Local 706 - The Artisan

Winter 2018

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14 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2018 by Randy SayeR Assistant to the Business Representative I.A.T.S.E. Local 706 Theme Park, Theater & Broadcast Television News SHOW NEWS Every 20 years or so, a theatrical pro- duction comes along that redefines the American musical genre. In the '70s, it was A Chorus Line; in the '90s, it was Rent. The revolutionary musical of this decade is Hamilton. Making its off-Broadway debut at the Public Theater in February, 2015 (where A Chorus Line was first seen 40 years earlier), and opening on Broadway later that same year, Hamilton—with lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, based on the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow—has won nearly every accolade possible, including 11 Tony Awards (from 16 nominations), eight Drama Desk Awards, a 2016 Grammy Award, as well as the Pulitzer Prize in 2016 for Drama (another honor in common with both A Chorus Line and Rent). Aer Broadway, a Chicago company opened a two-year run in October 2016. The first of two national tours opened in 2017 in San Francisco, Hamilton has played five-month "teaser" engagements in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and it is now performing in San Diego. The second national tour is opening in Seale as we speak, and this produc- #MUAHSawards Our own Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards Show will be presented on Saturday, February 24, at the beautiful Novo Theater in downtown Los Angeles! tion will be seen in Orange County in May. A West End production just opened in London, and a new production will open in San Juan, Puerto Rico, next year (January 2019) with Lin-Manuel Miranda reprising the title role. This production is then sched- uled to 'return' to San Francisco for a long sit-down open-ended run! I have resisted writing about this jug- gernaut until now, but Hamilton more than lives up to all of the hype; it fires on all cylinders. Lin-Manuel Miranda has created 'theater magic' at its best; I truly believe that he is a modern-day Mozart, a genius on par with the greatest composers and lyricists of all time. The irresistible music—a combination of hip-hop, rap, pop, soul, R&B and traditional show tunes—combined with the color-conscious casting of non-white actors as our Founding Fathers, makes the American Revolution accessible, vibrant, relevant and sexy to an entire new gen- eration. This show entertains while at the same time giving a captivating history les- son—making the past seem vividly present, all the while celebrating America's debt to the immigrant; just the right message, at the Original Broadway cast San Francisco/ Los Angeles National Tour The Schuyler Sisters from the National Tour Original Broadway cast King George III

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