There’s no doubt about it, Hamilton is one of the most revolutionary musicals of all time. For the uninitiated, the musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, America’s least well-known founding father—at least before the show cemented its place in pop culture when it opened on Broadway in 2015.
The music is like nothing else in musical theatre, based in rap and hip-hop and weaving in a mix of other genres to explore the history of the majority through the music of subcultures. Then there’s the matter of casting. In a move that was nothing short of groundbreaking, a cast composed almost entirely of actors of colour portrayed the white founding fathers and their associates.
Eight years after Hamilton first opened on Broadway, the musical is finally arriving in Singapore. Ahead of its highly-anticipated run, cast members Jason Arrow and Akina Edmonds—who play Alexander Hamilton and Angelica Schuyler respectively—open up on how the musical first came into their lives, how they’ve grown into their roles, and what it’s like to be a part of a cultural phenomenon.
“The show will resonate with you differently depending on where you are in life at any given point in time”
Hamilton is such a unique musical. Do you remember when it was that you first heard the score, and what your reaction was?
J: I first heard the score in 2016, in the second year of my acting course. I didn’t have the chance to sit down and listen to all three hours at once, so I was exposed to it over time, but I definitely knew it was something different when I listened to it. Of course, the music is hip-hop and R&B-based, but it goes beyond that. The way Alex Lacamoire orchestrated it, it also has an element of the 1800s in it—so there are parts of it that sound older. Take, for example, ‘Farmer Refuted’. The harpsichord and strings sound neither R&B nor hip-hop nor jazz. The track definitely sounds different within the show, and the fact that they managed to incorporate a very old sound with a very new sound and make them work is something that stood out to me.
A: I had a friend that was really excited about sharing the show with me, and I fell in love with it after watching a video online. The cool thing about Hamilton is that it’s multi-genre. Because of that, it speaks universally, and more people are able to resonate with the show. The complexity of hip-hop and rap also means you’re able to say a lot more—you’re able to sing and speak at the speed of thought, as opposed to one word taking a couple of bars, so it’s really playing to the intelligence of the human being.
It’s also a groundbreaking show in its diversity. As an actor of colour, what does Hamilton mean to you?
J: Especially with the international tour company, that diversity just becomes even more apparent. We have actors of colour from all over the world, and that’s not even counting heritage and where people’s family lineage come from. Since it’s a tour, we’re also travelling to different countries, and it means a lot to be able to connect with people from around the globe. There’s a lot of culture present.
A: The show is a movement in itself, so it’s really cool to be able to be a part of that. I think Hamilton is doing a great job at moving us towards a future where, hopefully, diverse casting is so mainstream that it is not something that even warrants a question.
I imagine it’s rare to have such a large cast that is this diverse. Does that change your experience as a performer?
J: I grew up in Australia, and our industry is still quite young in terms of representation—whether that’s gender diversity, body diversity or cultural diversity—so for the Aussies, at least, it does feel a bit different, which is a little disappointing to admit, but it’s amazing. Getting to be on stage with people from America, Black Americans, especially—this music comes from their culture, so to have that representation on the stage, and to be able to interact with that representation as well, just adds another layer to the show for me.
A: You know the feeling when you go on holiday, and you see someone else from your country, and there’s a sense of home even though you’re so far away from it? I think this is a cast that understands what it is to see someone from home and get really excited about the things that connect you straightaway. That’s the coolest part—being on stage with people that get that.
“The show is a movement in itself, so it’s really cool to be able to be a part of that”
You’ve both originated your respective roles twice now—first in the Australian tour, and now the international tour. These are some of the most iconic roles in musical theatre today, how have you made them your own?
J: I think it adapts to where we’re performing. Obviously, the blueprint of the show stays the same. But, for example, some things won’t land the same way they did in Abu Dhabi the way they did in Australia or Manila. I usually use the first one or two weeks in each city to get a feel of what the audience is like. Certain things are funnier in certain cultures than others, so we try to latch onto what might be relatable for that audience to make it a special show for them. I like to do that as an actor, not necessarily to cater to the audience, but rather to build an experience that is personal.
A: I guess you’d have to see the show to make your own judgement on that, but for me personally, the great thing was that the rehearsal process was very free in terms of allowing us to bring ourselves to the characters. There was never any pressure to perform it like Renée [Elise Goldsberry, who originated the role on Broadway]. At first, I was very resistant to that. I’d make choices, and question whether the creatives were going to be okay with them, and every single time, they were fine. It became quite a scary thing, actually, because then you feel like you’re exposing yourself. But the days where you don’t want to feel exposed are when you should do it the most, because otherwise, you’re robbing yourself, the character and the audience of an honest storytelling experience.
Do you think your perception or your connection with your character has evolved over the years?
J: It’s changed a lot. When I found out I got the role and was watching the Disney+ recording, I was like, ‘Man, I suck’. I didn’t like him very much. I actually originally auditioned for Aaron Burr, and I relate to him more as a person. But over the course of rehearsals, I learned to understand that Hamilton was the way he was because he didn’t really have family or personal connections, so it made sense that he was really terrible at his personal life, but really fantastic professionally. So I had to learn that sympathy, and now, as time goes on, it’s about how I can lean into that more and more.
A: It’s constantly evolving. The show means different things depending on what is happening in the world, so there’s always going to be a different interpretation or a different perspective on the same words that you’re singing and speaking. It definitely feels like I’m connecting to different things every night, whether that’s musically from the pit with the band, lyrical motifs or choreographic motifs. I think the role can’t evolve if you don’t evolve, so I really do hope that that is reflected.
Do you have a favourite song or scene that you’re most excited for audiences to see?
J: It always changes. In Sydney, it used to be ‘Wait for It’. Then it became ‘Yorktown’ for a bit. Now, it’s stuff from Act Two. I don’t want to give anything away, but there’s a scene where three gentlemen come in and confront me to say, ‘Hey, we’ve found out that you’ve been embezzling money’. That’s all I’m going to say. I love that scene now, but it’s a constantly shifting answer. Even for audience members who have watched the show more than once, they’ll come up to me and tell me about the new things they’ve noticed and enjoyed. It’s also the fact that the show will resonate with you differently depending on where you are in life at any given point in time, so it’s a forever evolving thing.
A: All of them, because they’re all so clever. This answer changes all the time for me, but at the moment, I would say ‘Satisfied’, because you get to go on this roller coaster of a journey. Also, ‘The World Was Wide Enough’. There’s a specific line in that song that I really love.
Hamilton runs from 19 April to 9 June 2024.
