Can a musical – even a smash hit Broadway musical that won 11 Tony awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama – be as good as “Hamilton” is cracked up to be? It’s better. Nearly every moment of the 2½-hour show is absolutely riveting. The hype was not an overstatement. We first heard that “Hamilton” was coming to Minneapolis in Dec. 2016. It was worth the almost two-year wait. [. . .] Other writers have noted that “Hamilton” shows America at its best, an America whose spirit we wish we could recapture, an America that might be sliding from our grasp. One mentioned “the intense pride you feel on an evening such as this, when America’s story is retold with such style, verve and imagination.” It’s easy to feel pride in “Hamilton’s” vision of America, along with sadness at the divided state we’re in today. And joy in the whole colorful, crazy ambitious, breathtaking brilliance of the thing. And the glorious diversity. That’s something you notice immediately. All of the main characters in “Hamilton” were white in real life: Alexander Hamilton himself; his wife, Eliza, and son, Philip; Aaron Burr; George Washington; the Marquis de Lafayette; King George. Like the original Broadway cast, the touring cast is deeply, matter-of-factly mixed. It’s instantly no big deal that Hamilton is Hispanic (Joseph Morales), Aaron Burr is African-American (Nik Walker), George Washington is Asian-American (Marcus Choi) and Eliza Schuyler Hamilton is Southeast-Asian-American (Shoba Narayan). It just feels right. Like every musical, every play, every everything should be diverse because why not? This casting decision also makes the story of “Hamilton” feel like it’s happening today. The men are in breeches and waistcoats; the women wear gowns. The look of the production is 18th century. But the cast is 2018. In the end, that might have been our favorite part of the evening: being there and seeing that. It’s going to be tough for any new performance of any kind to ignore the example set by “Hamilton.” There’s simply no excuse anymore. You may recall that the “Hamilton” cast had a few words for then Vice President-elect Mike Pence when he attended a performance in November 2016. “Hamilton” is a show, an entertainment, a night out, but it can also be seen as a political statement. The Des Moines Register (the “Hamilton” tour stopped in Iowa earlier this summer) saw an opportunity and ran with it. “Rise up, Iowa!” an editorial exclaims. “We’re not King George’s ‘sweet, submissive subject(s).’ We can stand up for civil rights, equal opportunity, government by and for the people and freedom of speech and the press. We can stand up for the environment, affordable health care and education for everyone, fair treatment of immigrants, principled relations with other countries and ethical and open government.” “Hamilton” continues at the Orpheum through Oct. 7, with eight performances each week. There are still tickets available – not many, and not cheap, but available. Try the digital lottery. It’s free to enter and you might get lucky. [. . .]
‘Hamilton’: It’s even better than it’s cracked up to be (MinnPost)
