Thoughts on the current Hamilton BROADWAY cast — Page 3

Respectfully, I thought Walker's Burr was by far the least developed of the four Burrs I've seen. I just felt like he wasn't giving me anything other than "here are Burr's lines!" I didn't get any idea what he was trying to communicate for Burr and Burr's essence, which was such a contrast to Odom (and even BVD)'s highly nuanced, clearly intentioned Burr.

amysea said: "mariel9 said: "I've also found, though, that people who didn't see the OBC are happier with the current cast."

This thread has been a little disheartening for me, butI hope what you sayis true! I’m just obsessed with the obc recording and could probably sing it for you word for word (albeit terribly). I actually managed to gettickets this last release andI’m finally going to see it for the first timein April and can hardly contain myself...but based on this thread I really hope the castlives up to expectations. I know I’m not seeing the obc and there will be different takes on the characters, but I honestly can’t imagine not absolutely loving it."

I, too, am obsessed with the OBC recording and Hamilton’s story - have most of every song memorized, read the Chernow biography and have a few other books on his writing that I am working my way through. My husband, myself and 2 older children went to NYC for the first time this past weekend and my husband surprised me with tickets to the Tuesday night performance! I absolutely loved it - so much so that the woman sitting next to me who I did not know actually gave me a hug at the end of the show and told me how happy she was I was able to get tickets because she could tell how much I enjoyed it! Ha! I literally had tears in my eyes during almost every song (and of course bawled my eyes out during the last half of Act II) because I loved being able to see it so much and was so shocked and grateful to be there. Actually seeing the facial expressions, body language, the personal flair the actors gave to their characters, not to mention the energy from the entire ensemble, lighting, set....it was incredible! It made me love the show even more which I did not think was possible. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to see the original cast perform it, but seeing the “B-team” did not diminish the experience for me one bit.

Was it perfect? No - JMI was a bit hard to understand as Lafayette, especially during Guns and Ships, and he flubbed a line during “What did I miss?”. Mandy’s “Satisfied” was not as great as REG’s, Donald Webber Jr did not quite have the emotional depth that I expect Lin and Javi have in that role. Lexi’s Eliza was a little shaky at first but got stronger throughout the show. But those things only come to mind if I think about critiquing the performance . I thoroughly enjoyed Webber’s performance as A.Ham and thought his singing voice was better than Lin’s, the harmonies with mDaniel Breaker in “Dear Theodosia” were perfection, as were the harmonies with Jefferson,Madison and Burr in songs like “Washington on your Side.” Euan Morton was fantastic as KGIII and had everybody in stitches, my husband included which doesn’t happen often at the theater. Joanna A. Jones was great as both Peggy and Maria Reynolds and blew me away in “Say No To This.” Anthony Lee Medina could not have been more perfect as Laurens or Phillip. Breaker was wonderful as Burr and I really thought that JMI, J. Quinton Johnson and Bryan Terrell Clark were great as Jefferson, Mulligan/Madison and Washington.

It was hands down the best show I have ever seen - nothing compares to the energy or the genius of Lin’s lyrics and creativity - and I would see it with this same cast over and over again. So bottom line, I seriously doubt you will be disappointed or regret seeing it. If you love the recording and appreciate how genius Lin and company were in creating it, seeing all of the details that you can’t get through a recording will only make you love it more!

For those of you who have seen it recently, thanks for the cast updates! Would you mind commenting on the audience? As more and more people seemed to learn the music during the first year, the audience got rowdier it seemed, with some people mouthing the words the entire time or even audibly saying them sometimes. Awful. Is it worse now that everyone knows all the words or are audience generally behaving themselves? I feel like this could easily get out of hand with people screaming after (or even during) every song but I hope this isn't the case!

Sbrininger - That is SO good to hear! I feel like I’m going to have the same reaction as you...just so happy to finally see it all come to life! Thanks for your insight and so glad you enjoyed the show :)

rjm516 said: "For those of you who have seen it recently, thanks for the cast updates! Would you mind commenting on the audience? As more and more people seemed to learn the music during the first year, the audience got rowdier it seemed, with some people mouthing the words the entire time or even audibly saying them sometimes. Awful. Is it worse now that everyone knows all the words or are audience generally behaving themselves? I feel like this could easily get out of hand with people screaming after (or even during) every song but I hope this isn't the case!"

As of August, I thought the audience was great. High energy, responsible, generous with the cast. Did not notice anyone being distracting, and I was sitting with the cancellation line people. My least favourite audiences was actually when I saw the OBC (Oct 2015). It was full of people who were there because it was a hot ticket, not because they knew and loved the show. In August (and the january beforehand) I did not find any undue screaming or being rowdy.

They're all there to sit and focus for the show they've paid so much for and waited so long for. The exception is the traditional places - some actors get entrance applause, the little bit of cheering after the first "Alexander Hamilton! My name is Alexander Hamilton", "Immigrants, we get the job done!" "Include women in the sequel!" But there are pauses for this and it is expected.

rjm516 said: "For those of you who have seen it recently, thanks for the cast updates! Would you mind commenting on the audience? As more and more people seemed to learn the music during the first year, the audience got rowdier it seemed, with some people mouthing the words the entire time or even audibly saying them sometimes. Awful. Is it worse now that everyone knows all the words or are audience generally behaving themselves? I feel like this could easily get out of hand with people screaming after (or even during) every song but I hope this isn't the case!"

Saw it in NYC earlier this year and Chicago last spring and although the audience was definitely rowdier than they are with typical shows, noone was obnoxious or singing.

Rainah said: "MyLife said: "I fell in love wit Nik Walker's Burr and preferred him to Dixon and Breaker. Of the 6 Burrs I have seen, he stood out and ties for second, along with Harcourt, behind Odom. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy him. I found his Burr heartbreaking because of how subtle it was, and I loved how the subtly contrasted with his size because he's a tall dude!"

Love Harcourt's Burr, wish he'd come back and do the role full time. Who did you see against him as Hamilton?"

I think I saw Harcourt against Javi because I'm pretty sure it was a Sunday matinee. It was Leslie's first batch of shows out, due to a stomach bug.

Maybe I'm mistaken, I'll have to check when I get home. I didn't notice any lack of tension between Burr and Ham though. If I did have Javi and it is true they didn't get along, maybe that makes for good chemistry (read: tension) between Burr and Ham.

Updated On: 10/23/17 at 10:32 AM

I saw it for the 2nd time in March, and I didn't find the audience too crazy. I was beside two girls who went to high school with Q, so there was extra cheering for his stuff.

As for the rest of the cast, I thought everyone was pretty decent. Like a few people, I wasn't blown away by Mandy or Lexi. It was Anthony's second week with the show, but it definitely wasn't obvious. (He's so good!) The best surprise for me was seeing Andrew as Lafayette/Jefferson, especially since Seth didn't have very good reviews on here.

Rainah said: "mmmm, I found he didn't have a lot of chemistry with Javi. In addition to the rumours of them not getting along... I would have loved to see him against a different Ham, Lin or Luwoye or even Jevon. Best Wait For It I've ever seen though"

Is the "he" here SJH? I've wondered about him as he is the only OBC member who left the show with no acknowledgement. Every member of the ensemble got a solo bow at their last performance but him. There was also lots of social media love from the other cast members when anyone left but not for Sydney. He didn't even really announce when he left, just kind of vanished. I loved his James Reynolds and have friends who saw him as Burr and loved him so I've wondered what the story was there.

Also great to hear that Breaker is doing well. Passing Strange is one of my favorite shows of all time and his performance was exceptional. Hope to be able to see his Burr at some point.

Updated On: 10/28/17 at 04:03 PM

Sorry for bringing up an old thread -- just wanted to give my two cents! I saw the show again in the middle of October.

I hated Javier's Hamilton. I was really rooting all week to see his one of his understudies because I don't like him as a person, based on how he treats his fans on Twitter, or his Hamilton, based on audios I had heard. It was bearable but really just lacked everything I liked about Lin's performance. I agree with @RndmAnswrs4RndmQstns that his performance was lackluster.

I frankly didn't like Lexi either. She was pretty funny during the part in Helpless when Hamilton says "Angelica tried to take a bite of me," other than that I wasn't a fan. Her voice has this weird, almost twangy, quality to her voice that I couldn't stand. Absolutely 0 chemistry what-so-ever between her and Javier.

Daniel Breaker was a terrific Burr. He's definitely the funniest Burr too, compared to Leslie and Brandon.

I was so happy to see Elizabeth Judd (Schuyler sister standby) as Angelica. Absolutely terrific performance on her part. Her voice is stunning and her "Satisfied" left me in tears.

I didn't have any complaints about James Monroe Iglehart. He was no Daveed, but he did a fine job. Significantly better than Seth Stewart, he was horrific.

I thought Anthony Lee Medina was a great Laurens/Philip. Very similar to Anthony Ramos's performance.

Euan Morton was hilarious! Joana A. Jones was fine. Not a standout but she was pretty good! J. Quinton Johnson was great too.

Additionally, I think Iglehart, Johnson, and Medina had great chemistry.

Thought I would add -- I saw Antuan Magic Ramone (hope I'm spelling that right!) as Charles Lee. Absolutely AMAZING! He really acted and made the most of a small part! Bravo!

I'll be doing the cancellation line and lottery a bunch in January/February because I'm hoping to catch Michael Luwoye and any other understudies I can see! I'll update if anyone wants me to.