Given the amount of expectation that surrounded Hamilton’s arrival in Manchester before Christmas, it’s amazing that the show has not only lived up to all the hype - it has far exceeded it.
The musical, touring the country for the first time, still has another month to run at Manchester’s Palace Theatre and Sam Oladeinde, who plays Aaron Burr in the show, is relishing every minute of it.
“I think there was a nervousness with everyone associated with the show before we came to Manchester,” he said. “When things are hyped to extent Hamilton is, the fear it it won’t reach that level when people actually see it.
“But thankfully audiences have been absolutely on fire every single day.
“What has been joy is to hear people with no experience of show being bowled away by it and those who have seen it on Disney Plus saying how much the benefited experiencing it live in person.
“Audiences are completely immersed in the show and for the actors we feed off that. It’s nice to know that that theatrical experience is still like no other.”
Hamilton is a musical theatre masterpiece, following the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers. It covers the period of the American Revolution and the framing of the constitution for the emerging nation across the pond.
But this is no dry history lesson. Creator Lin Manuel Miranda blends hip hop, rap, the golden age of Hollywood and serious drama to create work which is unlike any other.
Sam’s character Aaron Burr could be seen as both the villain of the piece - spoiler alert, he’s the one who shoots Hamilton - but he’s also a bit of a troubled hero.
“I like to think that Burr represents the vast majority of people who see the show,” said Sam. “Hamilton is incredible but in order for him to be incredible he has to be different to most of us.
“I try to get people to see where Burr comes from. If I had to relate to one of these characters on stage it would probably be Burr.
“I always say to Shaq (Shaq Taylor who plays Hamilton) that I’ve got best role. There is so much to play with in terms of the jealousy, betrayal and shame that Burr goes through. All the slightly darker emotional bits of the show belong to Aaron and that ‘s very exciting to play.”
Audiences too appear to develop genuine feelings for Sam’s character.
“The nature of live theatre is that one day you might get something from one performance and something completely different the next night,” said Sam.
“I can get eight different Aaron Burr’s in a week and that’s really exciting.
“I can sense it in the wave of emotion that I get at the end of the show. The weird thing about Hamilton is that rather than the end of the story being a big surprise, you’re told what happens in the opening number.
“Yes I just sing about shooting Hamilton in the first song and ruin the whole thing. But actually it doesn’t. The real story is how do we get to that point. It allow the audience to investigate the story at a deeper level.”
Quite how a show which concentrates so much on early American history is quite so compelling will forever remain something of a mystery.
“I just think Lin Manuel Miranda is a genius,” said Sam. “When I hear that someone is coming to the show I always say ‘don’t come tired, lean forward and listen hard’.
Read also: Daniel Boys on playing King George in Hamilton
“When you watch the show you think it must be hard for the actors - and it is - but it is also challenging for the audience. Now that’s both exciting and demanding. There is no other show at the moment that demands so much, keeps you so engaged and provides you so much information while keeping you entertained for such a long amount of time.
“It’s informative but super witty and the way information is given really keeps you on your toes.
“What surprises people is that there are also so many jokes in the show, it’s really smart.”
Sam who has starred in The Book of Mormon, Come From Away and The Prince of Egypt in the West End was part of the original London cast of Hamilton.
“I was understudy for Burr,” he said, “but I never got the chance to play the role on stage. As a result this big pressure built up in my mind about it would actually be like to do the role and and then how do you sustain that over months and months?
“It’s only possible because the show is brilliant and the role is crafted in a way to allow you to dig so much out of it and give so much in performance.”
Before he got into acting - he was awarded a Disney Theatrical Productions Scholarship - Sam studied law at Cambridge and is a qualified solicitor. So how does he think those founding fathers did with the constitution?
“I think they did what made sense to them but I’d say there are elements of self interest in the constitution which leave something to be desired. Let’s leave it at that.”
Although nominally a tour, Hamilton hasn’t moved from its home at the Palace for three months - the show has been extended until February 24, then it’s on to Edinburgh.
“It feels like a regular show at the moment rather than a tour,” said Sam. “But we will all be very sad to say goodbye to Manchester.
“Everyone has welcomed us. And we have been lucky to have to time to get to know the city a bit and to explore. I’ve loved it - not just the places we’ve seen like the museums and art galleries and the wonderful food but also the people.
“Let’s put it this way, the bar has been set very high for the other cities on the tour.”
Hamilton, Palace Theatre, Manchester, until Saturday, February 24. Details from www.atgtickets.com
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