From great songs to founding mothers, 5 reasons OKC audiences should see 'Hamilton'

Even if you've seen it before — especially if you've only seen the filmed version on Disney+ — Oklahoma music, theater and history fans should not throw away their shot to see "Hamilton," the revolutionary song-and-dance biography of "ten-dollar founding father" Alexander Hamilton, live at Civic Center Music Hall.

Closing OKC Broadway's 2022-2023 season with a resounding "click, boom," Lin-Manuel Miranda's genre-redefining hit proves it's still as brilliant, fresh and thrilling as it was when "Hamilton" first played Oklahoma City for a sold-out three-week run in summer 2019.

The national tour's OKC encore closes June 4 at the Civic Center, and here are five reasons why you should be in the room where it happens before that happens:

1. 'Hamilton' lives up to the hype

Since it debuted on Broadway to rave reviews in 2015, "Hamilton" has been a critical and commercial smash, earning Tony, Grammy and Olivier awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors. The show has broken several records, launched multiple cast members to stardom and become a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon.

Although the "Hamilton" mania is no longer at its zenith, Miranda's rapped-through and sung-through musical adaptation of Ron Chernow's 2004 biographical book "Alexander Hamilton" still electrified the sold-out OKC audience at the May 25 evening performance. The energy generated from both the stage and the crowd was incredible to experience and unique to a live collective experience.

As unlikely as it seems, "Hamilton" not only exceeded the stratospheric hype the first time I saw it in 2019, but the show also managed to live up to the still-considerable buzz the second time I saw it live.

Like its protagonist, "Hamilton" is a "Non-Stop" song-and-dance spectacle, so a second viewing provided a welcome opportunity to savor details I missed the first time.

In between the national tour's OKC stops, I watched the "live capture" filmed version of "Hamilton" that debuted on Disney+ in 2020, and while it certainly has its merits, it can't match the spark and immediacy of a live performance.

More: 'Hamilton' returns, giving more OKC fans a shot to see Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash show

2. The trailblazing 'Hamilton' soundtrack is even hotter live and in context

It may be impossible to overstate the cultural impact of Miranda’s trailblazing, Tony-winning "Hamilton" score, which melds hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and show-tune stylings. The platinum-certified Grammy-winning original Broadway cast recording has become the best-selling cast album of all time, and it is packed with instant-classic bangers like the opener "Alexander Hamilton," "My Shot" and "The Schuyler Sisters."

Whether it's the hilarity of King George's crowd-pleaser "You'll Be Back" or the sheer audacity of reimagining early American cabinet meetings as rap battles, the now-familiar songs are so much better performed live and in the context of the story. That's particularly true of ballads like "History Has Its Eyes on You," "Dear Theodosia" and "Blow Us All Away," which resonate on a much deeper emotional level.

3. Design, costumes have helped make 'Hamilton' iconic

But the music isn't the only aspect of 'Hamilton' that's revolutionary: The show's look has become almost as iconic as its sound, thanks to David Korins’ inventive scenic design, Paul Tazewell’s canny costumes and Howell Binkley's effective lighting design.

Masterfully helmed by director Thomas Kail, "Hamilton" also wouldn't be the same without Andy Blankenbuehler's ever-moving and consistently innovative choreography. Much like the refrains of Miranda's songs, many of Blankenbuehler's repeated movement motifs bring so much drama and poetry to the storytelling.

4. 'Hamilton' humanizes the founding fathers, brings well-deserved attention to a few founding mothers

Although its historical accuracy has been debated, Miranda's cleverly written book brings to complex, compelling life several American founding fathers, taking them out of the formal powdered-wig portraits and fleshing them out beyond just their history-book achievements. "Hamilton's" eponymous hero is a brilliant, hard-working, inspiring, ambitious, impetuous and maddening “bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman" who overcomes great odds to become a great statesman but is often tripped by his own arrogance and poor judgment. And that makes his story enthralling.

Plus, "Hamilton" puts a few of the women who helped birth our nation — most notably, Hamilton's wife, Eliza — rightfully at center stage rather than relegating them to the shadows of history.

5. The 'Hamilton' national tour again assembles a talented and diverse cast

Billed as "the story of America then, told by America now," "Hamilton" is designed to feature a cast of primarily people of color bringing to vibrant, complicated life our vibrant, complicated country's founding fathers and mothers. In the process, it has helped debunk the show biz myth that there simply aren't enough talented performers of color to consistently fill those roles on stage and screen.

The national touring company playing OKC in 2023 features a different principal cast than the group who came here in 2019, with the notable exception of Marcus Choi, who again brings impressive gravitas and sensitivity to his portrayal of our country's first president. But the new arrivals are just as capable at singing, dancing and acting their way through this beloved show, which runs the emotional gamut from national triumph to deeply personal tragedy.

Kameron Richardson, who played the lead role at the May 25 evening performance, supplied a Hamilton worth rooting for, as well as one worth grieving with on the heartbreaking ode "It's Quiet Uptown." Vanessa Magula as Eliza scorched the stage with her fiery rendition of "Burn," a marked contrast to her lovelorn sweetness on "Helpless."

Deon'te Goodman supplied an excellent foil as Hamilton's fierce rival — and the "damn fool who shot him" — Aaron Burr, bringing as much raw feeling as vocal prowess to "The Room Where It Happens" and "The World Was Wide Enough."

Neil Haskell threatened to steal the whole show as the royal you'll love to hate, with a particularly delicious rendition of "You'll Be Back" that had the OKC audience laughing and cheering so hard you might wonder just who won the war after all.

'HAMILTON'

• When: Through June 4. 

• Where: Civic Center, 201 N Walker. 

• Tickets: https://www.okcbroadway.com/hamilton.  

WHAT'S NEXT FOR OKC BROADWAY

OKC Broadway opens its 2023-2024 season in August. Tickets are available at www.okcbroadway.com or by calling 877-737-2929. Here is the lineup of national touring shows coming to Civic Center Music Hall:

• "Ain't Too Proud": Aug. 15-20 

• "Six": Sept. 26-Oct. 1. 

• Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird": Oct. 10-15. 

• "Tina — The Tina Turner Musical": Dec. 26-31. 

• "Les Miserables" (Added season special): Jan. 16-21, 2024. 

• "Wicked": Feb. 20-March 10, 2024. 

• "Chicago the Musical" (Added season special): April 9-14, 2024. 

• "Mamma Mia!": May 21-26, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 5 ways 'Hamilton' at the Civic Center in OKC lives up to the hype