"Hamilton's" Angelica Tour brings its magic to Louisville

The most popular show on Broadway has finally made its way to Louisville! Hamilton: An American Musical's "Angelica Tour" began its Louisville residency on June 4 and will run through June 23. As a longtime season ticket holder with Broadway in Louisville, I was guaranteed a seat for one of their performances, which was perfect for me considering there were over 140,000 users in the ticket queue on the day sales opened!

It's no wonder so many were clamoring to get a ticket! The Hamilton cast album sold over 54,000 copies, making it the best selling Broadway cast album in 50 years. The show also earned a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations, and 11 wins, making it the second most Tony-winning Musical of all time.

As a fan of the cast album, I thought I would know what to expect going into the show. I had the record memorized forwards and backwards, knew every character and every member of the cast, and had even read Hamilton: The Revolution. However, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute magic that is Lin Manuel-Miranda's Hamilton.

From the moment the infamous first notes of the overture play and Aaron Burr saunters onstage, you can tell the show is something special. The simplistic set, the gorgeous, impeccably crafted costumes, and the exceptionally talented actors come together to create a tour de force unlike any other Broadway show.

Hamilton has very little dialogue that is not included on the cast album, but that isn't to say the show is merely what resides on its soundtrack. The choreography and the acting talent are simply superb. Though I had heard of Eliza Hamilton's legendary scream at the end of "Stay Alive (Reprise)," nothing had quite prepared me for the sheer heartbreak it could cause. Watching Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy spin around in their shimmering dresses to "The Schuyler Sisters" in complete synchronicity was exceptionally beautiful. Every inch of Hamilton was meticulously crafted to perfection by Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler, Alex Lacamoire, Paul Tazewell, and David Korins. The effort and creativity that these men put into crafting Hamilton shows clearly in its direction, choreography, set design, lighting, and costumes.

On top of the show's aesthetic beauty, its iconic choice to exclusively cast persons of color to play notable, white figures in American history is the truly "revolutionary" aspect of Hamilton. Daveed Diggs, the actor who played Thomas Jefferson in the original production of Hamilton on Broadway, once said that "seeing a black man play Jefferson or Madison or Washington when he was a kid in Oakland might have changed his life." I have no doubt that bringing Hamilton on the road, to dozens of cities across America will change the perspectives of children and adults of every race and ethnicity. No longer are actors of color pigeonholed into one category: they can be Secretary of the Treasury, the author of The Declaration of Independence, and, yes, even America's first president.

Charnette Batey, the actress who portrays Eliza Hamilton in "Hamilton" took time to greet fans after the show.

The love that fans have for the show was palpable in the packed Kentucky Center for the Arts. Even in the pouring rain, fans stood outside the stage door waiting for the members of the Angelica Tour to make an appearance. The rain made for a difficult time signing programs and taking pictures, but it was certainly worth it for the fans. "I have to keep my wife dry," Edred Utomi, the actor playing Alexander Hamilton, quipped as he held an umbrella over his stage wife, actress Charnette Batey who plays Eliza. The couple signed programs, ten-dollar-bills, and everything else that was thrust at them while pausing to take pictures with every fan who asked.

If you missed out on tickets, fear not! The performances are not entirely sold out. There are a select few seats available for purchase on the Center for the Arts' website. To avoid paying the fees associated with purchasing your ticket online, you can even head down to the Center for the Arts' drive-thru box office and choose your seats in person. If the remaining tickets are out of your price range, Hamilton is also offering a lottery where the winner will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for $10 a piece. To enter, fans can head to the Lucky Seat website or download the Hamilton app. You can enter each lottery once per performance, but hurry! Hamilton is only in Louisville for a couple more weeks, and you definitely don't want to miss this revolutionary show!