'Hamilton' aims to wow Chicago theater fans
It's relatively easy for the U.S. Mint to reproduce $10 bills bearing the likeness of America's first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. But it's a whole other matter when it comes to reproducing the smash hit Broadway musical “Hamilton,” which begins a Chicago-dedicated run starting this week at The PrivateBank Theatre.
“If we could have one wish with a genie in a bottle, I think we would just wish to pick up the Broadway production hook, line and sinker,” said “Hamilton” set designer David Korins. “We obviously can't ... We're building an all-new, fully reconceived production for Chicago so that it can fit perfectly.”
The PrivateBank proscenium, for example, is about six feet narrower than that of New York's Richard Rodgers Theatre, where “Hamilton” has been playing since summer 2015 to sold-out crowds.
Tickets have been hard to come by for “Hamilton's” Chicago run, so those who haven't snagged seats yet will be pleased to know that an added 26-week block of tickets goes on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27.
Michael Balderrama, a Rockford native who is the resident choreographer responsible for maintaining Andy Blankenbuehler's Tony Award-winning “Hamilton” choreography, points out that the Chicago casting is not just a carbon copy of what was done in New York.
“The wonderful gift of having nontraditional casting and such a multiethnic diverse cast - and the fact that the creative team is not trying not to recreate the exact look or feel of the show - is they are opening up the show completely to whomever best fits the personality of the role,” Balderrama said.
He cited Broadway veterans who have been cast in Chicago such as Tony Award-winner Karen Olivo as Hamilton's sister-in-law Angelica Schuyler, Alexander Gemignani as King George III and Miguel Cervantes in the title role.
“Hamilton” is the critically acclaimed brainchild of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songwriter/actor behind the Tony Award-winning 2008 musical “In the Heights” (currently being staged in Chicago by Porchlight Music Theatre). Inspired by Ron Chernow's thick-as-a-brick biography “Alexander Hamilton,” the musical retells the story of this founding father via heavy doses of hip-hop, rap, rock and pop by a diverse cast that is representative of American society today.
Since its off-Broadway debut at the Public Theater in February 2015, “Hamilton” has gone on to win a whopping 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize. Politicians on both sides of the aisle ranging from President Barack Obama to former Vice President Dick Cheney have publicly praised the show.
Both Korins and Balderrama feel immensely privileged to be part of the extended family that is the cultural juggernaut “Hamilton.”
Balderrama saw the spark of the show's origins firsthand as a cast member during the original Broadway run of “In the Heights.”
“Lin just grabbed me one day in dressing rooms and said, 'Hey, come look at this' and he proceeded to perform a rap about Alexander Hamilton that he was going to do at the White House,” said Balderrama.
“I definitely feel a large sense of duty as someone who has been entrusted with the quality of the show,” Balderrama said.
Korins is grateful to be a direct contributor to building up “Hamilton” and getting a front-row seat to its creation by the likes of Miranda and director Tommy Kail.
“My collaborators were and are incredibly trusting and gracious in giving me a whole lot of creative rope with this one,” Korins said.
In his research, Korins noted that tourists can still visit many of the physical locations featured in “Hamilton.” But rather than taking a photorealist approach, Korins opted to create a generalized “aspirational space.”
“It is a space where building and work is happening,” Korins said. “The literal theatrical metaphor that we're dealing with is that we're not telling the story of the people who built our country, we're telling the story of the people who built the scaffolding from which this country is built. Even as recently as right now, this great American experiment - this unfinished experiment - we are still employing the tent poles that these guys put up.”
“Hamilton”
Location: The PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000 or
Showtimes: Begins previews 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27; official press opening 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19. Schedule varies but largely 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday (also 1:30 p.m. Wednesday); 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: $62-$177; $497 premium seating; 44 day-of-show tickets available for $10 as part of a digital lottery by visiting
broadwayinchicago.com/HamiltonLottery. A new block of tickets goes on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, for performances through Sept. 17, 2017.