Stage secrets people may not know about "Hamilton," revealed by Broadway in Boston
When "Hamilton" debuted on Broadway a decade ago, the show turned the theater world upside down. Now, the national tour of "Hamilton" is back with Broadway in Boston.
While millions around the world have seen the musical, there are still some secrets and symbolism to be uncovered.
"The bullet" in Hamilton
For years, co-dance captain and swing Taeko McCarroll played the Bullet, dancing on the now-famous "Hamilton" turntables.
She told WBZ-TV, "Every character the Bullet touches dies in the show… ironically, it wasn't set with that intention."
In fact, the opposite is true. Tony-winning choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler told McCarroll the Bullet is not the harbinger of death at all.
McCarroll said, "She's actually trying to save Hamilton or give him the time, the whole show is about him feeling like he doesn't have enough time."
Hamilton's "parchments"
As for the off-white costumes the ensemble wears throughout much of the show?
"We call them the parchments because they're basically the people helping write the story," explained assistant stage manager Rodrigo Herrera.
He says the notion is amplified at the end of the show, when everyone is in their parchments except for Hamilton and Burr.
"What this means is their story was or got cut short, meaning they were not able to tell their full story," Herrera said.
Hamilton and Burr's choreography
McCarroll explained that the choreography for Hamilton and Burr also reveals a lot.
"Hamilton is always moving forward, always moving forward, always trying to achieve the next goal," McCarroll said. "Burr is kind of like, I just want to be successful, but I'm willing to like kind of move this way and go that way and learn this and oh, but they're doing that over there. And so I think that zigzag motion kind of represents the internal monologue of each character."
On stage, Herrera explained that the ropes you see are more than just decorative.
The meaning of the stage ropes
"All of those ropes represent the building of the nation and how everything's just like hanging basically. Then, during intermission, you see all of these things going away, which means the nation is kind of settled," Herrera said.
Another set secret? Hidden speakers on stage!
"There are these little black, they look like knockers kind of, but you would think that they're just the set design. They're actually all little monitors. When they told me that for the first time, I was like, 'Wow,'" McCarroll said.
"Hamilton" is at the Citizens' Opera House in Boston through November 2.