Friday, October 28, 2022

Hamilton in Las Vegas (Again)

I was not really planning on seeing Hamilton at the Smith Center in Las Vegas (I have seen it many times including at the Smith Center) but I decided that I would be really sad if I didn't go and ended up getting a ticket.  I went on my first road trip with my new car yesterday to see it and I loved it as much as the first time I saw it!  Alexander Hamilton was played by the understudy Manuel Stark Santos (he was Aaron Burr when I saw it in SLC) and I really enjoyed his interpretation of the role.  He has a beautiful voice so his renditions of "Dear Theodosia" and "Hurricane" were lovely and I had tears in my eyes when he kissed Eliza's hand during "It's Quiet Uptown."  He brought quite a bit of originality to his performance in "Non-Stop" and many of his facial expressions and gestures where hilarious ("I was chosen for the Constitutional Convention!").  I saw Donald Webber, Jr. as Aaron Burr in San Francisco and SLC and last night his rendition of "Wait For It" was incredibly powerful but the phrasing was a little bit different.  I have often wondered whether the actors change their performances from city to city and it seems that he does!  The same could be said for Paris Nix (who I saw as Marquis de Lafayette/ Thomas Jefferson in Chicago and SLC) because he changed the running man to wiping his feet (which Santos imitated) in "Cabinet Battle #1."  His interactions with Brandon Louis Armstrong (as Hercules Mulligan/ James Madison) were absolutely hilarious and I laughed out loud at his antics during "What'd I Miss," "The Reynolds Pamphlet," and "The Election of 1800" because he seemed even more over the top than usual!  Darnell Abraham was an incredibly commanding George Washington when I saw him in SLC and he gave me goosebumps, and earned thunderous applause from the crowd, once again when he stormed the stage during "Right Hand Man" (which is one of my favorite moments in the show).  Eliza was played by the understudy Milika Cheree (she also played the role as the understudy in SLC) and her performance of "Burn" brought a tear to my eye once again (she had a huge flame when she set the letter on fire!).  Finally, last night I noticed for the first time that when Eliza reads the letter about John Laurens' death, Lafayette and Hercules Mulligan are up on the balcony reading letters as well.  I've always been focused on Hamilton's reaction in that scene so I have never seen them before and it was very moving!  I loved every minute of this performance (I honestly don't think I will ever get tired of it) and I am so glad that I decided to get a ticket!

Note:  Since this is such a popular show, patrons were only able to select a section on the website and then seats were randomly assigned.  I selected the main floor and was thrilled to discover that my seat was a few rows from the stage in the exact center of the theater!

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