Hamilton On Stage: Buell Theatre

The musical “Hamilton” follows the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton throughout the American Revolution and into the creation of our country. It is a Broadway show created by Lin Manuel Miranda who played Hamilton himself, but the original cast has since retired from it. It now plays around the world in theaters and is performed by different casts such as the “Philip” cast, and the “Angelica” cast, both named after characters from the show.

The “Philip” cast performs at the Buell Theatre in Denver until November 24. The cast includes many Broadway and new actors hoping to create a name for themselves in their onstage debuts.

These performers use the original music written for the musical, changing sections slightly to make them their own.

For example, iconic lines are said in different tones, riffs are altered, lines are sung at different speeds, and notes are changed. The orchestra stays consistent throughout this to sound somewhat similar to the recordings, yet unique to the singer.

One line that was skipped was Hamilton (Blaine Alden Krauss) making the noise of an explosion after George Washington (Kameron Richardson) says “Hit them quick, get out fast” in the song “Stay Alive.”

Skipping the line could have been a small mistake by the actor and it may seem like unimportant background noise, but it should have been present because, without it, the section feels incomplete.

Another vital piece is the final lines of Angelica Schuyler’s (Lencia Kebede) song “Satisfied” which the actress changed from the original ending. The new notes feel unnatural to the listener, especially anyone who has listened to the soundtrack.

On the other hand, some lines were changed in a more natural way, such as Hamilton saying “I was chosen for the constitutional convention” in the song Non-Stop. The actor made the line his own by saying it more excitedly instead of the sing-song tone in the original song.

This is luckily a line that can be altered to the actor’s preferences without seeming out of place. There are a few other things that differentiated the Denver show from the original though, the biggest being the cast.

The original Broadway actors were extremely talented and each fit into their roles perfectly, while some of the new cast members seem to not quite play the character the same way.

Deon’te Goodman played Aaron Burr who was originally cast by Leslie Odom Jr. He was one member of the cast that performed amazingly, but still seemed a bit out of place.

Odom Jr. is a Tony and Grammy award-winning actor who is irreplaceable in the role of Burr. With his amazing vocals and skillful acting, it is hard to compare another actor to him.

Goodman also changed Burr’s personality a bit to make the audience laugh which was off-brand for the character who is seen as steady and serious on Broadway.

A second actor that didn’t quite fit their part was Simon Longnight who plays Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. Daveed Diggs, the original actor for these two roles, took on the personality and spunk of the two characters perfectly.

Longnight didn’t seem to have the same energy as Diggs when performing which made his characters more simple and contrasted with Diggs’ adaptation.

On the contrary, though, some actors fit their roles seamlessly such as
Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama who plays Elizabeth Schuyler. While the Broadway actress Phillipa Soo was an amazing choice for the role, Sayuri Yokoyama was just as fitting.

The song “Burn” was where Sayuri Yokoyama’s talent in both acting and singing showed. She was emotional and passionate just as Soo was while performing the song on Broadway.

Another actor who fit very well was Paul Louis Lessard who played King George the Third. The original actor was Jonathan Groff who is best known for playing Kristoff in the Frozen movies, and for his time on Broadway.

King George the Third is a very adaptable character who has 3 solo songs titled “You’ll Be Back,” “What Comes Next?” and “I Know Him.” Louis Lessard did a great job portraying his character’s personality in each of these. He had great energy and took the original jokes to the next level by adding a personal twist.

The show, music, and actors were all amazing and entertaining, but the Broadway show is simply the classic. It’s difficult to compare to the level of talent given in the original show, but the “Philip” cast mostly rose to the challenge and put on an amazing performance.