“Hamilton” Milwaukee

Highly Recommended ***** Around three years ago, “Hamilton” opened in Chicago, to rousing reviews and creating one of the greatest rushes for tickets Chicago has seen in years ( I think “Wicked” may have been outdone on this one). Now , as it gets ready to leave, for those who truly want to see this amazing story about American history, as written by Lin-Manuel Miranda ( inspired by the book by Ron Chernow), you can drive north to Milwaukee , where it will hold fort thru November 17th at the Uihlein Hall Stage of the Marcus Performing Arts Center. And what a production!

This theater is far larger than the CBIC ( formerly the Shubert. LaSalle, Bank of America) with more comfortable “everything”. For those of you unsure of Milwaukee, let me tell you it was an easy drive from the north suburbs, parking was easy ( $15 with a sky walkway to the theater) and the theater had sandwiches, beverages, snacks as well as table areas to enjoy. Luxury personified!

We took our grandson, Adam to the performance and on the ride, he listened to the musical score that Miranda created to tell us the tale of America’s founding father, Alexander Hamilton (Joseph Morales was amazing), an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s ( deftly handled by Marcus Choi ) right-hand man during the revolutionary war. He became the nation’s first Treasury Secretary. The music is a blend of hip-hop, rap, R & B, and of course, Broadway! It is a way of teaching history that is far from boring and allows us to see more than we can ever read on a page. Adam’s reaction to this production, “AWESOME”. By the way, he is a teen-ager and not your typical theater-goer. He loved it!

For Jane and I, this was a special experience. Yes, we had seen the Chicago opening, but to be honest, we sat in an area that did not give us as good a view as we got in Milwaukee. FYI: we had a third seat for our family experience, but it was upstairs in the balcony. I sat there for Act 1 and Jane for the second act. Even sitting upstairs, both of us had a clear view to the stage and heard every word of this glorious script.

The cast for this touring company is spectacular! Aaron Burr is played to perfection by Nik Walker. Thomas Jefferson ( Hamilton’s nemesis) by Warren Egypt Franklin, and  James Madison by Desmond Sean Ellington. By the way, both of these men also played other roles. King George is played to perfection by Neil Haskell and the lovely Erin Clemons takes on the role of Eliza Hamilton.

“Hamilton” is a production that uses its ensemble from start to end to perfection. As I said earlier, for two hours and forty-five minutes ( which seems far shorter due to the chemistry of this cast) you will be entertained and even educated. Thanks to this powerful group of actors :Ta’Rea Campbell, Elijah Malcomb, Nyla Sostre ( what a voice), Cameron Burke, Aaron J. Albano, Gabriel Hyman, Julian Ramos, Phil Colgan, Demarius R. Copes, Nicole DeRoux, Lexi Garcia, Kristen Hoagland, Taeko McCarroll, and Nikisha Williams. Bravo!

This is a touring company so the set is designed to come down and go on to the next town. The orchestra is composed of a dozen quality musicians under the leadership of Roberto Sinha, and the musical numbers for the most part are part of the flow of the story as Miranda keeps us in the experience from start to end. Would Hamilton have been a great president? Probably so! Meanwhile what he did for this country was spectacular and what Miranda does with this show is to give us American History as told today!

You definitely will want to
“Be in the room when it happens”! For Jane and I , this was a new experience as our previous viewing did not compare to the beauty and splendor of this touring production.

Here is the schedule for Milwaukee:

Friday  8 p.m.

Saturday 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sunday 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday  7:30 p.m.

ASL  and audio described performances 10/26 . 11/2 and 11/9 at 2 p.m.

Tickets range from $80 and as a side note, even the main floor seats are less costly than Chicago, so the ride is worth it. The main floor by the way is tiered so that your sight lines are far better than most theaters. Milwaukee may be best known for its beer and cheese, but coming in third is the building of a quality theater that is built for the audience to have a better experience. Thank you Milwaukee.

To order tickets go to www.ticketmaster.com or call the box office at 414-273-7206

The theater is located at 929 N. Water Street in Downtown Milwaukee where there are lots of dining spots as well. To learn more about the Milwaukee series at Marcus, visit http://www.MarcuCenter.org

photos Joan Marcus