Mar 19, 2018

Hamilton the Musical - Review

On Saturday, March 3rd, I had the opportunity to see the hit Broadway show "Hamilton: An American Musical" at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in the Buell Theatre.

"I have to hold her down, or she might float away," laughed my dad who joined me for the show.

I couldn't stop smiling and must have sounded like a broken record with the amount of times it was remarked about how excited I was.

This is my review of Hamilton: An American Musical, with the Angelica Tour cast which performed on March 3rd, 2018, at the 2pm matinee performance.

As soon as the music began cheers erupted in the theater. In my excitement, I grasped my dad’s hand and bounced in my seat as Aaron Burr stepped on stage. The excitement of the audience was palatable, and the early applause reflected the height of our anticipation.

By the end of the first song, I was already in tears! The Kleenex box I had planned to bring into the theater was safe and useless on the seat of the car in the nearby parking garage, but I would have to get through the show without it.

Austin Scott (who masterfully played Alexander Hamilton), Nicholas Christopher (who shown brightly as Aaron Burr), Raymond Baynard (who was a stand-out as part of the Ensemble, and who also played George Eacker), and every other cast member were brilliant in portraying the captivating tale of the orphaned immigrant who came to America and established the nation’s financial systems and became known in history as one of the founding fathers-better known today as the ‘ten-dollar founding father’.

You could see the joy and passion in each one of them as they performed. Beyond their individual stage presence, the whole cast seemed melded into a unit which appeared to effortlessly bring the story of Alexander Hamilton to life.

While I had fallen in love with the original Broadway cast recording, the actors on stage enhanced the quality of the show by bringing their own unique acting choices to their roles while staying true to the character and the show itself. The presentation made me laugh, and cry, each character endeared me to them with their interpretation of the lyrics, gestures, and expressions.

Throughout the performance, my eyes darted to and from each place on the stage in an attempt to catch every little detail.

The staging was masterful. The props, set, and layout were used in an intriguing and visually satisfying way which made this little heart sing.

The symbolism behind every detail was astounding as well. Choreography, acting, and arrangement choices gave a whole new dimension of meaning which the soundtrack could not convey.

Truly, Lin-Manual Miranda wrote a ground-breaking show, and seeing it live only enhanced its brilliance in my mind.

After the show, we had the opportunity to meet, Karli Dinardo, who is the instructor of the Broadway Connection Master Class: Hamilton scheduled for March 19th, 2018 at Colorado Ballet Society, at the stage door. She is the co-dance captain and a swing/understudy for this cast. It was a wonderful bonus that we got to meet other cast members as well!

I had created a picture of the Hamilton cast and printed five copies. Two for a friend and I to get autographed, and three for cast members who I have been following on Instagram.

One was Karli Dinardo, who is the teacher, another was Raymond Baynard, and the last was given to Austin Scott, the lead.

It’s truly wonderful when dreams come true, and it is certainly a plus when the experience surpasses your expectations!

Seeing Hamilton was a magical experience.