Naka-Hamilton na ba ang tanan? As it started showing in September, you may have seen friends posting their Hamilton experiences all over their timelines, or you might already have tickets yourself. Let this article help you relive the experience of being in the room where it happened!
What Makes Hamilton So Special?
Back on April 15, 2023, GMG Productions announced that the Hamilton International Tour would include Manila and of course, its multitude of fans in the country was brimming with excitement. They sure proved that they were not going to throw away their shot at watching the musical live! Tickets sold out fast both during the pre-selling period and the rest of the ticket-selling period.
Photo courtesy of Hamilton International Tour
But what makes Hamilton so special? This award-winning rap musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda premiered on Broadway in 2015 and is considered an innovative and transformative work.
While it tackles the historical narrative of an American founding Father, it makes use of modern music such as hip-hop, R&B, and jazz which are not typical of Broadway musicals.
It gives life, depth, and character to historical figures from the 18th century we often read about in textbooks in a way that’s easier for us to digest in the 21st century.
Photo courtesy of Hamilton International Tour
The Cast And Production Team
Before Hamilton, GMG Productions had already brought numerous plays to the country including The Lion King, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia!, and Wicked.
The cast in the Manila run of the Hamilton International Tour includes notable names such as our very own Rachel Ann Go as Eliza Hamilton, Jason Arrow as Alexander Hamilton, Deaundre Woods as Aaron Burr, David Park as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, and Brent Hill as King George.
Photo by Daniel Boud
The Experience
Seeing the recorded version on Disney+ may give you an HD view of the original cast and their expressions, but nothing beats the experience of seeing it in a theater.
Seeing it live on a stage allows you a better view of all the moving parts—the ensemble bringing the musical to life in the background, the parts of the stage moving to allow for set changes, the live orchestra carrying the ambiance of the musical, and the general experience of seeing the cast perform live and in person. Even if you were to watch the play several times you are bound to have a different experience each time.
I personally cried several times and got goosebumps during Rachel Ann Go’s rendition of Burn which I have only previously seen in potato quality off of a bootleg upload on YouTube.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
On Crowd Etiquette
Watching a show in a public space comes with some expected norms and dress codes. While you can freely sing along at home it is frowned upon in the theater as it can ruin the experience for the people around you.
However, the Filipino audience tends to take this etiquette too seriously and can be overly polite at times that they no longer cheer for fear of interrupting the performance.
“Filipinos are very polite. I have to explain that they (Filipinos) have to wait until after the end of the number to give applause which is amazing. They’re absorbing every word and every single scene,” Rachel Ann Go expressed during their Gala Premiere on September 21, 2023.
Photo courtesy of Hamilton International Tour
We lucked out that our crowd was ready to cheer at some parts and we didn’t have too many disturbances such as people texting or obnoxiously singing every song. The energy from the crowd definitely hypes up the cast’s performance.
Souvenirs
As it’s not every day that we get a Hamilton run, everyone is bound to want to have keepsakes from the experience.
Other than the bountiful merch selection they also had several photo backdrops set up for people to take pictures in. For a limited time, Unionbank was also giving away free holographic polaroids with the Hamilton frame and backdrop.
Some people even waited for the cast at the stage doors for some selfies and autographs. What a way to commemorate the story of the night!
Photo by Daniel Boud
Experience It Yourself
Hamilton is still running until November 26, 2023 this year with two show schedules every Tuesday to Sunday. While tickets are sold out you can still get a chance to win an opportunity to buy two orchestra tickets at ₱1,600 through the Ticketworld lottery.
If you’re a big musical fan other than our local plays like Ang Huling El Bimbo, Walang Aray, and Sandosenang Sapatos there are also international musicals coming to the country. Miss Saigon, the acclaimed musical where Lea Salonga rose to fame, has already been announced to be coming in March next year and preselling has already started.