REVOLUTION COMES TO TOWN
Thoroughly excited Brisbane rapper and actor Sami Afuni joins a stellar cast to perform next year at QPAC in Hamilton, a show about one of the US’s founding fathers that’s considered by many to be the greatest musical ever
To Sami Afuni it doesn’t seem that long ago that he was trying out his rap on fellow students and teachers at Indooroopilly State High School. And it wasn’t really – because he’s just 25. Now the young rapper and actor, who has had some screen roles (including in the new Disney series Nautilus which is being filmed on the Gold Coast), finds himself on stage for the first time and in what many reckon is the greatest musical to ever hit the stage. We’re talking about Hamilton of course, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s runaway hit that premiered on Broadway in 2015 and won him Tony, Grammy and Olivier awards and even a Pulitzer prize.
The Australian production (it is produced here by Michael Cassel in conjunction with Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman and New York’s The Public Theater) started its Australian run in Sydney, and is now playing in Melbourne before transferring to Brisbane in the new year for a highly anticipated season in the Lyric Theatre at QPAC from January 27. Queenslanders are salivating at the prospect of seeing the show everyone has been talking about for years – the musical that has reinvented the genre and become part of popular culture.
Having seen it in Sydney, I can report that it feels more like a play with rap and hip hop patter, delivering the incredible story of one of the US’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, helped draft the Constitution, served as the first secretary of the treasury and is considered the founder and chief architect of the American financial system. Impressive but potentially boring. Not after Miranda got inspired to write a show about him.
It’s described as a story of America then, told by America now and it is fascinating. It starts with a cool, confronting, spoken word summation of Hamilton’s origins delivered by the character Aaron Burr (Lyndon Watts in the show) who was a lawyer and politician.
Burr confronts the audience and asks, reasonably enough: “How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
How? Well the show tells you how in a blend of hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway music. Famous for its diverse casting, Hamilton seems a perfect theatre debut for young Brisbane rapper and actor Afuni, who plays the roles of
Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in the show.
Afuni describes himself as an “Arab salad” with Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian heritage. He joined the cast recently and is beyond excited to be playing in his hometown next year.
“It’s an honour to join this incredible company and to get to perform the show in my hometown is beyond anything I could have imagined,” Afuni says. “This is my first time doing theatre, everything is new to me. I started out as a rapper and singer at school. My teachers are stoked that I’m in Hamilton.
“I can hardly believe that I am in Hamilton. I have already memorised the whole show, not just my lines.
“It’s so well written. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius. I love all the hip hop references. I’m hoping he might even come to Brisbane for the show. You never know.”
Miranda, who wrote the book, music and lyrics for the production seems genuinely excited that his show is coming to Queensland. He told ABC News Breakfast’s Michael Rowland that it was “really thrilling”.
“I’m well aware that most shows are lucky enough to play Melbourne or play Sydney and the fact that we get to go to Brisbane is a real treat,” he said. “It’s really thanks to the Australian audience. I’m really grateful. Hamilton always surpasses every hope I had for it.”
The show’s Australian producer, Michael Cassel says Queensland fans have been “waiting patiently” for Hamilton to come to Brisbane.
“Brisbane is, without doubt, one of the most important theatre markets in Australia,” Cassel says. “We just saw how much audiences embrace shows when we opened Mary Poppins there in October and the reaction was bigger than any city so far. Brisbane loves musicals and they are going to love Hamilton.
“In both Sydney and Melbourne, the audiences have been blown away by our wonderful Australian cast, the heady alchemy of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s incredible book and score, Andy Blankenbuehler’s astonishing choreography and the masterful work of (director) Tommy Kail to bring it all together.
“I think Brisbane audiences are going to feel exactly the same.”
It’s a show that is giving the next generation of musical theatre stars a start. For Sami Afuni it’s a first and it’s a first for Melbourne-based Martha Berhane, 20, who has Eritrean heritage. She plays Eliza Hamilton, the socialite and philanthropist wife of Alexander Hamilton.
With a modicum of understatement, Berhane agrees that being in Hamilton is “pretty big”.
“I mean this is my first show,” Berhane says. “It’s pretty surreal. And I love the diversity of the cast – that still surprises me.
“I did a lot of preparation in the lead up to learning Eliza. There are letters of hers available to look at online and I would like to say I know her pretty well now. I think she’s generous, patient and she’s also fiery. She has that fire in her heart that allows her to love the way she does.”
Berhane started in the show as a swing covering for several roles, until she was propelled into a starring role by her talent. It’s a bit routine now in the sense that she’s doing eight shows a week, but it doesn’t feel routine to Berhane.
“Now I’m so excited to be coming to Brisbane because I haven’t been before. I’m excited to come there and be in the sun and feel the energy.”
Playing her husband, Alexander Hamilton, is South African-born actor Jason Arrow. Critics have been raving about his performances. Arrow, 33, says it’s “a brilliant role” and one that he has now played on stage in more than 500 shows.
Covid interruptions were tough he says, but the Hamilton star is happy that period has passed. As for playing the lead in Hamilton, well that’s really something.
“I guess this is as good as it gets,” Arrow says when we chat between shows in Melbourne. “It feels like I’ve peaked a bit early. I always think about what I would do next and draw a blank.” Arrow has performed at QPAC in Brisbane before. He played Neil Sedaka in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
“I was also one of The Righteous Brothers,” he says. “The shorter one.
“I’m looking forward to coming with Hamilton. I’ve been doing it for so long now it feels almost commonplace at times. Then it’s at moments like this, when I’m being interviewed, that I realise what a huge show and a big deal it is. And I get to do this as my work every day.” Arrow hasn’t met the show’s creator in person but he has spoken to Miranda via Zoom, and that was helpful since Miranda was the first to play Alexander Hamilton on stage. “He gave me some little bits of advice,” Arrow says. “He said – we don’t need dead heroes, we need living soldiers, and I have reflected on that. He also said you need to relax a bit and let the show do the work.” Arrow says the material is so strong that following that advice was easy.
“I love how complex it is,” he says. “I didn’t know much about it before I did the show. I knew about it in general but didn’t realise how close to history it was.”
And the history continues with young actors like our own Sami Afuni getting his big break and making his own history on stage.
“I think I’m the first Arab to be in Hamilton,” Afuni says with pride. “I love the diversity of the show.
“I’m a proud Brisbane boy. I was born in Brisbane and I’ve been telling everyone how great Brisbane is. Soon Hamilton will show everyone that Brisbane is the place to be. I can’t wait to see the reaction.”
We think we can safely say that it will be well received.
To perform the show in my hometown is beyond anything I could have imagined … I have already memorised the whole show, not just my lines