I’m a traditionalist when it comes to the theatre experience: I like to be able to choose the date I see a show; I like the fun of choosing my own seats by looking at all the ticket websites and comparing them with the theatremonkey seating plans (if you don’t use this website, you really should - it’s seating opinions help me buy all my theatre tickets) in order to get the best deal on the best seats; I like arriving at the theatre early and going in and having a drink in the bar whilst the rest of my party arrives. I do not like having to queue online for an interminable amount of time for ticket sales to open with only the hope of getting tickets; I do not like having limited choices as to dates; I do not like having no choice over which seats I end up getting; I do not like having my excruciatingly acquired tickets to then be cancelled because, when the tedious online ticket sales opened, people had given inadequate consideration to the Victorian sewage system under the theatre (seriously!?!?!); I do not like having to go through another painful process of having limited choice as to date, and no choice as to seats, to replace the tickets that were cancelled; I do not like officious emails arriving before my trip to the theatre telling me what I can and cannot do; I do not like my previous booking confirmation no longer being on the system, and so causing mild panic as to whether we will be able to get into the theatre at all; I do not like having to wait outside the theatre on the pavement in the cold and rain, waiting for my entire party to arrive, because the theatre insists on parties entering together; I do not like the outside of the theatre being patrolled by sniffer dogs (however cute they may be); and I do not like having my bag searched properly without adequate facilities being provided - if you are going to look through my bag properly, and props for you for doing so, as so many bag searches are no more than cursory, you need to provide me with a table so that we can do it properly! I do not like having to present my ID at the door, on the street, like it were a club, in order to get my tickets; and I do not like the theatre still being unfinished given that my tickets were cancelled in order that they could finish the theatre! The whole process is arrogant, like the show is saying that it is better than every other show currently on and so needs to protect itself. Who on earth do you think you are?!?! And, for a show that is all about breaking barriers and bringing in a new theatre audience, the process and cost is so prohibitive as to be hypocritical.
Needless to say, when I arrived at the theatre, I was more than a little furious. However, despite the rage I was feeling, I was trying to keep an open mind about the show itself, and I was pleasantly surprised. I hadn’t listened to the original cast recording before going, as I wanted to see something completely unknown to me, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is not rap throughout but interspersed with a fair few songs. Other than King George’s refrain, few of them are memorable on first hearing though, but I suspect that there are some ear worms in there if you repeatedly listen to the recording.
Jamael Westman’s acting as Alexander Hamilton is rather wooden, and his voice is quite weak, but then this is his first major role and so maybe he is still finding his feet; although after a month you might have expected him to have found them by now. There are undoubtedly very talented individuals on stage, but it is Jason Pennycooke as Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, and Michael Jibson as King George, who completely steal the show and outshine everyone else.
This show is rather two dimensional though, in that it feels like a superficial presentation of facts and events without the characters having much, if any, emotion or depth. Rachel Ann Go as the betrayed and ever-loving Eliza Hamilton appears to be the only one to give any semblance of emotion or feeling to her performance. Maybe that is the trade off that comes from the innovative nature of the show and the rap/music not actually allowing much time for expression or emotion. And I think that it may be a trade off that’s worth it.
However, if there is going to be a simple portrayal of facts, I feel like some of the events need better a explanation as to their significance. I read that you don’t need to know anything about American history to understand the show, but I don’t think that’s true - you may not need that understanding to enjoy the show, but I feel it is needed to understand it; otherwise the characters and events have no significance and Hamilton is just an arrogant, ill-tempered, dislikable, peevish, tantrum-throwing man who history has held out as a hero. But again, maybe that’s the point…?
There’s an element of Jesus Christ Superstar about this show, with Burr being the Judas narrator and, like Jesus Christ Superstar, I think you come out feeling sympathetic towards Burr. Giles Terera gives a good performance as Aaron Burr, and I think that he is better and more convincing than Westman, but he lacks just a little bit of gravitas for the role.
All in all, a really good production, and one that I am looking forward to seeing again. But it is over-hyped, and no show is worth the ticketing procedure and costs that it has. The producers really should be ashamed of themselves - they have a good, innovative show, one that even a traditionalist like me enjoys; and yet they almost ruin it with arrogance. 3.5/4 stars for the show; minus 5 for the experience.