Hamilton exhibition promises 'deeper dive' into Founding Father's life
A week before the public opening of “Hamilton: The Exhibition” — the brainchild of “Hamilton” composer/lyricist/writer Lin-Manuel Miranda and his team — exhibition creative director David Korins insisted everything was on schedule.
A 360-degree, immersive, football field-sized homage to Alexander Hamilton, the exhibition opened Saturday on Chicago's Northerly Island. It represents a “deeper dive” into the life and times of the Founding Father and first treasury secretary depicted in Miranda's blockbuster musical.
“I always get my production in on time and on budget,” said Korins in a phone interview.
“I'm joking.”
Korins — the set designer for Broadway's “Beetlejuice,” “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” and for Lady Gaga and Kanye West — knows firsthand the anxious days leading up to everything from Broadway premieres to concert extravaganzas. Now, he's launching the combination museum/art installation/historical diorama that is “Hamilton: The Exhibition.”
During a walk-through Thursday, selections from the musical (which play in the exhibition's various rooms) were accompanied by the sound of buzzing saws, pounding hammers and fingers tapping on a laptop keyboard as workers put the finishing touches on several exhibits.
But the Broadway veterans knew everything would be in place by the time the curtain rose Saturday on what promises to be a highly engaging, hugely theatrical and educational experience.
More than two years in the making, the exhibition is a collaboration between Miranda, Korins, director Thomas Kail, producer Jeffrey Seller and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire with assistance from Yale University historian Joanne Freeman and Harvard Law professor and historian Annette Gordon-Reed.
“It started because the show had become such a lightning rod for conversation and as a portal into early American history,” Korins said. Yet, theatrical conventions forced Miranda to compress and consolidate his take on history, based on Ron Chernow's best-selling biography.
“Lin wanted an opportunity to go deeper and wider,” Korins said.
Referencing the exhibition's “museum quality” academic rigor, Korins points out that Freeman reviewed “every word of the script,” much of which Miranda narrates. It unfolds in what Korins describes as a “choose-your-own-adventure” style. Visitors receive complimentary headsets containing Miranda's audio narration, which includes additional information on specific people and events that visitors can access if they choose.
“You can spend as much time as you want in each gallery. You're not going to miss anything,” Korins said.
Among the highlights open to the press on Thursday was the towering, rotating sculpture representing the hurricane that devastated Hamilton's St. Croix home; a giant, three-dimensional, audiovisual map depicting George Washington and his generals defeating the British at Yorktown; gilded sculptures of the revolutionaries socializing at a winter ball and a large room depicting the metaphorical inner workings of a democracy that includes a three-dimensional map of the 13 original states coming together as a puzzle.
The creative director is hard-pressed to name a favorite display.
“My favorite room changes all the time,” he said. “Each is like a child vying for attention. Originally I thought the St. Croix hurricane would be my favorite because it's a huge kinetic sculpture. But uniting the states has become incredible, Yorktown is incredible. Even the little rooms that are small hallways have become real showstoppers.”
Impressive as they are, Korins says. the visuals aren't the most striking component of “Hamilton: The Exhibition.”
“When we're having a conversation about (the Founding Fathers) we're having a conversation about ourselves, our own humanity and our own country,” he said describing the experiences as a “profound lesson in civic duty.”
“History is not inevitable. There was no guarantee we'd beat the British, no guarantee we'd unite the states. It is a staggering set of incredible circumstances to be the first country to write their government into existence.”
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“Hamilton: The Exhibition”
Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Last admission is two hours before closing. Exhibit runs through Sept. 8.
Where: Northerly Island, 1535 S. Linn White Drive, Chicago, hamiltonexhibition.com
Tickets: $25-$39.50