Recent issues

We are now more than a decade out from the 2015 Broadway premiere of Hamilton, and nearly seven years out from its first Kansas City appearance in the summer of 2019. Since then, Walt Disney Pictures has released a film of the musical starring author Lin-Manuel Miranda and most of the rest of the original cast, and in mid-2023 the 10-time Platinum Original Broadway Cast Recording became the highest-charting cast album in history. In 2025, the Library of Congress even selected the album for preservation in the National Recording Registry—deeming it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” So it’s safe to say that Hamilton has secured a rock-solid place in the Broadway canon.

At the recent opening of the Broadway Across America / PNC Broadway Kansas City touring production, in fact—at Kansas City’s Music Hall, as before—one could intermittently hear audience members rapping or singing along with the performers onstage, much as they might at Carousel or at a pop star arena concert. The musical has also cemented its position as one of the innovative events of world theater—as the moment when American history met rap, hip-hop, pop music, and traditional songwriting to appeal to one of the broadest audiences that a Broadway show has ever enjoyed. 

On February 19th this egalitarian sensation was on full display at the Music Hall, as the show seemed to have drawn energized fans from all walks. It was as delightful as ever, of course, with gifted performers in the lead roles, the solid direction of Thomas Kail, top musicians in the orchestra pit, and an ensemble of amazing singer-dancers who provided a dazzling hip-hop Greek chorus as well as a series of dance numbers ranging from the quasi-balletic to something resembling music video dance. Andy Blankenbuehler’s choreography is joined by Alex Lacamoire’s original musical direction. 

Jimmie “JJ” Jeter as Aaron Burr took command right away, singing with precision and focus and (perhaps by design) immediately capturing our sympathies as the guy who can get things done. Burr is the complicated behind-the-scenes Founding Father whom history has cast as a villain, partly because he shot and killed Hamilton in a duel. (Isn’t it more accurate to say that anyone who dies from this ancient ritual is actually a victim of the absurd, testosterone-driven code that it embodies?) 

Tyler Fauntleroy used the first part of Act I to ease into his role as Alexander Hamilton, but when he gained his footing he showed off considerable zest. The roles of Hamilton and Burr are partly rapped but they also require crack vocal skills. A.D. Weaver as a wise and assured George Washington spent part of Act I grounding his character, which however took delightful flight in Act II. Lauren Mariasoosay as Eliza Hamilton displayed full-scale lyrical gifts, and when joined by her “sisters”—Angelica (Marja Harmon) and Peggy (Lily Soto, who also plays the role of Maria Reynolds)—formed a death-defying trio of contrasting voices that juxtaposed searing raps with striking harmonies. 

The women were sometimes joined by the male ensemble that Miranda has set as a counterpoise: Hamilton and colleagues Marquis de Lafayette (Christian Magby), Hercules Mulligan (Eddie Ortega, who also sings Jefferson), and John Laurens (Nathan Haydel, who doubles as Philip Hamilton). Burr occasionally joins the male ensemble, but it is clear that he is both dramatically and vocally an “outsider” from this group. Matt Bittner enjoyed the wit and camp of the role of King George III, in such numbers as “You’ll Be Back” and “What Comes Next?” These songs are so magically brief and to-the-point that wonder whether some of the other numbers could be made similarly concise. Act II felt overlong to me the first time I saw Hamilton, and years later it still does. 

If the genre-bending that made Hamilton so bracing a decade ago feels less explosive today, it is perhaps because the rest of Broadway has rushed in to adopt some of the musical’s path-forging style elements. I did have some difficulty understanding the lyrics this time around—an issue I did not remember having in 2019. How much of this was the sound system and how much was the performers’ diction was not always clear, but it was notable that, in general, Burr was easier to understand than, say, Hamilton. The energy level, moreover, felt lower in this version overall. 

From a musical point of view, the classic songs (“Alexander Hamilton,” “My Shot,” “Wait For It,” and especially “The Room Where It Happens”) will continue to compel this musical into second quarter of the 21st century and beyond. And the redeeming quality of Hamilton from a socio-political point of view is that opens the popular mind to the sheer complexity of life and politics during the founding of the United States. Hamilton is not pure hero and Burr is not pure villain. This fundamental principle of human affairs is perhaps as pertinent today as it was 250 years ago. 

—Paul Horsley

Hamilton runs through March 1st at the Music Hall, Municipal Auditorium. For tickets and information go to americantheatreguild.com/kansas-city/shows/Hamilton.