Hamilton, the musical sensation that took Broadway by storm in 2015 and then the world over, will now make its premiere in Puerto Rico, with original author and star Lin-Manuel Miranda reprising his role as the title character, Alexander Hamilton. The production will play a three-week run, January 8th through 27th, 2019 at Teatro UPR, the theater at the University of Puerto Rico’s main campus in the Río Piedras section of San Juan. Miranda and producer Jeffrey Seller made the announcement live, onstage, at the campus. The local co-presenting partner in Puerto Rico is The Acisum Group.
“Bringing Hamilton: An American Musical to Puerto Rico is a dream that I’ve had since we first opened at The Public Theater in 2015,” said Lin-Manuel Miranda. “When I last visited the island, a few weeks before Hurricane Maria, I had made a commitment to not only bring the show to Puerto Rico, but also return again to the title role. In the aftermath of Maria we decided to expedite the announcement of the project to send a bold message that Puerto Rico will recover and be back in business, stronger than ever.”
Hamilton takes a multicultural approach to telling the story of one of our nation’s most-celebrated forefathers, Alexander Hamilton, who started as an orphan in the Caribbean, and became one of the movers and shakers in the creation of the United States of America. The production celebrates diversity while utilizing performers from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds to play America’s founding fathers.
“Right now, people in Puerto Rico need good news that would bring them hope, optimism, courage and a solid vision for the future,” said Ender Vega, president of the Acisum Group. “We have no doubt that Hamilton: An American Musical’s premiere in Puerto Rico in January 2019 will do just that.”
Hamilton features a book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who originated the role of Alexander Hamilton on the Off-Broadway, and Broadway productions. Thomas Kail provided direction and Andy Blankenbuehler the choreography. The musical is based on Ron Chernow’s biography titled Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton: An American Musical won 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score and has since had successful productions in Chicago and London’s West End.
Mark Robinson is the author of the two-volume encyclopedia The World of Musicals and maintains a theater and entertainment blog at markrobinsonwrites.com.