Move over Alexander Hamilton, \u201cShamilton\u201d is looking to take another prominent historic figure (anyone really) and see if he or she can sing their way to musical glory.
\u2018SHAMILTON\u2019
When: Runs Fridays Jan. 27-Mar. 31
Where: Apollo Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln
Tickets, $15-$20
Info: Apollochicago.com
The brainchild of musical improvisation darlings Baby Wants Candy, the show features a cast of 16 as well as a live band all of whom will create a 75-minute musical every Friday night at 10:30 p.m. based on an historic figure suggested by the audience.
Director Peter Gwinn, who wrote for \u201cThe Colbert Report\u201d and created The Second City\u2019s \u201cChristmas Carol\u201d parody \u201cTwist Your Dickens,\u201d says despite the show\u2019s title, they aren\u2019t just taking aim at \u201cHamilton.\u201d
\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, \u2018Hamilton\u2019 is an important show, but at the end of the day it is still full of show tunes and it is a Broadway musical,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re not here to make fun of \u2018Hamilton.\u2019 We\u2019re really focusing a spotlight on any self-important historical musical.\u201d
Gwinn says he was attracted to the project for two reasons.
\u201cMusical improvisation usually has just one guy at the piano, but we have a full band and they have been coming up with some great stuff that makes me very excited about the show,\u201d he says. \u201cThen there is the fact that a diverse cast is combining different musical styles like they do in \u2018Hamilton\u2019 and it\u2019s finding a new spin on the improv musical genre.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m a huge fan of \u2018Hamilton\u2019 and we\u2019re trying to be smart and fast just like that show,\u201d says \u201cShamilton\u201d cast member Erica Elam.
Shamilton cast members Colette Gregory (from left), Bobby Richards, Rob Wilson and Saliha Muttalib, rehearse at The Annoyance Theater for opening night Jan. 27 at The Apollo Theater. | Leslie Adkins\/For the Sun-Times
Elam says it is no small feat.
\u201cLin-Manuel Miranda spent years writhing his masterpiece, we have three seconds between getting a suggestion and lights up on the opening number.\u201d
From there, the show has to contain all the elements of an improvisational musical: original characters, dialogue, lyrics, music and choreography.
\u201cHamilton may have been writing like he was running out of time and we\u2019re improvising like we we\u2019re running out of time,\u201d Elam says.
Elam says the show is exciting for her because it puts the actors outside of their normal comfort zone. \u201cThere isn\u2019t really any downtime in the show. The way we have all spent learning to [end] an improv scene while we\u2019re in it is completely useless. There isn\u2019t a sweep edit [from an offstage actor] to end a scene like in regular improv. This is \u2018fly by the seat of your pants\u2019 stuff and every one of us from actor to musician is being challenged,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s all so very exhilarating.\u201d
While the cast doesn\u2019t have much time to plan ahead, let alone research the evening\u2019s protagonist, direct Peter Gwinn says they do try to gleam some information on their subject before the show starts.
\u201cAt the top of the show, we do talk about the person a bit as chances are the audience is not going to know any more about the person than we do, he says. \u201cAfter that, one of the keys of the show is relieve ourselves of the burden of accuracy.\u201d
\u201cShamilton\u201d director Peter Gwinn talks to the cast during a rehearsal at The Annoyance Theater. The show opens Jan. 27 at The Apollo Theater. | Leslie Adkins\/For the Sun-Times
Some history buffs may take issue, but Gwinn says no one is fact-checking \u201cHamilton,\u201d either.
\u201cHamilton\u201d is just another in a long line of historic musicals which includes \u201cAssassins,\u201d \u201cBloody Bloody Andrew Jackson\u201d and \u201cEvita.\u201d All of these shows have one thing in common: All are not 100-percent accurate simply because they are musicals. There isn\u2019t any historic evidence to support Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson or Evita Peron would belt out a song at critical moments in their lives.
\u201cWe are creating a musical on the spot about an historic figure,\u201d Gwinn says. \u201cIf someone sings a line that Thomas Edison created macaroni and cheese, for that duration of the evening, Thomas Edison is the creator of macaroni and cheese.\u201d
\u201cBecause it is musical improvisation, I think the audience is a bit more forgiving,\u201d Elam adds. \u201cI\u2019ve performed in a number of Baby Wants Candy productions and thankfully the audience recognizes how difficult it is to do what we are doing.\u201d
Elam says the biggest challenge isn\u2019t to get everything right, it\u2019s to do justice to a person\u2019s story.
\u201cWe have to decide very quickly which portions of a person\u2019s life we are going to tell,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have a little over an hour to tell the story and you have to make every minute count.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sentiment rank: 3.3<\/div>\n

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