JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If you haven't had the chance to see "Hamilton: An American Musical" at its Jacksonville tour stop yet, do not throw away your shot!
The show is playing at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts through next weekend as part of the FSCJ Artist Series. The Philip tour company had its premiere last week, and like the title character, the cast is "nonstop"!
The production features a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway. Hamilton takes the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and turns it on its head.
First Coast News got the chance to speak with the actor who portrays Alexander Hamilton.
Pierre Jean Gonzalez said he is very active in and out of the theatre, working to uplift other artists in his community, especially artists of color. The show is well known for featuring performers of color, representation that Gonzalez, who is Dominican and Puerto Rican, said is so important.
"It's been a very long time where you don't see yourself being portrayed in these stories on stage and in film," Gonzalez said. "And I think this piece is so powerful, because you have these people of color who weren't really thought of in the actual time when all this was happening, you know, and then you have people of color playing these roles, as the founding fathers."
With that idea of reaching other artists and uplifting the next generation in mind, Gonzalez said he was able to something he described as "really beautiful." He reached out to his fellow cast members to see who had tickets to spare in order to offer them to some local students.
"So we got tickets for a show one day and I reached out to my cast members. And I was like, hey, whoever's not using their tickets, let's contact a school. Let's get some kids in there," Gonzalez said.
He said he first contacted the school offering 38 tickets for theatre students. But then, the company's management helped out and was able to offer 100 tickets for the students.
"I called back and I was like, hey, so I said 38, but actually I meant 100, so the next day we got 100 students to come in," Gonzalez said. "They actually sent me a video of when they told them, and it was really really beautiful."
Gonzelez said performing in a production of this capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic can be scary, because there are so many unknown factors. A few weeks ago, the company had to cancel one of its dates in Atlanta due to a PCR test that was unable to be processed in time to ensure everyone stayed safe.
"So I think that kind of like shifted us and threw us off a little bit. In the realization of like, this is still happening," Gonzalez said. "We're still in the middle of a pandemic, and we still need to take care of each other, not just ask the audience members as well."
Masks are required for audience members, but the cast is essentially operating in a bubble, which means Gonzalez hasn't had the chance to explore much of the River City. But, he said being so close to the water has had a soothing effect on him.
"It's been really beautiful," Gonzalez said. "The theatre, the sunshine, the palm trees ... This is my first time really experiencing Jacksonville. I'm like, why has no one told me about this beautiful city? I run down by the water every day. And like, that just heals me. I'm very much connected to the ocean and like, I want to be old by the beach. That's my goal."
There is a limited number of tickets still available for purchase at fscjartistseries.org. Tickets range from $71 to $217, with a limit of eight tickets per household.
Performance Schedule (remaining dates):
- Thursday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, October 8 at 8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 9 at 2 p.m.
- Saturday, October 9 at 8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 10 at 1:30 p.m.
- Sunday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 13 at 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, October 15 at 8 p.m.
- Saturday, October 16 at 2 p.m.
- Saturday, October 16 at 8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 17 at 1:30 p.m.
- Sunday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m.