Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who famously brought life to the award-winning Broadway musical, Hamilton’s hip-hop prose and chants for freedom will soon ring out through Greensboro’s Tanger Center.
On a recent Friday, cast member Devin Tyler Hatch hopped on a video call with TCB while on the show’s most recent expedition to Providence, RI.
Hamilton’s run on Tanger’s stage starts on Dec. 26 and runs through Jan. 5, so this Southeastern leg of the tour will allow Hatch to spend the holidays with his family in Hickory where he grew up, training for a decade at Clater-Kaye Theatreworks where he had a scholarship.
Hatch works a swing in the show, understudying multiple roles.
He’s also a dance captain, someone who “helps maintain the creative image of the show…that the choreographer and director wants to see while we’re on the road.” And communication is key when translating movement to the stage, he explained.
“I take information in, and my job is to figure out how to communicate that with someone,” he said. “Telling one person one thing and the other person the same thing might not resonate with that second person. So how do I take that information and make it make sense to someone else? So then, when the creatives come and see the show, they’re able to be like, ‘I see the show that I created 10 years ago.’”
After graduating high school, Hatch moved to New York City, but being an artist is also about finding “survival gigs to make the money happen,” like dogwalking, photography, and working as a barista. After a two year “lull,” Hatch booked Cats just as the whole world shut down under the weight of the pandemic. But Hatch got another big break: Auditioning for Hamilton and booking the job.
One of Hatch’s favorite roles is Man 2, or Samuel Seabury, the first American Episcopal bishop and fervent Loyalist. This character is older than the rest of the ensemble, so when Hatch plays the role, he gets into that mindset.
And some roles allow for creativity and improvisation. When cast members learn the show, Hatch explained, sometimes the guidelines are as simple as “an accent on this word.”
“Everything else is storytelling, intention,” he added.
During the interview, Hatch’s cat, Aspen, tiptoed across the screen.
Hatch has spent much of his career on the road. He has the option to travel by bus or plane with the rest of the crew, but decided to get a car after a while which allows for “a little bit more consistency in [his] own life.”
“Hence why I also got a cat,” he added.
While in a city, Hatch and his cast members also make an effort to connect with it.
“We’ll go to these local thrift stores and coffee shops and just get a taste of the city,” Hatch said.
The cast spends a lot of time with each other. They’re like a family. But what helps Hatch keep going, even when it’s tough?
“I have this mantra, I guess, that I go by: We are all we have out here, like I will be there for you no matter what,” he explained. “I want to make sure that when we show up for work tonight in front of a couple thousand people having to be our best self, I want you to be supported and feel great. And so I guess that is the definition of family, right? Like you’re going to be there for someone no matter what.”
There’s a moment in the show that Hatch looks forward to, during the Schuyler Sisters’ number where Philip Schuyler’s daughters Eliza — who ultimately marries Hamilton — Angelica and Peggy sneak into the city to socialize.
A cacophony grows in the song, cast members singing different lyrics at the same time, before the voices culminate in a shouting throng of Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now!
That’s special to Hatch.
“The idea that we want to sell in that moment is just people walking the city and as they are. It’s on your best day. It’s a sunny day, and you have your favorite song playing, you have your favorite coffee or tea in your hand, and you’re walking down the street,” Hatch said.
“That’s the intention we give and it’s going to look different on everyone.”
In a polarized nation following the election, there’s a lot to learn from Hamilton, Hatch said.
“Every musical has its message, right?” Hatch said, noting that Hamilton is “such a politically heavy show.”
And that isn’t lost on the cast.
Alexander Hamilton is a complex figure in American history. People aren’t all good or all bad. Our lives are filled with moments of joy, love, betrayal, lust, jealousy, anger, and so were the lives of people who lived centuries ago. And while the show focuses on the man himself, Hatch also recognizes that it’s a “story about humanity through the lens of Alexander Hamilton.”
“Something that we can all relate to is the feeling of celebration, the feeling of mourning and losing someone, the feeling of envy and jealousy and wanting to be in someone else’s shoes, the feeling of drive when you find something that you’re passionate about and you want to work at it and be the best that you can be,” Hatch said, adding, “No matter what your political stance is, that’s something we all go through. And so that’s why I think what we do is so important right now.”
Experience Hamilton between Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Tickets are on sale now.
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