At 5pm on March 30th, Granby High School students began to load onto a bus outside the band room. Their destination was Chrysler Hall to to attend the off-Broadway production of Hamilton touring in Norfolk. The group consisted of chorus, drumline, band, orchestra, and newspaper students. Chaperoning were Mr. Stone, Mr. Church, and Mr. Green, our band, chorus, and drumline teachers, respectively.

Before the show, they stopped at Plaza Azteca to have a quick meal. After dinner, the group proceeded to walk to Chrysler Hall where they were promptly seated between rows S-W on the left-hand side of the theater. Before the show officially started, the audience had an opening view of the stage with an anchor tied to the ceiling.

A common misconception about off-Broadway performances is that they may be a mediocre imitation of the original. This, however, is a fallacious belief. One of the most important and unique traits of this show was that they made the character and their voices their own.

The first song in a musical is often one of the most important because it sets the tone of the entire musical. “Alexander Hamilton” was the opening number and it was a pleasant surprise, to say the least. The first song set the precedent for the rest of the songs and established the tone that the other singers took.

While some took their unique tone, I found three main actors particularly distinguished: Jared Howelton as Lafayette, Neil Haskell as King George, and Marcus Choi as George Washington. Lafayette had a somewhat stereotypical and laughable accent that I found to be established on purpose, while King George had a tone that was very nasally and surprised the audience when he first emerged. Furthermore, I found George Washington to have one of the most operatic voices in the musical. Overall though, I think it added to the character and rounded out the character to make it independent.

The overall musical exceeded my expectations, and I found it to be more engaging than the Broadway version. The director took certain artistic liberties that made the musical beyond the mere expectation of an imitation. One of the main characteristics of the musical was the audience outreach it had. In certain numbers, such as “The Reynolds Pamphlet” and “What’d I Miss”, Hamilton often served as the comedic intervention and created a bit of humor to some dark moments in the musical.

The director, Thomas Kail, also included the character, King George, in some moments in the musical that were not included in the original musical, further adding to the humor and audience interaction. One of the most notable moment in the musical was in “The Reynolds Pamphlet” where Jefferson, Burr, and Madison turn to the director and ask “Have you read this?”. In response, the director proceeded to hold up his pamphlet. It was a moment which illustrated Kail’s intentional and meticulous directorship.

Even though the actors make up a large portion of the musical, some of the underrepresented individuals include the light technicians. Some of the biggest key moments included the subtly lowered lanterns during “Helpless”, the mixing of purple and green lights in “Hurricane”, and my personal favorite, the spotlight placed on Burr during the final scene of “Room Where It Happens”.

These talents are only further highlighted by the costume design, choreography, and set design. The costumes in this reproduction bared a striking resemblance to the original play, which gave the play even more professionalism. The choreography, directed by Andy Blanken Buehler, was excellently performed with the dancers working diligently and performing seamlessly. Finally, the play’s intricate set design highlighted gentle notes of artistry which could be perceived even from the back rows of the theatre.

Seeing Hamilton was a unique experience, and was, in some ways, performed even better and more coordinated than the original. I would strongly encourage others to see the musical because of its unique tones and adventurous cast.