Helpless!

Okay, so breaking from the usual posts here (and breaking my broadcast silence, sorry!  Life!), I gotta talk about this weekend where my awesome friend took me to Chicago to finally see Hamilton.

Before I start my review, h/t to The Worst Bestsellers for helping to fuel my obsession, and serving as an outlet for these sorts of things.

We didn't get to sit together because seats next to each other would have required actual human sacrifices.

I told my friend, "Yes, I'm gonna be that bitch who takes a picture of the marquee.  Because HELL YES."

To begin with, my history with this show is fairly long.  I'd heard some buzz about it here and there, but the impetus to actually listen to it was this article when it was still new (so apparently around September 2015).  Now, living in the Midwest and being poor as hell, I knew my odds of actually seeing this show in its first run was roughly on par with sticking my hand in a public toilet and coming out with a doubloon, so I went onto Spotify and listened to the soundtrack IN DEFIANCE OF GOD AND MAN.  And the first time, I was not impressed, mostly because Spotify played it in random order.  Once I'd listened to it all the way through in order, I was hooked.  And I was one of those fans who bothered all my friends to listen to it, and I have largely succeeded in converting all my acquaintances with even a slight musical theatre bent to joining me on the journey.

Fast forward to a couple months ago when my amazing friend got me tickets for my birthday, and I was launched into space with the sheer power of my hype.  That being said, it has been almost a year since I listened to the entire soundtrack because I have been unable to deal with the emotional pathos of the second act since my dad died.  So going into this, I knew I was going to be a soppy, crying mess by the end, and prepared accordingly (unlike the last live theatre show I saw recently, which was a local production of Fun Home, which I DIDN'T expect to be in tears for, and a nice lady next to me had to hand me a tissue, to my utter mortification).

Obviously this is not the original cast, this is the Chicago cast, and they were splendid.  I don't have the program in front of me (because I'm composing this at work.  Hey, my current job has a lot of, "sit at the desk and make sure nobody breaks things," time, 'kay?), so I'm just going to refer to them as their character names, and I might make an addendum later.  Here's a partial cast list, though I will note that Peggy/Maria was an understudy who did an excellent job, but who's not listed there.

Hamilton:  (I DO remember this guy's name because his parents gave him the same name as the author of Don Quixote, and that's kind of hard to forget)  My friend said he looks like a small Orlando Bloom, but Latinx, and that's not far off.  I know every actor brings their own flair to the part, and his Hamilton to me lacked certain vulnerable notes that LMM brought to the role.  His diction was excellent though, and physically he worked well.
Burr:  A much more imposing figure than Leslie Odom.  And like Cervantes, a lot of his portrayal lacks vulnerability.  I noticed in the first act, a lot of the numbers were technically fine, but restrained, and Burr was no exception.  Wait For It was performed adequately, but it felt very subdued.  The Room Where It Happens was far more genuine and passionate.
Lafayette/Jefferson:  His accents were a bit off for both parts, but his performances were delightful, and I can't fault him.  His delivery as Jefferson was goddamn flawless, and I felt his mockery and ego acutely, which is appropriate.  As soon as he stepped onstage, I was consumed by COAT LUST, which I knew I would.  C'mon, purple velvet and shiny purple coats are pretty much my entire aesthetic.
Hercules Mulligan/Madison:  How can you not love this role?  Answer, you cannot.  Like with the rest of the cast, his Madison is brilliant, completely contrasting with his Mulligan (who again, less bombastic than the OC, but what are you gonna do?).  I love his fussiness, and his stage business with his perpetual handkerchief was funny.  His delivery opposite Jefferson worked, and their chemistry was great.
Laurens/Phillip:  Reminded me a lot of Anthony Ramos, I assume deliberately.  I know people who've seen multiple productions that talk about the sexual chemistry between him and Hamilton, but whether it was a choice in this production not to play that up, or whether I just didn't see it is possible.  He (and the rest of the guys) seem less skeezy and horned-up than the OC, which makes certain lines not as strong as they could be, but they're fine.  Laurens' farewell song and that entire scene was heartbreaking, and if I didn't know it was coming, it would have probably resulted in the first tears of the night (thanks Hamiltome for warning me ahead of time!).  Phillip's death was rough as well, mostly due to Eliza's reaction.

In the leadup to the show, I kept sharing shit like this with my friend, because I couldn't help it.

Washington:  I don't think this guy had the gravitas of Chris Jackson, but he was good.  His versions of Right Hand Man and History Has Its Eyes On You were slightly lacking pathos, but One Last Time was outstanding.  I always appreciate in these productions the effort they put into making sure Washington is an imposing figure.

Alexander Hamilton, actual child, seen here pictured next to adult humans Washington and Lafayette.

Eliza:  Perfect.  She was one of the only performers I saw that didn't seem muted in Act One verses Act Two, giving each song her all.  Eliza is one of those characters that definitely has potential to seem milquetoast, but so far people have cast her well, thank god.  She's a linchpin to this story, and she NEEDS to work.
Angelica:  Marvelous.  Yeah, she didn't belt as much as she could have in Act One, but I'm not going to hold that against her.  Like Cervantes, her diction was great in Satisfied, if a little lacking in passion and flirtiness.  Her performance of It's Quiet Uptown reduced me to a puddle, and I will hear nothing against her, sir.  And can I mention I love her updo in the second act?  I was not prepared for hair envy in this show.  Clothing envy, yes.
And Peggy/Maria:  Like I suspected from the cast recording, Peggy has very little to do onstage, so her performance there can barely even be registered.  She's fine, her harmonies in The Schuyler Sisters were fine; her Maria was excellent though, conveying the tragedy of this character well.  I don't really think they do enough to visually distinguish her two characters the same way they do the male cast members who double, I guess figuring that putting her in a red dress and redoing her lips darker is sufficient.  I'd have liked to see a different hairdo or something.
King George III:  HO.
LEE.
SHIT.
I was not prepared.  I mean, I know his songs are all supposed to be comical, and his character quite farcical as a foil to Washington, but damn.  This dude's portrayal was hysterical.  It was different enough from Groff's to be distinct but still perfectly appropriate.  He legit made Burr break character at the beginning of The Reynold's Pamphlet (he didn't miss a beat, but he was laughing), and I can't blame him at all.  It would be hard beyond belief to share a stage with this kind of character and maintain tone.

As for staging, there were two bits that I wanted to talk about in detail here, the first of which is the run between Helpless and Satisfied, which I knew were just rehashing the same events, but I am suitably impressed at the building up, taking down, and resumption of the same scene.  There are times towards the end of Satisfied where Angelica is completely alone on a naked stage, and within a ridiculously small amount of bars, everyone's right back where they were, doing their thing.

And Hurricane is one of those numbers that theatre teachers are going to go to for goddamn decades as examples in action of those stupid exercises they make you do where they're like, "NOW YOU'RE UNDERWATER."  (Relevant)  The stage has the cast on it, picking up objects and sloooooooowly moving them and handing them off to each other like they're the forces of the hurricane raging around a stationary Hamilton in the center, lit by blue lights.  There's nothing from the soundtrack that would tell you that's what's happening, and it was one of the few performances I haven't seen on video anywhere, so I didn't expect it.

All in all, I was thrilled to pieces to see this show, and if you have the means at all to see it, GO.  It's something that I pray they have an official release for at some point, because it would print money.

ETA:  I figure I may as well share the more amusing cautionary tale of this story as well:

People:  DON'T DO THIS.  It shouldn't need to be said.