Here are ‘Hamilton’ tips and inside dish to tide you over until the show arrives

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For “Hamilton”-obsessed fans and fellow musical-theater geeks, here are a few things about the show and its cast members to hold you over until Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece about Alexander Hamilton, “The Ten-Dollar Founding Father,” arrives at Blumenthal Performing Arts’ Belk Theater Oct. 10. It runs through Nov. 4:

‘The Philip cast’

There are two casts touring the U.S., in addition to casts stationed in New York City, Chicago and London.

According to the producers’ website, the teams traveling the country are dubbed “The Philip Cast,” and “The Angelica Cast,” in nods to Hamilton’s son and sister-in-law, respectively (and if you want to be technical, his father-in-law, also named Philip.)

The Philip cast is in line to come to Charlotte, the website shows, before they head to Durham. Among the leading players, Hamilton will be portrayed by Joseph Morales, with Nik Walker as frenemy Aaron Burr, Shoba Narayan as Hamilton’s wife Eliza, and Ta’Rea Campbell as Angelica. And Peggy? The third Schuyler sister and Maria Reynolds will be played by Nyla Sostre.

A day in the life

In mid-August, the official @Hamiltonmusical Twitter feed asked their five casts what their lives are like on a typical two-show day.

Here are a few things we learned:

▪ Michael Luwoye, who plays Hamilton on Broadway, wrote at 7:02 a.m.: “Journal, Read, Clean Apartment -- AKA Pick up all the stuff I left on the living room floor after passing out post Friday night show” At 2:15 a.m., he also chimed in with his plans: Sleep.”

▪ Broadway ensemble member Thayne Jasperson, started his day with cereal and watching “Jem and the Holograms.”

▪ Coffee, protein shakes, dog walking, physical therapy, SoulCycle, getting “Jeopardy” clues from Alexa and doing vocal warm-ups in the shower were among the other early rituals of the casts and crew.

▪ Closer to show time, it’s “Places! Circle up! The Philip company comes together to hold hands, connect, breath together and share a positive message before every show.” wrote Tia Altinay, ensemble and understudy for Peggy/Maria.

▪ It’s dinnertime between shows, maybe a nap, check texts and say a quick prayer before entering for the opening number of the second show.

Stage door signatures

A trip to see “Hamilton” isn’t complete for some people without a visit to the stage door after the show in hopes of getting their Playbill signed. A couple caveats: The actors are under no obligation to sign anything and not everyone comes out the stage door, particularly after matinees.

That being said, there’s a website for “Hamilton” obsessives on Tumblr that chronicles the stage door experience for all the locations where the show is running. This includes a breakdown of “The Philip Cast” where their photo, frequency at the stage door and even their signature is posted.

At the Belk Theater, the stage door is at the back of the theater, facing N. College Street. As you exit the front of the theater on Tryon Street, turn right down W. Fifth Street until you hit College.

Deep dive into lyrics

You know the lyrics back and forth. You can quote a Jefferson riff, the Ten Duel Commandments or basically anything that comes out of King George’s mouth. But where to find a running commentary on every word?.

That’s where genius.com comes in. The popular website says it has more than 2 million contributors, musicians and editors who discuss, deconstruct and otherwise annotate their favorite songs. That includes all the songs on the “Hamilton” original Broadway cast album.

It’s very easy to get lost for an afternoon taking a deep dive into the lyrics.

Click on a lyric, and on the side pops up an annotation with a comment or a link to perspectives from Miranda and others.

Take the line in the opening song, “The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow or barter.”

The note with it points out, “Some prescient wordplay here... This is in line with the subject of Hamilton’s days working at a trading firm, but it also foreshadows his role in the construction of America’s financial system.” Then the commenter brings up Chaucer and “Food, Glorious Food” from “Oliver!” among other references. You get the picture.

The one thing we won’t tell you

You think you know every line of the show. Well, “Just you wait.”

There is a brief but important moment that is nowhere on the cast album.

In his “Hamiltome” book about the creation of the show, called “Hamilton The Revolution,” Miranda says that was intentional. “It’s more of a scene than a song. I wanted to save a surprise for those who see the show.”

So believe me, there’s no way I’m spoiling it. Like everything else about the show, it’s worth the wait.

This story was originally published September 4, 2018 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Here are ‘Hamilton’ tips and inside dish to tide you over until the show arrives."