Hamilton arrived on the Broadway stage when Tyler Fauntleroy was in college and “I remember like everyone else, I was obsessed with it.”
“Seeing a show that uses music genres that I grew up on. And people who look like me,” he says. He was determined to someday get on stage in the musical and he made it, first as the John Laurens and Philip Hamilton roles, then as an understudy to the Alexander Hamilton character and now full time in the title role in the national tour courtesy of Broadway at the Hobby.
“Not that it’s an easy ride,” he says. “I think playing Hamilton one of the most difficult roles the genre of musical opera has to offer.”
Alexander Hamilton was famous at his time for his knowledge of finance, being the chief writer of the Federalist Papers (urging ratification of the U.S. Constitution) and being shot to death by former friend and bitter enemy Aaron Burr. Compared to other Founding Fathers he didn’t get the same level of attention in subsequent years until after Ron Chernow wrote a best seller about Hamilton in 2004 which was the basis for the musical (2015) by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The musical won 11 Tonys, was named the Best Musical Theater Album in the 2016 Grammys and received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Even people who haven’t seen it know songs like “Alexander Hamilton,” “I’ll be Back” “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.”
Asked to describe Hamilton, Fauntleroy says: “I think he’s a person just like any of us. Alexander Hamilton was not just one thing. He has seasons where he gets to play to his strengths and seasons that exploit his weaknesses.”
Growing up, Fauntleroy says theater was the last thing he thought he would be doing. “I was such a shy kid. But I loved to sing and started singing in church at an early age.” In middle school he went to a play to support his best friend and remembers it this way: “My friend is giving a great performance. This is the first time I’d seen kids my age on state. That was what struck me. ‘I see you all in the hallway in lunch. Here you are making me feel engaged.’ And it‘s so much fun. Oh I’d like to be a part of this experience.”
So in middle school and through high school he started acting in plays and musicals. He went to Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 2017. In 2020 he was in a two-person play and just about to enter tech when COVID-19 shut everything down. “2020 was a tough time to be an actor.”
With everything going better for him right now, Fauntleroy clearly loves being in Hamilton. “It’s a wonderfully written and performed show. The show itself is the star. I feel like the show is the star I just work at the cool place. It’s So beautifully crafted from the book, the orchestration, the choreography, the lighting, the sound.”
The other reason for repeat audience members in the theater? “People want to hear that music. They’re used to those performances on Disney Plus and want to see what other people might do with these roles.”
And now he’s one of those other people.
Hamilton continues through March 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays. The Houston run is nearly sold-out, but some tickets are still available here for $79 to $299 (not including resale tickets). You can also try your luck at the Hamilton digital lottery, which is offering 40 $10 seats for every performance. More information on the lottery can be found here.
