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

Oklahoma theater devotees, history buffs and music fans are encouraged to "look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now."

"Hamilton" is coming back to town.

After playing a three-week run in Oklahoma City in summer 2019, Lin-Manuel Miranda's revolutionary song-and-dance biography of "ten-dollar Founding Father" Alexander Hamilton is playing an OKC return engagement May 24-June 4 at Civic Center Music Hall. It's the final title on OKC Broadway's 2022-2023 subscription season.

"We had such great success with a completely sold-out show in 2019, so we're excited to bring it back for another two weeks. It's still a national ... phenomenon, both on Broadway and on the road," said OKC Broadway General Manager Elizabeth Gray. "We're excited to let patrons see it again, even though they saw it in 2019, or let them see it for the first time. ... We're happy that there's some more affordable tickets this time around."

How can people get in the lottery for $10 'Hamilton' tickets in OKC?

Plus, as has become part of the show's lore, OKC fans can try their luck in the #HAM4HAM lottery for the 40 $10 seats that will be offered for every performance. Conducted via the "Hamilton" app, the lottery for the first week of OKC performances has already closed, but the digital lottery doesn't close until May 25 for the May 30-June 4 shows.

"We still see people coming dressed up in costume in the audiences. We still see people singing the show as we exit the theater and as they walk to their cars. ... It definitely is a different feeling than it was at the beginning when it was such a cultural phenomenon," said Production Stage Manager Rolando A. Linares, who was with the Chicago production of "Hamilton" when it opened in 2016 before joining the national tour in 2017.

"Now, it feels more like a really popular show instead of the stratospheres where it used to live. But there's still so much excitement and so many people who are seeing it for the first time."

Since it debuted on Broadway to rave reviews in 2015, "Hamilton" has been a critical and commercial smash, winning Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors. 

"Hamilton" launched its first national tour in 2017, and taking such a big show on the road is no easy task: It takes 13 53-foot trailers to move "Hamilton" and nearly 60 people to make the show happen every night, including cast, musicians, managers and about 25 backstage crew members.

Plus, actors rotate in and out of the company while the tour is on the road: When the musical arrives in OKC, Deon’te Goodman will be taking over the role of "Hamilton" antagonist Aaron Burr on tour after he was the understudy for the part and a few other roles on Broadway.

"This is such a dream role of mine ... so to say that I'm excited to play it eight times a week is like the understatement of the year," Goodman said. "This character is so misunderstood. A lot of people like to paint Burr as a villain. And I look at Aaron Burr like, 'This is someone who is quite literally just trying to make it with the hand that he was dealt — just like Hamilton, but in a different way.'"

Ahead of "Hamilton's" OKC return, Goodman and Linares did not throw away their shot to answer The Oklahoman's questions about the show:

What are your thoughts on 'Hamilton' opening up opportunities for actors of color to perform in roles that maybe wouldn't have been open to them in the past?

Goodman: Yeah. I think that's right, and it's long, long overdue. Speaking specifically about "Hamilton," it's a show about American history, and Black people, people of color, we are American history. ... Yes, George Washington was instrumental in creating this country, and he also owned slaves. ... We have to acknowledge that this country was built on the backs of slaves. That's what I see when I see this show, and I see people that look like me playing these roles: It reminds me of the pride that I take in the fact that this country was built by my ancestors and the ancestors of some of my best friends.

What are your thoughts on the show in this current climate and debate in America over our history?

Goodman: You can't escape your history; you can't escape your past. ... Yes, for so long George Washington was remembered as our first president and someone who helped shape this great nation. And as time went on, it was like, "Yes. And he also did some pretty messed up things," and we can't escape the duality of that.

So, I think that in today's political climate, what's so incredible about this show — and I've experienced it doing it on Broadway (in 2019) with the different political shifts — is just experiencing how the audience experiences the show based on what's happening at the time: the way that they find new meaning in different lines, the way that they react to different lines. It's pretty astounding.

I think that this show does an incredible job of turning a mirror on society. Whether it's now or whether it's 10 years from now, history is quite literally repeating itself: The same scandals that are happening now happened back then, just in a different way; the same successes that are happening now happened back then, just in a different way.

Linares: What the show does so well is that it breaks those rigidities ... that it's OK that we can discuss our Founding Fathers and talk about their good parts and bad parts. ... I don't think the show necessarily answers anything. But it does set up the conversation so much. It's so interesting that you have, famously, what was said by Lin-Manuel ... that it's "the story of America then, told by America now."

But it does open up so much debate as to who were our Founding Fathers — and how can we accept that great people can also do horrible things and that everyone has duality and that nothing is black and white? How do we grow until we realize that it's not perfect, the origins (of our country)? Then, how do we deal with how to make it better every day?

The filmed version of 'Hamilton' debuted on Disney+ in 2020. What have been the responses from people who streamed it first and then saw it live?

Linares: Personally, I was interested in how that would play out. But people have really confirmed the difference of just the energy in the room. They liked it on Disney+, but it was so much more when you're actually in the theater and everyone's around you and it's live. And you just can't capture that on film when you're doing the show.

'HAMILTON'

• When: May 24-June 4.

• Where: Civic Center, 201 N Walker.

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

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Hamilton' returns to OKC with more affordable ticket options