10 years later, the cast of Hamilton is “not throwing away their shot”

When Arjaye Christina attended an open-call audition for the long-running Broadway musical Hamilton, she expected to learn the dances to some of the musical’s iconic numbers. She was unaware she would soon debut in one of the most popular musicals of all time.

Hamilton broke genre barriers by combining modern styles of music of rap and hip-hop with a historical narrative as it lays out the life of American founding father, Alexander Hamilton. The musical is praised for its diverse casting, with most of the cast comprised of non-white performers. Hamilton quickly became well-known, selling out nightly at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway. It received a record-breaking 16 nominations at the 70th Annual Tony Awards and won 11, including Best Musical. The show launched multiple world tours and a filmed version of the show performed by the original cast on Disney+. 

Now, the show and Christina are coming to Syracuse’s Landmark Theatre, where they will begin performances in early September.

The 21-year-old recent graduate of Central New York’s Ithaca College first heard of Hamilton when the original cast album was released in 2015.

“I was at this junior theater festival in Georgia and I heard someone play this rap album,” she said. “I was so confused. I was asking people, ‘What is this? What is playing right now? It’s so cool!’” 

A few months after attending an open-call audition for Hamilton, which she only attended for the experience, Christina received the life-changing call she would make her National Tour debut in the cast of Hamilton. As a swing, Christina is an off-stage performer who learns multiple roles and can fill in for other cast members if needed.

“It felt almost out of body just because you work so hard to get to this point and you finally get there and it’s even more euphoric than I could have ever expected,” Christina recalled. “Then the other waves of emotion came in gratitude and overwhelming tears of joy. When I was calling my friends after I got the call I was like, ‘Guys I got it! I got it!’”

Christina and the rest of the cast opened the current North American tour in August 2024, performing in cities like Buffalo and Montreal. Syracuse is their next stop.

“The new locals are what make the tour so exciting because they’re always so sweet and they always bring such a fresh energy to something that we do eight shows a week all the time,” Christina said when asked about her favorite part of being on tour. 

Christina made her Hamilton debut as The Bullet, a role originated by Academy Award Winner Ariana DeBose. The role serves as a harbinger of death throughout the show that eventually strikes and kills Hamilton.

“When we finished ‘Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story,’ I remembered all that I’ve done and all that my family has done,” Christina said when describing the first time she took a bow after performing the show for an audience. “I was overwhelmed with such a deep, deep well of gratitude where I cannot believe that this happened because of all we’ve worked to do to get here.”

Hamilton celebrated its 10-year anniversary in August. Christina believes the show has had such a successful run and continues to draw in fans from both inside and outside of the theater community because of the different aspects the show offers.

“I think there’s something in it for everyone, truly. Whether that is inspiring you to take that leap into a challenge you’re not too sure about, ‘not throwing away your shot,’” she said. 

Christina and the rest of the cast of Hamilton will perform in Syracuse’s newly renovated Landmark Theatre from Sept. 9 through 21.