boy. He is something ELSE. He plays a completely different Hamilton than I've seen both Lin and Javi play, and he is absolutely sensational. His voice is out of this world and his performance was both inspiring and inspired.
Brandon Victor Dixon is also giving a completely new performance than what I've seen, and his Burr is immensely affective. He plays a more incredulous and flabbergasted Burr (as opposed to Leslie's cunning, brooding Burr), which makes the character so much more human and makes Act II that much more devastating. I cannot rave enough about Dixon's performance.
Lexi Lawson is, overall, a fantastic Eliza. Her acting I think still needs more development (mostly in terms of her body movement, which came off as mechanical and robotic at times, though her facial expressions are great), but she has a truly gorgeous voice. She's a younger and more naïve Eliza than Soo's, and she was able to demonstrate incredible character development. Her Act II was near-flawless, in my opinion.
Seth Stewart is a super endearing Laf/Jef. He's made the role his own, and clearly isn't trying to emulate Daveed, which I very much appreciated. He nailed the comedy and the physicality of the role, even if his presence is (obviously) worlds different than Daveed's!
Raves, as always, for Chris Jackson, whose "One Last Time" has never failed to make me bawl. Ramos and Jasmine are still at the top of their game. Chappelle was on for Oak, and I found his Madison to be far better than his Mulligan, which wasn't bad either way.
And that, sadly, brings me to my sole critique. I was very disappointed by Mandy Gonzalez's Angelica. I'm still struggling to identify what it is that left me so upset, but her performance didn't have an ounce of the power that Renée's did. "Satisfied" wasn't a showstopper; it was kind of just another song. The opening of "Quiet Uptown" wasn't devastating; it was Mandy stepping out to start singing. I kept wanting to give Mandy the credit of having an off day or something, but every time, I was just heartbroken by how miscast she seemed. Really difficult for me to have to articulate this, but it's my honest opinion.
Anyway, I'm happy to say the show is in extremely good hands as the cast continues to transition out of the OGs. The star is, as always will be, the show itself.
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