Hamilton Festival Theatre Edinburgh 5th March 2024 Review
Hamilton is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh until Saturday 27 April and is without doubt one of the biggest (if not the biggest) stage musical to come to town in a long time, and the anticipation amongst many theatre goers that this show has generated is more like that of a Taylor Swift concert than a theatrical event. This show has captured the imagination of not only regular theatre goers, but a whole new younger generation, and that in itself can only be a good thing for the future of musical theatre as a whole.
The media hype and marketing surrounding Hamilton coming to Edinburgh (and Scotland) has been huge, but does the show actually stand up and deliver all that it promises to do? I have to admit that I was very sceptical that it would (shows rarely do), but in this case Hamilton is the stage musical phenomenon that it has become simply because it is so well constructed and delivered by everyone involved with its production.
To be clear, Hamilton is not a historical drama, it is a work that is based on real people and events, but it also imagines many conversations and events, and also when required creates its own imagined history. As the show at one point tells us “we were not in the room”. Hamilton is, however, the story of an impressive individual living in extraordinary times that simply needs to be told, and if you want to step beyond the stage and separate historical fact from fiction then it is all there online waiting to be read.
Since this show’s off-Broadway debut in 2015 much has been made of the choice of casting for this show and, to be honest, here in this story it does not matter who is portraying any character as Hamilton must reflect the diversity of American culture today to do justice to the dreams of America’s founding fathers. Again to quote a line from the show “Immigrants get things done”.
The strength of Hamilton as a show is that it has so many diverse strands to it. Based on the 2004 biography “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow, Lin-Manuel Miranda over a seven year period created the theatrical book plus the music and lyrics for a show that was to be a wonderful fusion of story, music and dance.
Much of the dialogue for Hamilton draws upon hip-hop for its delivery and once and for all firmly establishes the genre as a musical art form capable of being transposed to a completely new audience. It may take you a few minutes to adjust to the rhythms of the hip-hop dialogue but when you do the strength of this script becomes obvious. Many other musical genres that have defined American music are woven into this musical score too including R&B, pop, soul, traditional, classical. At times you can hear the influence of Beyoncé, at other times Aretha Franklin and many of the great composers and performers of music that has become almost our global cultural background. Complementing this music is an equally diverse range of dance styles and influences.
To make something as complex as Hamilton work you need a great team at every stage of production and that is something that producer Cameron Mackintosh knows exactly how to put together and, as usual for one of his shows, every little detail has had great attention paid to it and that shows in every moment of Hamilton.
One of the main ingredients in any show is of course the cast and here Shaq Taylor (Alexander Hamilton) and Sam Oladeinde (Aaron Burr) make the perfect duo of close friends who become political opposites. A show like this needs that tension and both do this so well whilst giving some outstanding music performances. Charles Simmons (George Washington), Billy Nevers (Lafeyette/Thomas Jefferson), DeAngelo Jones (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton) and KM Drew Boateng (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison) are also impressive in their respective roles. Daniel Boys gives us a classic music hall performance with his comedy routine of King George III, reminding us all of just how ridiculous the British monarchy have always been. A special mention needs to go to Maya Britto (Eliza Hamilton) and Aisha Jawando (Angelica Schuyler) for their dramatic and musical performances.
Hamilton is really a show in two halves, the pre-revolutionary man of war, and the post-revolutionary man of politics and it is in the second half of this show that the focus shifts noticeably to Maya Britto (Eliza Hamilton). This show may be a stage musical, but it is also very operatic in its use of music, how those musical themes are continued and resolved and in the sheer scale of human emotions and tragedy that it encompasses. Above all though, Hamilton is a tribute to what one individual can do if they have the opportunity to put their own abilities to their best use no matter what their start in life may be.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
The media hype and marketing surrounding Hamilton coming to Edinburgh (and Scotland) has been huge, but does the show actually stand up and deliver all that it promises to do? I have to admit that I was very sceptical that it would (shows rarely do), but in this case Hamilton is the stage musical phenomenon that it has become simply because it is so well constructed and delivered by everyone involved with its production.
To be clear, Hamilton is not a historical drama, it is a work that is based on real people and events, but it also imagines many conversations and events, and also when required creates its own imagined history. As the show at one point tells us “we were not in the room”. Hamilton is, however, the story of an impressive individual living in extraordinary times that simply needs to be told, and if you want to step beyond the stage and separate historical fact from fiction then it is all there online waiting to be read.
Since this show’s off-Broadway debut in 2015 much has been made of the choice of casting for this show and, to be honest, here in this story it does not matter who is portraying any character as Hamilton must reflect the diversity of American culture today to do justice to the dreams of America’s founding fathers. Again to quote a line from the show “Immigrants get things done”.
The strength of Hamilton as a show is that it has so many diverse strands to it. Based on the 2004 biography “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow, Lin-Manuel Miranda over a seven year period created the theatrical book plus the music and lyrics for a show that was to be a wonderful fusion of story, music and dance.
Much of the dialogue for Hamilton draws upon hip-hop for its delivery and once and for all firmly establishes the genre as a musical art form capable of being transposed to a completely new audience. It may take you a few minutes to adjust to the rhythms of the hip-hop dialogue but when you do the strength of this script becomes obvious. Many other musical genres that have defined American music are woven into this musical score too including R&B, pop, soul, traditional, classical. At times you can hear the influence of Beyoncé, at other times Aretha Franklin and many of the great composers and performers of music that has become almost our global cultural background. Complementing this music is an equally diverse range of dance styles and influences.
To make something as complex as Hamilton work you need a great team at every stage of production and that is something that producer Cameron Mackintosh knows exactly how to put together and, as usual for one of his shows, every little detail has had great attention paid to it and that shows in every moment of Hamilton.
One of the main ingredients in any show is of course the cast and here Shaq Taylor (Alexander Hamilton) and Sam Oladeinde (Aaron Burr) make the perfect duo of close friends who become political opposites. A show like this needs that tension and both do this so well whilst giving some outstanding music performances. Charles Simmons (George Washington), Billy Nevers (Lafeyette/Thomas Jefferson), DeAngelo Jones (John Laurens/Philip Hamilton) and KM Drew Boateng (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison) are also impressive in their respective roles. Daniel Boys gives us a classic music hall performance with his comedy routine of King George III, reminding us all of just how ridiculous the British monarchy have always been. A special mention needs to go to Maya Britto (Eliza Hamilton) and Aisha Jawando (Angelica Schuyler) for their dramatic and musical performances.
Hamilton is really a show in two halves, the pre-revolutionary man of war, and the post-revolutionary man of politics and it is in the second half of this show that the focus shifts noticeably to Maya Britto (Eliza Hamilton). This show may be a stage musical, but it is also very operatic in its use of music, how those musical themes are continued and resolved and in the sheer scale of human emotions and tragedy that it encompasses. Above all though, Hamilton is a tribute to what one individual can do if they have the opportunity to put their own abilities to their best use no matter what their start in life may be.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com