Wallace Smith is hanging from a beam.
The Hamilton actor, one of the principals in Chicago’s staging of the mega-hit musical, has to hit a specific mark during the song Yorktown, near the end of the first act. Alexander Hamilton is about to announce what Smith’s character, Hercules Mulligan, has been up to (spoiler: he’s a spy!) while Hamilton and George Washington are trying to win independence for the colonies.
If you’ve ever watched a gymnast hang from the high bar and then propel himself into a handstand, you have some idea of what Smith is about to do. He swings his legs back and then uses his core muscles to kick his whole body, launching forward. He lands near the front of the stage just as Hamilton yells “HERCULES MULLIGAN!” Then Smith breaks into one of the show’s more memorable raps.
This maneuver takes strength, skill and timing. If Smith fails to land at the right moment it will throw off the flow of the musical. He has to do this correctly every night because every night the theater is full of people who have had the date blacked out on their calendar for months (the Chicago version of Hamilton is sold out through the end of the summer, and tickets are scarce come September.) There are fans who know every word of the platinum soundtrack, who have watched every video on the the show’s YouTube page, and who follow every actor’s social media account with devotion.
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With so many people awaiting Mulligan’s entrance or the Marquis de Lafayette’s tongue-twisting raps or the Schuyler sisters’ flirty songs, the actors who create Hamilton every night must have the discipline of a professional athlete to ensure the fans who were able to get tickets for each night’s show are dazzled.
At the PrivateBank Theater in Chicago, Hamilton is staged eight times a week. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. for night shows and 2:00 p.m. for matinees, but the cast members’ work starts well before curtain comes up the opening song, Alexander Hamilton.
Chris De’Sean Lee is a young actor who plays the Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobleman who fought on the patriots’ side during the Revolutionary War. Hamilton — the show, as well as the character — is non-stop, so actors have to be in top shape to impress the people who inhabit the PrivateBank Theater’s seats every night. Lee works out shortly after waking up each morning, mixing cardio and weightlifting.
[pullquote align=”right” source=”Chris De’Sean Lee”]I’m rapping 13 words in two seconds. You have to be really fast … and you have to be understood all while preparing to jump off the table. For so long, I was constantly in my head about when to breathe.[/pullquote]
“It’s really about getting my heart rate up, burning fat, conditioning to be able to do something long term. At this point, it’s really fine. I don’t find myself getting as tired doing the shows as before,” Lee said.
Smith and Lee are both avid Golden State Warriors fans, but Lee adds a layer to his workout Steph Curry doesn’t. Since Lee has to spit Lafayette’s rapid fire rap while also jumping off a table and landing softly, he hums on the treadmill. He’s practicing not just using his vocal chords correctly but also working on timing his breath.
“I’m rapping 13 words in two seconds. You have to be really fast, it’s in a French accent, and you have to be understood all while preparing to jump off the table,” Lee said. “For so long, I was constantly in my head about when to breathe.”
Smith’s days also start with a trip to the gym, while Samantha Marie Ware, who plays Peggy Schuyler and Mariah Reynolds, is a big fan of yoga and pilates and works with a trainer three times a week. They stay in shape not just to manage the eight shows a week, but also to fit in the Tony-winning costumes that were made for them when they were cast for the show.
The cast of Hamilton uses everything available to them to stay in shape for the show — working out, physical therapy, alternative medicine — because they know injuries can take you out of the show. They watched it first hand.
Wayne Brady, known for his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway and Let’s Make a Deal, did a four-month stint as Aaron Burr with the Chicago cast. Early in his run, he fell and injured his calf during Schuyler Sisters, a bouncy, fun song in the first act. Brady had to be replaced by an understudy for the rest of the show.
When social media questioned if Brady had left the show because he didn’t know his lines, the actor, who has starred on Broadway, posted a video of himself at physical therapy.
@mitchdudek this is a video taken post injury from PT. If I'd actually gotten to post it you wouldn't have had to do your "exclusive". pic.twitter.com/IUdUjgGooa
— Wayne Brady (@WayneBrady) January 23, 2017
A few days later, Brady was back onstage as Burr. During The Room Where It Happens, a pivotal song where Burr realizes how to accomplish his ambitions, Brady has to climb up on a table with the help of a chair. On January 25, the chair slipped out from underneath him, and Brady fell to the ground.
There was no need for an understudy this time. Brady popped up to his feet and jumped back into the choreography, including a move where he stands on a table and hops in the air as a tablecloth is pulled out from underneath him. Brady nailed the song, saying the lyric “Click, Boom” at the end with a little extra aplomb.
As with athletes, avoiding injury isn’t their only aim. They want to make sure they are at in peak shape for every performance and that means being mindful of when, and what, they are eating.
“Because the corsets are really tight, it’s really hard to eat a larger meal. What I try to do when I’m in a show is I’ll eat something light for dinner, and I’ll keep snacks at my station,” Ware said.
But the biggest reason they are so mindful of their nutrition is their voice. Soda pop, dairy, beer, fried foods — they all can affect their vocal chords. Much as a pitcher or a quarterback has to protect his arm before all else, Hamilton’s cast must protect their voices to deal with the show’s intense lyrical load. Their voices being even just a bit off means they may not hit the notes required. They have to time eating carefully so the food doesn’t sit in their stomach when they’re performing.
“Most foods create some kind of phlegm or dryness to your vocal chords. A lot of foods I could eat that wouldn’t affect my voice in a drastic way, but I don’t think it makes sense to perform at anything less than 100 percent. Being at 98 percent, that bothers me. I feel like eating puts that 98 percent of my vocal chords. I just don’t do it,” Lee said. He admits to splurging on unhealthy foods on off days, though.
Protecting their voice also means not letting the the show take over their voices; like athletes in a long-distance run or swim, they don’t want to get caught up in the moment and use too much too early. Hamilton features heated rap battles, loud speeches proclaiming freedom and in some cases, buddies getting drunk together while waxing poetic about the future.
“When you’re miked and your voice is being amplified, sometimes, when your adrenaline is pumping, you want to push vocally. Scream louder. Sing harder,” Smith said. “There’s no need to push. It really helps the performance when you are easing into it. Vocally, it’s very easy to injure yourself.”
For principal actors, sticking to a routine is key. They know exactly when they should go to sleep, when they should eat and when they should warm up their voices to make sure they are in peak shape by curtain. Ware starts singing in the shower at home, and quite often, to her cat. Lee puts his warm-ups on Instagram, singing everything from Mr. Rogers to Stevie Wonder to N’Sync.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUz8ehygEY4/?taken-by=theofficialchrislee&hl=en
Since several of the principals play two roles, they have the added challenge of switching characters at intermission. The actors must make the audience believe, immediately, that the man you accepted as French aristocrat Marquis de Lafayette is now Thomas Jefferson, the country’s first secretary of state.
“There’s an honor and a kind of regal-ness to Lafayette’s stature that is maintained for the whole show. He’s grounded, but he’s living in his upper body. With Jefferson, he’s just grounded as hell. He’s a little more loose, he’s down to the ground. He has a limp in his walk. He leans. He doesn’t really care. His gravitas is that of a pampered prince. There’s an energy to it. An ‘I don’t have to try to be great’ kind of walk. The physical stuff, the body language is totally different. And that’s why it’s so believable!” Lee said.
Smith switches from the brash Mulligan to founding father James Madison. While Mulligan’s part requires athletic feats, Madison requires a more measured take. The Father of the Constitution was sickly throughout much of his life. Smith changes costumes from Sons of Liberty garb, a blue wool coat with gold buttons that stands in stark contrast to the British redcoats, to a statesman’s dress.
“Hercules has a lot more swag. He’s a lot more youthful than James Madison. He’s got more pep in his step. With James Madison, he’s a lot slower. More calculated,” Smith said. “Even giving him a little bit of a wobble when he walks. Little itty bitty things to kind of differentiate between the two characters.”
When Ware switches from the young, rule-following Peggy Schuyler to Hamilton’s temptress, Mariah Reynolds, a bright, red lipstick helps her — and the audience — see the big change between characters. Lee unleashes his dreads, which were in a high ponytail as Lafayette. They hit his shoulders when playing founding father Thomas Jefferson.
Hamilton is expected to stay in Chicago for two years, and while much of the original cast is intact, there are still times when the cast needs to miss performances. When vacation, injuries or an ill-timed bout of laryngitis comes up, swings and understudies are called upon.
[pullquote source=”Gabriella Sorrentino”]I know how, especially for Hamilton, people have been waiting for years to come and see the show. I know how important it is for them to see it and take it in, and I know how important it is for me to do my job and make sure they enjoy it.[/pullquote]
Swings are the theater’s bench. They fill in for the ensemble when someone is out sick or on vacation. They have to be at every show, even when not performing. They have to be ready to jump in if another performer is sick or injured.
“We one time had someone call out at half hour. It could be short notice, sometimes we know ahead of time,” said Gabriella Sorrentino. “I even at one point, someone got hurt in act one, and they threw me in for the second half. I’ve had all scenarios happen.”
With the chance to go on at any minute, she has to stay limber and strong enough to take on any part in the ensemble. In Hamilton, cast members move props and sets into place, often as part of a song’s choreography. Since she can be tasked to take over any role, she has to be able to do the heavy lifting. She also has to be able to sing any of the women’s five singing tracks in the ensemble.
Sorrentino is not just a swing but also the dance captain. She helps run weekly rehearsals and prepares new cast members for the show. Brady left his role as Aaron Burr in early April, and Sorrentino prepared Daniel Breaker to step in. During shows, she’s watching from the wings, taking notes to give to the ensemble.
Unlike in many musicals, where the ensemble or chorus comes out just for specific songs and dance numbers, the Hamilton ensemble is onstage for most of the night. There are 50 numbers in Hamilton, and dancers must do everything from waltzing to breakdancing numbers.
“The first week, when we were rehearsing in New York, and I think all the swings would agree with me, we were all in a little bit of shock with how much content is in the show,” she said. “It’s kind of neat to be part of a show where, in other shows, ensembles are not in shows as much. We’re really the show. We really are backing up the principals. The ensemble, we’re the foundation, the backbone to the show.”
When Jimmy Garoppolo filled in for Tom Brady at the beginning of the 2016 NFL season, Patriots fans still expected their team to win. When an understudy or swing is onstage, there should be no difference in the show.
“I know how, especially for Hamilton, people have been waiting for years to come and see the show. I know how important it is for them to see it and take it in, and I know how important it is for me to do my job and make sure they enjoy it,” Sorrentino said. “It’s the balance of me giving to them what they want, and then them receiving that information. And it’s evident. When we go to the stage door, people are in awe of the show.”
As Miguel Cervantes, the Alexander Hamilton in Chicago’s Hamilton, recently pointed just how similar sports and theater can be in a conversation with former MLB player John Baker.
Baseball and Theater. It's like the same thing!!! Put on your costume and put on a show. https://t.co/p6GUdPXalq
— Miguel Cervantes (@MiggstaC09) June 28, 2017
Holding a ticket to a sold-out baseball game is just as thrilling as holding a ticket to Hamilton. It’s why actors and actresses go through the grueling process of eight shows a week. There’s something about Hamilton that takes it beyond just theater.
Sorrentino has been trying to make it onto the cast since it originally debuted at the Public Theater in New York. Lee was shopping in Wal-Mart when he found out he was cast. He dropped the cocoa butter he was there to buy, and hugged the first fellow shopper he saw. It’s why Wayne Brady, an established Broadway and television star, used his hiatus from Whose Line Is It Anyway not to take a vacation but to play Aaron Burr in Chicago eight times a week.
It’s why, on January 25 — the same night Brady slipped off a chair, then popped back up to beautifully finish his song — I left my sick husband at home to see the show we had planned on going to for six months. Getting a ticket to Hamilton in Chicago is no easier than getting it on Broadway or in its touring production. You build your life around making it to the show. When my husband came down with the stomach flu that day, I brought him soup and ginger ale, then looked at him lovingly and said, “You know I’m still going, right?”
And it’s why Wallace Smith will hang from a beam eight times a week and propel his body forward to the perfect spot on the stage, all while preparing to release a rap that explains his role in the Revolutionary War, and how he helped the patriots win the Battle of Yorktown, turning the world upside down.
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