This is not a moment; this a movement. Though it really feels like it’s only here for a moment— the movement inside will move you. And everybody wants to be in the room where it happens. And Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre is the room where it’s happening— Hamilton— now through the end of the month. The Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation, directed by Thomas Kail with musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, is visiting Charm City for a limited-engagement run. And you do not want to throw away your shot to see this once in a lifetime production.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is truly the Sondheim of his time, only more intense, and some might argue (though those would definitely be dueling words) ‘like Sondheim, only better.’ Miranda’s musical genius is second to none, his ability to take history and spin it around into this fascinating, astonishing musical-theatre spectacle, a true hybrid of actuality, fantasy, narrative, and performance— there isn’t anything else like it out in the world today. For those unfamiliar with the global sensation of Hamilton, it takes an obscurely underrated individual from history, puts him on a pedestal and dazzles with mystery; there’s politics, romance, dancing, and you learn that he— had the biggest damn impact on our country financially. (My nod of homage, however poorly done, to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap-style that permeates the majority of the performance.)
The stark interior, by way of Scenic Designer David Korins, is oddly intimate and yet vast in its capabilities. No one is attending Hamilton to gawk at the exposed brick at the back of the house or the wooden rigging that serves as moving scenic staircases during certain numbers, but that is not to say it isn’t important. In fact, Korins’ turntable, which is an integral part of so much of the show’s movement, feels like its own character, contributing motion that feels as if it moves because of the music and the performers on its surface instead of the other way around. Sound balance, by way of Sound Designer Nevin Steinberg, is surprisingly on point, which is crucial and critical for this production as so much of what’s getting rapped about could easily be lost if the ratio of music to microphone is off even just a little bit. And of course the show’s literal illuminating factor— lighting design from the creative Howell Binkley— is brilliant. The bombastic bursting reds and blues and whites all during “Guns & Ships”, “History Has Its Eyes On You”, and “Yorktown” are stunning.
It’s a dazzling, unique experience, certainly unlike any other, and Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler ensures that with description-defying dance routines, intensely choreographed movements beyond the dancing, and a whole world of frenetic, pulsating energy that lives and dies with the pulse of the music and the narrative in equal parts. To quote the master, ‘there are moments that the words don’t reach’ and every single living, breathing moment of motion and movement that Blankenbuehler inspires in the choreography and choreographed movement, under Thomas Kail’s exceptionally skilled and perceptive direction, is one of those striking and awe-inspiring moments of theatrical brilliance and magic.
Such an unimaginably brilliant show could not be possible without the talent of the stellar ensemble, each of whom brings indefatigable energy, sonorous voices, and powerful heartfelt emotions to all of the incredible sounds that populate every waking moment of the performance. (At this performance) the ensemble includes Jonathan Christopher, Tony D’Alelio, Nicole DeRoux, Kristen Hoagland, Gabriel Hyman, Dharon Jones, Vanessa Magula, Taeko McCarroll, Nick Sanchez, Anthony Santos, Quiantae Thomas. Their synchronicity is unforgettable and their ability to bring the chorus of numbers like “Ten Duel Commandments” and “The Election of 1800” to vivacious, soaring life is remarkable. They are the supporting component—the vasculature and nerves— of this living creation that is Hamilton.
The named supporting principals drift in and out of the ensemble, pulling double-duty from the first act to the second. Desmond Sean Ellington is the rogue and madcap, rap-dropping Hercules Mulligan in Act I, dropping intensely aggravated beats when the war starts to turn in the revolutionists’ favor. Ellington trades faces and places for a more subdued James Madison in Act II, having a hint of comedy about his character— particularly when he and Jefferson directly address the audience, in annoyance, about wanting to get back to politics (after a particularly gut-wrenching, heart-rending musical number all about the romances in the narrative…you’ll note Ellington’s Madison is sobbing somewhat emphatically into his handkerchief, implying that despite the annoyance of the romantic tangent, he’s been profoundly impacted by its emotional fortitude.)
Elijah Malcomb is of similar dual purpose in this production, appearing first as John Laurens and later as young Philip Hamilton. Malcomb does an extraordinary job of embodying the youthful exuberance required to convince the audience that he the tender age of nine, when he and his mother Eliza (at this performance, Jisel Soleil Ayon) attempt to convince Hamilton to ‘rest’ and pay more attention to the family and less to his work. As both Laurens and young Philip, Malcomb embodies an earnest yet headstrong character, both of whom meet somewhat untimely endings (as history dictates.) Strong of voice and exceedingly impressive in his ability to carry himself like Hamilton, while playing Philip, Malcomb is quite the perfect fit for these two youthful characters.
The forgotten Schuyler sister, or rather the ignored and lesser, Peggy (Jen Sese) is quirky and humorous while piping up during “The Schuyler Sisters” and then she disappears. Because she’s not the one who marries Hamilton, she’s not even the one who has the cerebral affair with Hamilton. She’s just the other Schuyler sister. Sese doubles up as Maria Reynolds (…of The Reynolds Papers?) who gets to put this sultry, smoldering sound of seduction into “Say No To This”, completely making up for the fact that her time as Peggy is both short-lived and superfluous.
Double-timing as a well-loved and then well-loathed (or at least obnoxiously adored) set of characters, Warren Egypt Franklin gives the audience loads to laugh about first as Marquis De Lafayette and then as the flaming peacock, strutting popinjay Thomas Jefferson. As Lafayette you get the outrageous French accent, crude dance-gestures (appropriately timed for the numbers they are featured in) and a lot of intensely paced but perfectly articulated rapping. As Thomas Jefferson— hold onto your hats because this is not your grandpa’s Jefferson— Warren Egypt Franklin is a showman of mythic proportions. “What’d I Miss?” is not only the explosively entertaining opening of the second act but the introduction to the Thomas Jefferson character and Franklin takes every opportunity to showboat during this routine. Jazzy dance steps, wild swinging jazz-adjacent vocals, the whole enchilada. Franklin’s splashy performance is second perhaps only to the extremely flamboyant antics of King George (Neil Haskell) whose shenanigans are nothing short of hilarious madness.
The aforementioned Haskell is written into the piece as expasperative comic relief (though there are plenty of humorous nuggets sprinkled liberally throughout the production) as the ever-saucy King George. First appearing to us for “You’ll Be Back” in full-on regal regalia, Haskell masterfully delivers that intentionally vocally affected nasal-pinch sound whilst singing and prancing about the stage in all his lavish frippery. Haskell’s sense of comic timing and delivery is second to none in this production. And appears twice more with slightly different words, though the same high-comedic approach to his musical numbers. Quite the vocal belting talent Haskell has too.
For as superfluous as Peggy Schuyler is, her two other sisters— Angelica (Ta’Rea Campbell) and Eliza (at this performance, Jisel Soleil Ayon)— are not throwing away their shot. While Campbell’s Angelica is not in the romantic limelight in the same way as Ayon’s Eliza, she holds her own, particularly when singing “Satisfied.” You feel the power, experience the longing and restraint that Campbell imbues to the character as she relives her version of Eliza’s “Helpless.” (Two women, one man, one meeting, two completely different stories.) Ayon, who starts off sweet and charming, finds her character sunk by the time the eleven o’clock number— “Burn”— rolls around. All the fury, hatred, embarrassment, and frustrations that a woman in her position can experience comes funneling out in that number like a blazing inferno. It’s quite the number to behold.
Masterfully stunning in all that he has to offer, Marcus Choi as George Washington is the epitome of a leader, both strong-willed and humble. Blasting out his character’s truths, experiences, and offering some of the most impressive vocals that this production has to offer, Choi feels as if he were meant for the role. The unstoppable sound, loaded with feeling and honest emotional passion, which comes erupting from Choi during “One Last Time”, particularly the finale of that number where he is basically belting his face off, is well-deserving of the thunderous ovation Choi receives. Hearing the remarkable reflective humbleness drift through his section of “Finale” is a beautiful thing as well.
Burr (Jared Dixon) and A. Ham (Pierre Jean Gonzalez) serve as your obedient servants for the evening. Ever experience a show where the titular character isn’t actually the narrator but living his life as told by the antagonist? Both Dixon and Gonzalez go head to head, toe to toe, and voice to voice all throughout the production, particularly well during “Your Obedient Servant”, though by that point so much tension has mounted, so much turmoil has brewed, the bombastic and explosive conclusion (which they tell you in the opening number of “Alexander Hamilton”) slaps so hard it’s almost unbelievable. What makes Dixon so impressive in the role of Aaron Burr is his ability to slowly let his jealousy and resentment simmer into something much, much bigger. You get a real sense of how it’s just about to bubble over during the swankified-jazz number “The Room Where It Happens” but it isn’t until the lead-in to “Your Obedient Servant” that Dixon truly paints Burr out to be the villain of Alexander Hamilton’s narrative, a self-proclaimed title delivered in bitter recognition during “The World Was Wide Enough” and it is such a striking moment to behold.
With Pierre Jean Gonzalez, it all comes down to one moment— this completely acapella, unhinged, spoken moment where the only sound on stage is Gonzlez, his words, and the air around him. It’s near the very, very end of the production, and in a nutshell could be the entire show, summed up in two minutes of hard, emotional rapping, delivered with all of the hindsight one never gets until one’s life has flashed past them. The emotional gravitas and sheer force with which Gonzalez delivers that moment sinks the entire production into this fathomless ocean of experience, one which once the world lives through it will never truly be the same. Of course there are other spine-chilling moments where Gonzalez delivers goosebumps and tingles, laughter and tears; his talent is unquestionable. But that moment— just between the end of “Your Obedient Servant” and the semi-reprise of the “Ten Duel Commandments” and Burr’s “The World Was Wide Enough”— that moment is the moment Gonzalez can hang his career on. It’s not a moment; it’s a movement and it’s a movement that transcends talent, emotion, time and space and it is phenomenal.
I’m telling you, Baltimore— do not throw away your shot! It is not here for months on end, this time. It is not hanging around through the end of 2022— it’s barely staying in town through the end of the month. Hamilton is the must-see of the tour season, is if that wasn’t a concrete fact, cemented in stone already. Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to have Hamilton visiting our city.
Running Time: 3 hours with one intermission
Hamilton plays through October 30, 2022 at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre as a part of the Broadway Across America touring series in the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center— 12 N. Eutaw Street in the Bromo Seltzer Arts District of Baltimore, MD. For tickets call the box office at (410) 752-7444 or purchase them purchase them online.
