Hamilton
Fisher Theatre
Thursday, April 30
I can’t do this anymore.
I really can’t do this anymore.
Please don’t make me do this anymore… even though I willingly did it to myself.
This is my third time seeing “Hamilton.” If you’re wondering why someone needs to see “Hamilton” three times, that’s fair. No person should see it three times, unless you really like it and hey, I’m not judging. I’m just saying… I can’t watch this show anymore.
Once a joyous feat of theater-making that premiered back in 2015 during the Obama administration, it’s now a fossilized memory of a moment in time that’s long passed us. Like watching “Rent” today, it just doesn’t match the moment that it once rose to in the 1990s as the fights for gay rights and AIDS awareness felt more crucial and now.
The primary reason I dragged my ass there was to share it with someone who has never seen it before; to have that feeling of enjoying it again because I’m watching it through their eyes, their excitement of seeing it for the first time.
It’s one of my favorite feelings in the world, to share the things I love with others. And I'm an absolute slut for Broadway musicals. But I didn’t even get that feeling last night at the Fisher Theatre.
It’s not about the performances themselves. Let me be clear: I love the music of this show (although this touring version felt particularly fast-paced in its pacing, specifically with the rap songs). I was excited to hear “Hurricane” once again, my favorite song in the musical, wonderfully sung by Tyler Fauntleroy, who is playing Alexander Hamilton in this national touring production.
Lauren Mariasoosay is undoubtedly a star as Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, and A.D. Weaver stuns with a booming, full-bodied voice behind George Washington.
This show, however, can’t help but make me think of everything that’s changed since it became an absolute American sensation. Politically, economically, socially; in every sense, in every way.
“Hamilton” ends up feeling like an over-simplified tale of history at a time when nothing feels simple anymore. And with a constant firehose of news and content being blasted at my face, it’s a bit exhausting to have a loose take on American history rapid-fire rapped at me on a Thursday night.
The demand for “Hamilton” is still high (balcony tickets were selling for last night’s show around $200 and higher), and you can’t knock these performances. It’s top-notch theater.
You might end up like me, however, with the nagging feeling that the world “Hamilton” first premiered in over a decade ago is long gone, and that makes enjoying this particular piece of theater in today’s world a difficult pill to swallow.
