The American Revolution revolutionizes American musical theater in Lin Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking, game-changing Hamilton, now thrilling audiences at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center For The Arts like virtually nothing before.

What can I say about Hamilton that hasn’t been said before?

That it takes a cast of lily-white historical characters and recasts them with performers of color, transforming American historical events into everyone’s stories and not just those of the white-privileged?

 That it expands upon the salsa-rap that made Miranda’s first Broadway hit, In The Heights, sound like nothing on Broadway before by adding to it musical genres ranging from jazz to R&B to boogie-woogie to operetta to Broadway pop?

That it features some of Broadway’s most exciting, nearly non-stop choreography ever, performed by an ensemble each and every one of whom merits the term triple-threat?

That it brings American history 1776-1804 to such intoxicating life that google searches (from Alexander Hamilton to Aaron Burr to American Revolution to Federalist Papers to Reynolds Pamphlet) must skyrocket after every performance?

Hamilton is all this and more, and with a fresh new cast bringing its Second National Tour (dubbed the Philip Tour after Alexander’s beloved son) to the Segerstrom, audiences have the next three weeks to experience what has made Miranda’s sophomore show a $100-mil-a-year smash since its 2015 Broadway debut.

 Joseph Morales stars as the titular American founding father, described in the show-stopping show-opening “Alexander Hamilton” as the “bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman” who “got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter.”

Fellow revolutionary Aaron Burr (Nik Walker) counsels Alexander to “talk less, smile more,” and never “let them know what you’re against and what you’re for,” advice that doesn’t sit well with the outspoken Alexander or his trio of best buds: anti-slavery crusader John Laurens (Elijah Malcomb), flamboyant Frenchie Lafayette (Kyle Scatliffe), and tailor’s apprentice Hercules Mulligan (Fergie L. Philippe).

 With war underway, Alexander finds himself recruited by future first President George Washington (Marcus Choi) to be his “Right Hand Man,” then heads off to a fateful New York soiree encounter with the winsome, well-heeled Schuyler Sisters: Angelica (understudy Jen Sese), Eliza (Shoba Narayan), and Peggy (Nyla Sostre), one of whom will become his wife, another of whom will love him unselfishly from afar.

Last but not least, there is King George III (Jon Patrick Walker), so convinced that his loyal subjects will return to the fold that he promises to kill their friends and family to remind them of his love, (His words, not mine.)

 Hamilton may run close to three hours from breathtaking curtain-up to final gasp, but thanks to Thomas Kail’s electrifying direction, Andy Blankenbuehler’s exhilarating, athletic, genre-spanning dance moves, and a Broadway-caliber cast putting their own personal stamps on iconic characters, the minutes zip by.

Morales proves the ideal choice to deliver his own engaging, heartfelt take on Hamilton, bringing to A-dot-Ham the same charismatic stage presence and mastery of Miranda rap that Segerstrom audiences witnessed back in 2010 when he took over for Lin Manuel himself In The Heights.

 Walker’s silken R&B-voiced Aaron Burr matches Morales every step of the way, as sympathetic as he is adversarial; a standout Choi’s gives George Washington military bearing and gravitas and glorious Broadway pipes; Scatliffe burns up the stage as a joie-de-vivre filled Lafayette and a boogy-woogying Thomas Jefferson; Philippe aces the dual roles of Hercules Mulligan and James Madison; and dynamic SoCal native Elijah Malcomb delivers a pair of breakout performances as a passionate John Laurens and a boyishly appealing Philip Hamilton.

The equally terrific female trio of Sese (feisty and fabulous as Angelica), Narayan (the picture of exquisite grace as Eliza) and 2017 grad Sostre (nailing the dual roles of the overshadowed Peggy and the sultry Maria Reynolds) sound every bit as gorgeous as they look.

 Ensemble members don’t get more talented (or indefatigable) than Tia Altinay, Conroe Brooks, Phil Colgan, Daniel Gaymon, Stephen Hernandez, Kristen Hoagland, Abby Jaros, Wonza Johnson, Taeko McCarroll, Tyler McKenzie, and Justice Moore, with Colgan (Samuel Seabury), Gaymon (Charles Lee), Hernandez (George Eaker), and Johnson (Philip Schuyler) awarded major cameo roles in which to shine.

 As for Walker’s deliciously quirky take on King George, expect Monty Python and Benny Hill fans to rejoice.

Hamilton looks sensational on David Korins’s simple but effective wood-and-brick set, whose upper-level walkways allow characters to serve as both observers and participants; Paul Tazewell’s costumes (historically accurate for leading players, unisex and sexy for the multi-tasking ensemble) are winners as well; and Howell Binkley’s vibrant lighting ups the drama and excitement every step of the way.

Roberto Sinha conducts the Hamilton orchestra with masterful force as Nevin Steinberg’s sound design provides a pitch-perfect mix of instrumentals and vocals.

Anna R. Kaltenbach is production stage manager, Rolando A. Linares is stage manager, and Susan Brumley is company manager.

Hamilton’s Philip tour represents Southland audiences’ last chance to catch the Broadway megasmash before First and Second National Tours spend at least the next couple of years far far away. If you’re among the fortunate to have tickets, count yourself blessed.

Segerstrom Center For The Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.
www.scfta.org

–Steven Stanley
May 9, 2018
Photos: Joan Marcus

Tags: Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Orange County Theater Review, Segerstrom Center For The Arts, Thomas Jefferson