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Hamilton Reviews
Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Just to be clear, this still is the same "Hamilton" tour; nothing has changed except for the passage of time and the people in the roles. There's been no diminishment or transition to nonunion performers or anything like that. "Hamilton" remains massively popular (there were lines down Monroe Street, which I found remarkably comforting, given the recent fortunes of the Loop), and the physical production looks identical. The audience is almost as psyched, too. On Thursday, the sounds coming from right behind me, both cheers and sobs, were of an equal volume to what could be heard on the stage. And, yes, the prices remain high. Although not as high."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...It's been 11 years since I first saw "Hamilton," Lin-Manuel Miranda's trailblazing Tony Award-winning musical. It feels like several lifetimes and another country ago. What's remained unimpeachable through the crashing tumult of recent history is the show's ability to amaze and astonish."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...But "Hamilton" goes beyond history lessons and early American politics. The musical is also a love story, one that involves sacrifice, betrayal, grief and reconciliation. That latter is reflected in exquisite detail in the achingly lovely "It's Quiet Uptown." Beautifully sung by Lencia Kebede's Angelica Schuyler with the ensemble, it brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Pierre Jean Gonzalez in the title role feels a bit more rough around the edges initially than either Miranda or Miguel Cervantes, who played the role in the original Chicago production. But that works for a story about a young man in a hurry in the first act. And as both the music and the story take on more mournful hues in the second act, so, too, does Gonzalez’s performance."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...From the book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton is a non-stop, exhilarating musical that features a blend of hip-hop, jazz, and R&B that thoroughly mixed in with historical culture, the backbone of American politics and educational thesis that only Broadway could pull off. Direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, this masterful production has come back to the James M. Nederlander Theatre, and its brazen look of one man's past that set the course of our history is still packaging the house."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The production is as sharp, crisp, emotionally charged, and visually dynamic as any version that preceded it, and yet it feels even more alive, fresh and new."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...The musical's latest visit to Chicago, which will run through December at the Nederlander Theatre, is as grand-scale and exuberant as ever, with its book, music and lyrics by Miranda (inspired by Ron Chernow's biography of Hamilton), its vast, high-energy cast directed by Thomas Kail, its terrific choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, the original massive scenic design of David Korins, costumes by Paul Tazewell, and a strong (if somewhat overly amplified) orchestra - with orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire - led by conductor/keyboardist Emmanuel Schvartzman."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Backed by an ensemble of gifted, athletic dancer/singers, Thomas Kail's new National Tour of HAMILTON is crisp, classy and artistically clever. Most of all," while educational, this musical is extremely entertaining."
Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended
"...The Nederlander Theatre erupted in thunderous applause as the lights went down on the triumphant return of "Hamilton" to Chicago. Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical, finishing a successful run in Anchorage, Alaska, delivered an electrifying performance that left the Chicago audience in awe of its scope and magnitude. Chicago lifted "Hamilton" on its broad shoulders and has no intention of letting it down."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...This was my third opportunity to experience Lin-Manual Miranda’s masterpiece live. And I LOVED every note of it. I am forever in awe of Miranda’s genius in dusting off a founding father’s biography and telling the story in a contemporary and innovative way. The show is sung and rapped by a culturally diverse cast. Miranda’s music is a mix of head-bopping hip-hop, heart piercing soulfulness and cerebral tickling wit. He perfectly balances playfulness, history and humanity in this loving tribute to the birth of a nation."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...The one thing upon which I think we can all agree: from its martial opening beat to its whispering close, Hamilton courses with bioelectricity. Imitators will try their best, but the sheer poetic confluence of Alexander Hamilton, the man of many, many strongly worded letters, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Broadway baby and hip-hop encyclopedia, is a fiendishly singular thing. It's uniquely alive, and how lucky we are to be alive right now to see these people in this room making it happen."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...The celebrated hip-hop historical musical that took the world by storm, Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is back in Chicago after a two-year absence, and it does not disappoint. The intelligent and creative script and score are brought to life by this powerhouse creative team-director Thomas Kail, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, and music supervisor/orchestrator Alex Lacamoire-along with a new cast filled with absolute rockstars."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...this company serves up a Hamilton that is every bit as compelling as any resident company Chicago has seen and stands up to the multiple Tony-winning original cast. Pierre Jean Gonzalez’ take on Alexander Hamilton is probably the most controlled version I’ve seen, allowing the audience to focus on the ways in which striving for success, achievement, and loss affect the “ten-dollar Founding Father without a father.” Gonzalez’ mellifluous singing voice is at times a bit less demonstrative than I’m used to in the role, but it makes songs like “It’s Quiet Uptown”—one of my personal favorites—even sadder and more emotional than before."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...“HAMILTON” has returned to Chicago, and everyone is freaking out. Thursday’s opening night performance at The James M. Nederlander Theatre attracted a buzzing full house of people eager to experience the incredibly catchy delight that is the “HAMILTON” phenomenon. So much so that the audience cheered the moment the lights went down. Then Aaron Burr started his introduction of Alexander Hamilton, and if the backs of everyone’s bopping heads could talk, they’d have said to me: “I know every single word to this song, and I love it.”"
Curtain Call Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...In Chicago, a city with a rich theatre tradition, this Angelica tour doesn’t just live up to the Hamilton legacy—it earns its own place in it. Yes, it’s worth the hype, the ticket price and your time. This is a must-see event that will leave you in your emotions long after you step back into reality. In short, if you loved the original Broadway cast (if only through the cast recording), the Angelica tour is a different but equally powerful take on Miranda’s brilliant blueprint of history. Indeed, History has its eyes on us!"
Chicago Culture Authority - Highly Recommended
"...Now that the intense cultural hype has faded around Lin-Manuel Miranda's epic 2015 musical about the founding of the nation seen through the lens of Alexander Hamilton, the verdict is in: Hamilton holds up. In fact, it's a show for the ages, packed with killer songs and a story that will prove revelatory in new ways to future audiences as the current-events context changes."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...I heartily recommend you do not miss this second opportunity to see Hamilton, and please, if you have seen it once, do not hesitate to see it again. I also suggest you do a little advanced homework before purchasing your tickets. Everyone I have met and talked to about Hamilton has enjoyed the experience more if they were previously familiar with the lyrics. The music is fast-paced and draws heavily from hip hop (rap), as well as rhythm & blues, soul, pop, and more traditional Broadway show tunes. You will miss out if you do not have the ear for it. The "HAMILTON Original Broadway Cast Recording" is available everywhere nationwide."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This is a fine production of a real American masterpiece, and a tonic in a troubled time. The play more than holds up. It has become a classic, the greatest U.S. musical of the twenty-first century. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s time to open the piggy bank and catch it while you can. You can also try the digital lottery, which offers $10 tickets for every show. It’s worth a shot."