Hamilton Is A Hit

The hottest ticket in New York right now is Hamilton, an Off-Broadway hip-hop musical that has taken the town by storm. 100% sold out at The Public Theatre and ready to move to Broadway this summer, this show was devised by the creative team behind the Tony Award-winning In The Heights, with scenic design by David Korins, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg (who is a speaker at the New York Master Classes: Sound on June 5 & 6), and costume design by Paul Tazewell.

Described as “a wildly inventive new musical about the scrappy young immigrant who forever changed America: Alexander Hamilton,” this massive hit earned glowing reviews, including mentions of the designers, from sources such as The New York Times, in which Ben Brantley notes: “David Korins’s gleaming wooden, scaffolded set (suavely lighted by Howell Binkley) appropriately features a Les Misérables-style turntable at its center, a whirligig of time passing." 

On his Facebook page, Korins posted: "Celebrating President's Day by bringing George Washington into the 21st century. Shown here from model to final product, this rolling unit serves double duty in Hamilton as a staircase and soapbox for up-and-coming American leaders." (See image to right.)

And from the pages of Variety, "David Korins’ raw-wood set comes with an efficiently purposed revolve, along with functional ladders and a catwalk on the upper level, to create plenty of floor space for choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler to work his wizardry.

Paul Tazewell’s carefully built period costumes — tight breeches and fancy fitted jackets for the men, bodice-hugging gowns for the ladies — establish a period-appropriate sense of time and place for the too-short span of Hamilton’s life.

Howell Binkley’s lighting design adjusts the heat level for every character."

The Wall Street Journal adds about David Korins’s set: “Hamilton is played on an open stage dominated by a turntable that permits the action to unfold continuously and kaleidoscopically, thus keeping the show on the move…"

On Instagram, David Korins posted his set sketch. Check it out below.