Ten years have passed since Chicago became the first city outside New York where you could see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s extraordinary musical about the life of a former secretary of the treasury. Now “Hamilton,” a musical that not only gestated in the Obama White House, thanks to Miranda’s familial connection, but came to embody its values, has made yet another reprise return to the CIBC Theatre, having walked proudly away from a planned Kennedy Center gig in Washington, D.C., for obvious reasons. I’d venture a guess that some of the cast in this touring production were still in high school on that first Chicago opening night.
I’ve seen “Hamilton” 11 times by now, for work, not fandom, and I cannot think of a 21st century musical I admire more. I witnessed its New York beginnings, its long Chicago stand with the deeply moving Miguel Cervantes in the title role (he went on to own the role on Broadway), and the incomparable Joshua Henry as Aaron Burr. I flew down in 2019 to see it in San Juan, with that Puerto Rican premiere still being my favorite “Hamilton” memory. That experience also offered up the longest standing ovation I’ve ever seen for a Broadway production. All Miranda had to do was make an entrance; I thought they would struggle to even be able to continue the show with one of the island’s most beloved sons.
But I had not seen the U.S. tour (now the only tour, there once were three) for nearly three years until Thursday and, unlike the experience in 2023, this now feels like something of the passing of the shot, so to speak, to the next generation of performers.
Just to be clear, this still is the same “Hamilton” tour; nothing has changed except for the passage of time and the people in the roles. There’s been no diminishment or transition to nonunion performers or anything like that. “Hamilton” remains massively popular (there were lines down Monroe Street, which I found remarkably comforting, given the recent fortunes of the Loop), and the physical production looks identical. The audience is almost as psyched, too. On Thursday, the sounds coming from right behind me, both cheers and sobs, were of an equal volume to what could be heard on the stage. And, yes, the prices remain high. Although not as high.
These days, there are so many skilled actors in the “Hamilton” family that they can be interchanged with ease. The performance I saw had three understudies, as will likely be your experience. There are no stars like Leslie Odom Jr. on the current tour, and clearly not everyone is doing every show. It felt like I was watching a tour that had been around a long time and could have used a big name to raise everyone’s game. Seems to me the show’s legacy deserves one.
That said, I thought two of the excellent actors in less prominent roles really brought things I’d not seen before to these parts. Nathan Haydel, who has the John Laurens/son Phillip track, is exceptionally moving, not least because he makes far bolder and less sentimental physical choices than typical in this part, and the superb Lily Soto, who carries the Peggy Schuyler/Maria double, has the kind of precision and curiosity about her that recalls the original cast. I like my Burrs knowing and quizzical and Jimmie J.J. Jeter had those qualities. I thought Tyler Fauntleroy, who plays the title role and took a while to assert himself, was most at home in the more melancholy second act, which is the one that matters most. King George matters too, of course, and Matt Bittner is as deliciously petulant as any I’ve seen. He comes closest to the original experience and he certainly had the intermission buzz to himself.
“Hamilton,” if you never have had the pleasure (and there always are young people who have not), to my mind became a phenomenon for the following reasons, as I have noted before. (I also wrote a book about the show’s influence.)
It aligned itself with American identity by stripping the cobwebs off the founding fathers (a term implying dignity and age) and reminded us that the American Revolution actually was fought and won by the young, the energetic and the intensely radical, men with complicated lives, intramural rivalries and no preexisting blueprint for their nation-building. But at least a couple of them were immigrants who got the job done. The show was so admiring of America’s foundation, everyone from Obama to several actual treasury secretaries to (infamously) Mike Pence, went to the show, demonstrative of a whole new audience for a musical.
But at the same time, Miranda, steeped in Broadway traditions, built on the lessons of Stephen Sondheim and “Les Miserables” and painted Hamilton as a good but not perfect man, an Icarus who flew too close to the sun, and who saw his professional triumph eclipsed by personal tragedy. This remarkable American artist actually was musing already on his own legacy in the show, as we all do, even though, as we age, we gain a better understanding of our lack of control over who lives, who dies, who tells our story.
‘Hamilton’ timeline: From Miranda’s ‘joke’ to Broadway smash to a return to Chicago
Most important of all, though, “Hamilton” actually is a musical not just about the founding of a great nation, but a meditation on the importance of work-life balance, on how people of ambition and achievement can end up compromising their relationships with those they love the most.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Review: “Hamilton” (3.5 stars)
When: Through April 26
Where: CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.
Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Tickets: $63-$208 at 312-977-1700 and broadwayinchicago.com
