Review: Hamilton (UK & Ireland Tour)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️

When it comes to musicals, they don’t come much bigger than Hamilton. Having thrilled fans in the West End since it first opened in 2017, it has consistently played to a packed house since (one little interval during the pandemic aside) and now there is a chance for audiences up and down the country to be in the room where it happens as it embarks on its first tour of the UK and Ireland, currently stopping in Birmingham where it will play until the end of August. As a show that is one of my favourite musicals, possibly my all-time favourite, would I be equally satisfied by this tour? Read on for a review I never thought I’d write…

Hamilton began life at the Public Theatre in New York in 2015, transferring to Broadway the same year and arriving in the West End in 2017. Since then, it has enjoyed success all over the world with International tours, and the latest stop on its debut UK and Ireland tour feels like a full circle moment. Hamilton’s temporary home of Birmingham Hippodrome is rather apt as the venue has a commitment to developing new musicals in-house, giving them a very real chance of discovering and producing the next Hamilton.

Hamilton tells the story of one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, Alexander Hamilton. Charting the American Revolution which ended the British Colonial rule, it takes a look at both the history of America and of Hamilton’s life itself as it delves into his career, politics, and family. While the intricacies of American history may not be as commonplace for British audiences, there is something refreshingly accessible in the way this story is told. Where I have heard people dismiss this show when they discover the concept of it in the past, I always encourage them to give it a try anyway as it might surprise them. It certainly did me.

I remember hearing the buzz when Hamilton first opened on Broadway, and wasted no time in buying tickets for an early performance when its West End run was announced. Going into the theatre thinking it would be unable to live up to the hype, I left uttering the words “That is the best show I have ever seen”. Since then, I have made multiple repeat visits to the Victoria Palace Theatre, seeing each new cast and loving it just as much every single time. When its UK tour was announced, I knew I had to make a trip to see it, and one of my favourite regional theatres, Birmingham Hippodrome, felt like the perfect visit. On a particularly strong week for theatre with more 5-star reviews than I’ve ever given out before, I expected this to be an obvious 5 stars. After all, how could I not give one of my favourite musicals (there’s a shortlist of 4 but don’t ask me to decide what order they are in) anything other than 5 stars? Sadly, while this is still a 5-star show, the performance I saw was 3 stars.

The essence of Hamilton remains in the touring production. It is a replica production, with an identical set (with David Korin's iconic design) effortlessly transferring to regional theatres.  Lin Manuel Miranda’s book, music, and lyrics remain one of the most refreshing and glorious scores in recent years with its hip-hop focus and variety of styles creating no shortage of numbers that have become instant classics. From the opening ‘Alexander Hamilton’, ‘My Shot’, ‘Satisfied’, ‘You’ll Be Back’ and the stunningly beautiful ‘It's Quiet Uptown’, the music is one of the strongest elements of Hamilton and one of the reasons why it has been so well received over the last 9 years.

Andy Blankenbuehler’s precise and complex choreography and Thomas Kail’s direction are the chief reasons my jaw always remains open every time I watch Hamilton. With so much going on at a time, there is always something new to discover, even if you have seen the show before (The Bullet, for example). This translates well wherever the show is staged, ensuring the show is always visually thrilling. However, something has gone wrong with this particular production's execution of these flawless elements.

Whether this was just an issue with the performance I met or something that only affected me, something didn’t quite work about this particular production (again, on this performance, at least). The energy wasn’t there and at times it felt like I was witnessing a cast going through the motions rather than living and breathing these roles as I have seen time and time again. I tried to put my finger on why this was the case and concluded it must have something to do with the team who came on board for this touring production, notably the direction. There seemed to be a real disconnect between Thomas Kail’s original direction and how this production was directed, with several cast members seemingly being given baffling notes on how to portray their characters, leading to four of the main characters in the show all falling flat in a way I have never seen before.

One of the elements I was most looking forward to about this tour was the cast. Featuring some performers who have blown me away in previous roles in other shows, I was ready to be wowed all over again. This is where the confusion starts – knowing how talented these performers are, to see them fail to deliver in roles they should very clearly be able to is one of the most perplexing experiences I have ever had in a theatre. To not be cruel, I’m not going to name who I am referring to in these roles but several showed a real lack of connection or perhaps understanding of the characters, while one lead performance played the role in such an unusual way that didn’t work for me at all. While it is always great to add your own flair to a role and every cast I have seen has managed to put their own spin on it slightly, some of these characterisations veer so much from the source material and feel unnatural and completely at odds with who the characters should be. In some cases, these were wooden with a real lack of feeling. Elsewhere, there was a lack of chemistry and performances that needed emotion but failed to bring it.

While I had issues with some of the performances, this thankfully didn’t affect everyone and there were still some standouts among the cast. Billy Never was scene-stealingly good in the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, perfectly tapping into both contrasting characters with a dominating stage presence. DeAngelo Jones delights as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton with a subtlety in his sweet attributes of the latter while KM Drew Boateng is simply fantastic as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison. The quality of these three comparatively supporting roles demonstrates the ability to recreate this show fittingly is there and shows up the shortcomings elsewhere. Another highlight among the cast is Daniel Boys for his brilliantly quirky portrayal of King George, captivating for every moment of his limited stage time.

There is an argument of how much I would have enjoyed this production had I never seen Hamilton before. There is a real chance if I had seen this through new eyes, I would be every bit as blown away as I was on my first visit 6 years ago. While I attempted to get into that mindset and not allow my preconceptions to affect my rating of this show, I couldn’t overlook the issues that plagued this production and stopped it from being as striking as it should have been.

There is no reason why the touring production shouldn’t have been every bit as thrilling as the West End one. With a set that has been identically replicated, all of the elements were there, but the energy wasn’t. Hamilton is still one of the greatest musicals you will ever see, and even with these faults I still loved the essence of the show, but something was missing, which is a surprise given how fantastic other touring shows I have seen at Birmingham Hippodrome have been. Frustratingly and very sadly, this was one room where it just didn’t happen in a performance that didn’t work work,

Hamilton plays at Birmingham Hippodrome until 31st August. The tour continues into 2025 with dates and tickets at https://hamiltonmusical.com/uk-tour/

Photos by Danny Kaan