The United States Of Hamilton!

I desperately wanted to hate Hamilton despite never having seen it, but failed miserably last night as I witnessed probably the most dramatic show I have had the pleasure to watch since Les Miserables first took the world by storm in 1980.

A fellow critic ruefully commented of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s multi award winning show: “They loved it in America because it’s the only history they’ve got.”

Which left me wondering whether Broadway’s lovies and their West End buddies, endorsed the musical with dozens of gongs because it ticked so many boxes: ‘let’s kick the Brits and wave the star-spangled banner’, an all-black cast (almost) that re-writes history (somewhat) and, in doing so, appeals to the wokies.

And, whilst all of the above may be marginally true, they take nothing from the brilliance of this one-man masterpiece that is mind blowingly good.

Crammed with themes: the consequences of unbridled ambition, unrequited love, regret, tragedy, greed, you name it, it was in there, this show works because it is so expansive, taking a huge slice of revolutionary history as its backdrop, in exactly the same way that Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel did with Les Miserables.

And, as with all mega successes, it was led by ‘story’ and what better than the real thing: America’s War of Independence.

Hamilton is the story of one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton – somewhat forgotten until now you might argue – an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War, and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary

But beneath his youthful arrogance, he was also vain, unfaithful, single minded, and possessing of an unshakeable sense of superiority and self-righteousness, leaving actor, Marley Fenton, in the title role with one helluva characterisation to deliver!

But the boy dug deep and, despite, a mountain of rap lyrics he was faultless to the end with some superb numbers, My Shot continually reprising throughout and becoming one of those ‘can’t forget’ beats that travels home with you.

I also loved Billy Nevers as Aaron Burr, the man who eventually sends Hamilton to his grave in a regretful, passionate duel. He was beautifully balanced and contrasting in what felt like the role of ‘narrator’ and a character almost charting events and explaining everything to those around him including the audience.

The first thing that grabs you about the touring show is its huge set which fills the Alhambra stage, certainly one of the largest playing areas in the North.

That ‘expansive’ feel continues until curtain down, physically and psychologically through its themes.

And in between the power struggles, the egos and the posturing, Louis Maskell as Britain’s King George was the beautiful comic interlude, a more manicured version of Shrek The Musical’s Lord Farquaad, only with longer legs.

Not forgetting the wonderful female leads: Roshani Abbey as ‘Mrs’ Eliza Hamilton, her sister Angelica Schuyler, played by Chastity Crisp and Naomi Katiyo as Maria Reynolds, Hamilton’s illicit affair.

Interestingly, Director Thomas Kail chooses to give his cast a collective, single-line bow – as they usually do for theatre plays – as if to say ‘there were no stars here’, just a group of players who have come together to deliver something special, something only eclipsed by the very size of its own historical canvass.

And what performances.

This was a beautifully crafted production with no weak links. It had me from the off and held me to the end.

As for rap?

Well, it deserves a fairer hearing, from this critic at least, for it encompasses ‘story’ in spades but is still requiring of unbroken concentration if you are to avoid losing your thread.

Miranda’s musical can be seen in Bradford for the next six weeks and I say this: run, run and run to see Hamilton or in a blink the best tickets will be gone. Not one to miss.

Hamilton
Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
Until 15th March