Melbourne’s Exhibition Street was transformed into a Broadway District that dreams are made of as the Australian cast of HAMILTON the musical surprised fans with a one-time-only live street performance out the front of Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Hundreds of fans arrived early for the chance to capture Australia’s first-ever #Ham4Ham, only live performance by the entire cast. Jason Arrow, who plays the lead role of Alexander Hamilton had the crowd screaming with glee as he performed with the fellow cast.
The enthusiastic #Ham4Ham fans were a breath of fresh air as the predominately young crowd represents the new generation of excited theatre goers. This morning’s live performance also presented fans with a chance to win $10 Lottery tickets to Opening Night with the simple upload of a photo and tagging of #Ham4Ham.
Hamilton The Musical Review – By Jake Freeman
As always, Melbourne is blessed to have its own West End. Now that the worst of the pandemic is over, theatre fans can return and see for the first time the much-anticipated Hamilton: An American Musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
Hamilton: An American Musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, a British-born American soldier, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Hamilton’s legacy of co-establishing the nation includes creating the country’s first political party, being one of the founders of the financial system as well as The New York Post newspaper, and as the first Secretary of the Treasury and most trusted advisor to George Washington. He is one of the most important figures in American history.
Hamilton: An American Musical, the Australian production, is produced by theatre company Michael Cassel Group and directed by Thomas Kail and based on the book and music and lyrics by actor and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin-Manuel was inspired to create the stage musical after reading the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Lin-Manuel would spend the next few years researching, writing, and workshopping ideas, music, and storylines for the show.
Hamilton is unique in several ways. Firstly, it is a sung-through performance where all the actors sing their dialogue. It also incorporates modern-day music genres such as rap, hip hop, and soul.
Finally, and causing some controversy, it casts non-white actors as historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
Hamilton premiered on Broadway in New York in July 2015 to both wide critical and audience acclaim, quickly becoming a theatre juggernaut. In no short time productions began to spring up from London’s West End to Hamburg. The show has won countless awards ranging from the Tonys to the Grammys and even a Pulitzer Prize.
A highly praised live stage recording was shown in 2020 on the Disney+ streaming service and was the second-most-watched straight-to-streaming title of the year. There have been talks of an actual film adaptation of Hamilton.
Here in Australia, it was highly successful with sold-out shows in Sydney despite lockdowns and restrictions. Not surprisingly, there was not an empty seat left in the 1,700-seat capacity Theatre on its first Melbourne performance on Sunday night as mask-wearing theatre goers took to their seats.
From start to finish, the whole production was spectacular, from the setup with a rotating stage floor centered in the middle that assisted with blocking, to the high energy and well-choreographed song and dance numbers, the costumes, the props, and set design that transformed the look of Colonial America and bringing Hamilton the Musical to life. Watching it for the first time was amazing and was extremely impressed with the precision and movement of the performers and the sound and lighting elements. However, clocking in at just under three hours requires endurance and it was a bit of a strain at times to hear some of the words as many of the songs are sung very fast.
The Australian cast was led by an exceptionally talented group that includes Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton, Chloé Zuel as Eliza Hamilton, Lyndon Watts as Aaron Burr, Akina Edmonds as Angelica Schuyler, Matu Ngaropo as George Washington, Victory Ndukwe as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Shaka Cook and Brent Hill who provided excellent comic relief as the portly King George III throughout the show. All of the backup dancers and singers were also brilliant, who along with the main cast, received well-deserved rapturous applause and a standing ovation at the end of the night.
Whether you are a history buff or a theatre buff, audiences will love Hamilton: An American Musical.
Hamilton: An American Musical is now on from every Tuesday through to Sunday until and including Sunday 14 August at Her Majesty’s Theatre at 219 Exhibition Street, opposite The Comedy Theatre. The opening night is on Thursday 24 March.
Times: Tue 7:00 PM, Wed 1:00 PM & 7.00 PM, Thu 7:00 PM & Fri 7.30pm, Sat 2:00 PM & 7.30pm, Sun 1:00 PM & 6:30 PM
To buy tickets and see any time changes go to – https://hamiltonmusical.com.au/melbourne/
Media attendance by Melinda Sullivan
Performance attendee and review by Jake Freeman.
