The crowd was electric the night I went to see Hamilton at the fabulous Fox Theatre. The weather was on the chilly side, so the audience was largely dressed in heavy, layered clothing. I saw a lot of bubble jackets and even some minks.
Hamilton In Atlanta: What To Expect
The Fox Theatre, with its rich history in illustrious Midtown Atlanta, is the perfect venue for something like Hamilton. My seat was fairly close to the stage and so I got to see all the action pretty close up.
The show had good pacing, although I will admit the politics of it all seemed a bit much by the time the musical entered its last stanza. Some of the standout songs for me were One Shot, which was the second tune performed. Also, You’ll Be Back and the 10 Duel Commandments, which borrow heavily from Notorious Big’s song of a similar name.
Throughout it all, we got to live through the rise of Alexander Hamilton as a political statesman who rubbed shoulders with and who was himself a Founding Father of America.
Catch Hamilton In Atlanta This Weekend
- Hamilton at the Fox Theatre (Friday at 8 pm)
- Hamilton at Fox Theatre (Sat at 2 pm)
Hamilton at Fox Theatre (Sun 1 pm) - Hamilton at Fox Theatre (Sun 7 pm)
Aside from a scandalous turn with a mistress and a duel that ended tragically, Hamilton’s life played out pretty much like you would expect for a politician today.
Some of the songs were super-catchy, but the rapid-fire rhymes – spoken or sung over pulsing music – largely went over the heads of many an attendee.
If you know anything about Hamilton, you know that it has become the darling of the play circuit ever since it debuted on Broadway in 2015.
Since then, the play has garnered significant acclaim and racked up numerous Tony Award nominations, winning Best Musical and also scoring a Grammy Award and a Pulitzer Prize for its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Miranda, the show’s creator, appeared on stage for about a year before departing for good in the summer of 2016.
Miranda got the idea for the musical after reading Ron Chernow’s biography Alexander Hamilton while on vacation.
The show begins with an earnest Alexander Hamilton, played spectacularly by Pierre Jean Gonzalez, thinking about his station in life and dreaming big with his comrades.
Tyler Fauntleroy, who plays John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, impresses throughout with some strong wordplay and pacing to keep the story moving, The Virginia Commonwealth alum and Succession actor shines throughout.
Deon’te Goodman (The Prince of Egypt and Freedom Riders musicals) seemed to win the audience over with his starturns as Aaron Burr, but Marcus Choi (“Wicked” and the “Flower Drum Song.” excellently cast as George Washington, held his own throughout much of the middle of the musical.
Without a doubt, Neil Haskell – whose past credits include Glee, So You Think You Can Dance and MTV’s Faking It – stole the show with his open-mouthed vocals as King George, which the crowd loved.
The beautiful Lencia Kebebe turned in a star performance as Angelica Schuymer, which helped along with Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama (Peggy Schuymer and Maria Reynolds) to balance out the melodies with some very strong female vocals.
Final Word
Hamilton has been out now for nearly a decade and it’s still a formidable force on the stage. That’s a testament to its relevance due to the themes the musical touches on, including immigration, classicism and politics.
Will Hamilton usher in a new era of hip-hop for Broadway? That remains to be seen.
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