History has its eyes on Syracuse as Hamilton makes its stop at the Landmark Theater

The idea of “not throwing away your shot” delighted Syracuse audience members last night when the record-breaking, 16-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical, Hamilton, returned to Syracuse at the newly renovated Landmark Theatre to celebrate its tenth year on Broadway.

Hamilton tells the life and legacy of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the Revolutionary War and the creation of the early United States. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s acclaimed musical broke genre barriers by combining modern music styles of rap and hip-hop with a historical and political narrative. For the past decade, Hamilton has been wowing audiences with its catchy tunes and compelling true story.

Multiple understudies were on for the show on September 10, including principal roles such as Angelica, Eliza and King George III. Standout performances from the cast include Aaron Burr (whose original actor, Leslie Odom Jr. recently returned to Broadway to reprise his role) understudy, Chibueze Ihumoa who was able to bring a sense of nuance to the main antagonist of Hamilton’s story combined with impressive vocals in the ballad “Wait For It” and the jazzy show tune “The Room Where It Happens” and fellow understudy Jorge Guerra who was able to bring a sense of youth and passion to the roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton.

Ihumoa and leading man Tyler Fauntleroy, as the titular Alexander Hamilton, onstage together are able to create a picture of a true friendship between Burr and Hamilton, something easily overlooked in the original Broadway cast album. Throughout the first act, Burr and Hamilton share small moments not included in the score that show their fondness for one another, such as after the Battle of Yorktown is won in “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” where the two men share a quick embrace, happy to see that they both lived to fight another day. 

Even when Burr begins to grow annoyed by Hamilton’s rapid success in the second act and joins the characters of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in confronting Hamilton after suspecting him of embezzling government funds, Ihumoa chooses to play Burr as more of a witness in the scene, allowing Jefferson and Madison to be the ones to mainly challenge Hamilton. It appears that Ihumoa takes Burr’s self-description of being “slow to anger” to heart, making it all the more gut-wrenching to watch when the two men turn from friends to political enemies. 

Photo by Blakesley Rhett

Hamilton celebrates a decade of performances, drawing in new and longtime fans of the musical to the Landmark Theater in downtown Syracuse.

While there are multiple small, personalized physical moments the cast worked into the show, such as Lauren’s playfully taunting thrusts at Hamilton after his and Eliza’s wedding, there seems to be a lack of vocal personalizations incorporated into the show. Hamilton is known for having a detailed and challenging score due to the complex rhythms and quick tempos, but the production team often encourages actors to add in personal touches such as new riffs or vocal inflections. This performance seemed to opt out of many of these individual choices, with the cast seemingly choosing to focus on emulating the vocals of the original Broadway cast.

The entire ensemble shines and works together to bring the well-known story to life through the impressive storytelling-infused choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler. Hamilton is a physically demanding show that is constantly filled with movement from many different actors. Throughout the show, scenic pictures are created through impressive lifts of set pieces and other actors and well-timed dramatic movements. These pictures are filled with symbolism that can be easily missed upon first viewing, like when the female ensemble member playing The Bullet narrowly misses Hamilton while he is writing during “Stay Alive” and returns in the second act to deal him a fatal blow in “The World Was Wide Enough.”

From the impressive performances combined with the award-winning score, costume design, lighting design and choreography, this show has been deemed one of the most popular musicals of all time and continues to draw in audiences over the past decade.

For longtime fans of the show and newcomers alike, Hamilton makes American history feel like a full-on mic drop.

Hamilton performs at the Landmark Theater through Sept. 21 with tickets available here.