Fans of Lin Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” can finally rejoice now that the hip-hop masterpiece has kicked off its US tour. The musical will be showing at Los Angeles’ own Pantages Theater for five months (August 11-December 30th) before moving on to other major cities in 2018.
The timeless life story of one of America’s earliest revolutionaries premiered in New York last year, and has since won numerous awards and high praise from a multitude of audiences. Hamilton has opened the door to a new era of musical theater. It is a unique fusion of modern rap and traditional Broadway music. With it’s charming cast and memorable soundtrack, the musical has attracted more attention toward the theater and renewed younger audiences’ interest in our nation’s history. With all that in mind, it’s no wonder why fans have fallen “helplessly” in love with the production.
While the original cast disbanded in 2016, the newest cast of the production has already proven how capable they are at portraying some of America’s most important figures. Michael Luwoye stars as the titular Alexander Hamilton, taking over for Miranda as the hard working lawyer set on leaving a legacy. Likewise, Joshua Henry will assume the role of Hamilton’s lifelong rival, Aaron Burr. Joining them are Solea Pfeiffer, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jordan Donica, Rory O’Malley, Isaiah Johnson, Amber Iman, Mathenee Treco, and Ruben J Carbajal.
Ms. Julie Hong, one of our APUSH teachers, gave nothing but positive comments about the musical.
“It totally exceeded (my expectations),” she raved. “The music was amazing, and…I found a lot of it to be accurate, as far as I could tell.” But Hamilton offers more than just entertainment, as Ms. Hong plans to use songs from the soundtrack for her curriculum this year. “It’s so much more engaging to hear a song about Hamilton and Burr’s duel, rather than just me saying that (they fought over politics),” she explained. Hamilton provides students the opportunity to apply the history from the musical to their studies, and “see the big picture, rather than just that snippet (Hamilton presents to us).”
The show’s arrival to the West Coast is the opportunity fans have been anticipating, and may even give students an advantage on their classwork. What more could you ask for from musical theater? The show won’t be around for long, so don’t miss your shot to see history happening in Los Angeles.
