Why Hamilton is the hottest ticket in town

For me it was the combination of hip-hop, R&B, pop, soul and traditional musical theatre that made this production really sing.

Hamilton is at Festival Theatre Edinburgh until Saturday 27 April. Pic: Contributed

Hamilton is the hottest ticket in town right now and who am I to refuse an invitation to a musical about which I keep hearing rave reviews so I went to see what the fuss was all about.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway and West End smash hit musical has arrived in Edinburgh to take us back to New York in 1776 and inside the Festival Theatre gussied up crowds were thronging around the bar and foyer as I fought my way to my seat. As befits an opening night there were balloons and bubbles, critics and crowds and producer Cameron Mackintosh put in an appearance too. As the lights dipped and the crinkling of cellophane sweetie wrapping reached a crescendo the expectation of the audience was electric.

Musical theatre isn’t my specialist subject and neither is Alexander Hamilton so a quick Google gave me the facts and plenty of questions, but if it’s an accurate representation of events surrounding one of America’s founding fathers, it’s probably best to look elsewhere. Instead simply sit back and give yourself up to the sheer razzamatazz of this entertainment spectacle and enjoy the triumph and tragedy, drama and comedy.

A contemporary take on a historical tale about ambition and achievement, love and loss, for me it was the combination of hip-hop, R&B, pop, soul and traditional musical theatre that made this production really sing. Any more edgy and the cast would have ended up in the stalls.

My only regret is we couldn’t see more of the fantastic musicians tucked under the stage in their orchestra pit, playing their hearts out on a score that is packed with audience favourites like ‘My Shot and The Room Where It Happens’. But the stage was already full to bursting with the ensemble cast who give it their all with stunning choreography, standout singing, and what’s not to like about corsets and breeches?

Singing the story is a challenge at the best of times but this cast excel and when it’s often delivered at high speed rap style with a rotating set and such punchy performances your attention is gripped throughout - so much so the woman next to me forgot to eat her Maltesers. Three hours just flew by and a decade on from its New York debut, the rapturous response from this Edinburgh audience proved it was well worth the wait.

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