Skip to main content
A play, much like a vacation, isn’t cheap. You’ve got to choose your locations, or your productions, wisely. This March, the Broadway heavyweight Hamilton: An American Musical makes its return to Portland and is staged over at the Keller Auditorium, while the iconic drama Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is currently being performed at Portland Center Stage. Whether it’s limitations around free time or funds, you might have to choose just one. I can’t make that choice for you, but here’s what I can tell you…
Ever heard of Hamilton? For those just emerging from beneath rocks: Lin Manuel Miranda’s supernova of a musical burst onto Broadway in 2015, telling the story of Alexander Hamilton and his place in the American Revolution through rap, rock and ballad, performed by a diverse cast as the Founding Fathers, soldiers and socialites. Over the past decade, the production has reached a kind of iconic stratosphere—it’s like a tourist attraction, like an Eiffel Tower of sorts. It draws die-hard hordes who visit over and over. And as with any tourist attraction come the tourists themselves.
“Lafayette sucks,” said a flat voice off to the left as I jetted up the aisle during intermission. “He’s falling in and out of the French accent!”
It was the second night of the show’s three-week run, March 4–23 (and third visit to Portland). Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson were both played by ensemble member Jorrel Javier—in fact, there were multiple substitutes for the eve, including Nick Sanchez as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton and Alex Nicholson as George Washington (perhaps a flu was brewing). And for the record, none of them sucked.
The nearly 3,000-seat theater was packed, Hamilfans snapping selfies in front of the stage of fake brick and rope, swarming the lobby for merch and $17 cups of chardonnay. The women’s restroom lines were true chaos—curled and clumped in an indecipherable way. Full bladders everywhere. In the Keller’s defense, it aims to address restrooms in the remodel, but for the night, there was a sole staffer visibly posted by an exit, doing his best to orchestrate (Lance, you’re extraordinary, never change).
For the boisterous energy, the audience felt a little reserved as a whole during the performance itself. Hamilton is a nonstop exertion, enthusiasm on high, the kind of thing that would be nurtured in New York City—but Portland audiences are a more subdued breed. They perked for a few jokes, were giddy for King George III, laid into applause for the infamous immigrant line, but missed some of the other quick beats, like a jab at New Jersey. When the cast rose to a 10 to pronounce New York “the greatest city in the world,” it didn’t quite feel like glitter exploding over your head the way it might at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
But you can’t deny the sheer strength of the show. Even if you want to call Miranda a nerd for cramming that much history into one play, he did it and it works. The current Hamilton (Blaine Alden Krauss) has a subtlety to his performance, sitting a hair behind the beat through his verses until hitting the heated crescendos (maybe Miranda originally did too, it’s just hard to decipher over his exuberant 24/7 buoyancy). Kendyl Sayuri Yokoyama, playing Eliza Hamilton, sang with pristine clarity, her presence light and grounding. And Deon’te Goodman stood out as Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s frenemy and killer, shot down metaphorically over and over, never getting his attention (which brings a new irony to that 1993 Got Milk? commercial, but I digress).
Hamilton’s initial ascent seemed a sum bigger than its impressive parts, and now, maybe the reputation alone is the biggest, but its parts, the Philip touring cast, shine as up-and-comers. It’s a spectacle, and despite the chaotic lines, the tourist drudgery—when you look upon the towering production, it still dazzles.
A mile north in the Pearl District lies a different kind of theater experience. On Saturday, March 8, Portland Center Stage’s entryway felt fun and elevated, lively but nowhere near hectic. There was no metal detector, no masses to contend with, just casual ticket takers, the Armory bar slinging $3 Polar soda cans and glasses of Argyle wine (prices vary), dollar cookies lined like fallen dominoes for the taking. Walking into The Armory felt like stepping off the quiet downtown streets into the heart of the weekend—here’s where lively Portlanders were hiding.
The theater itself is an intimate space (a fifth of the size of the Keller), and the mood was relaxed, jazz flowing from the speakers as patrons weaved in and eased into their seats.
Hamilton and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are apples and oranges—really apples and booze, lots of it in the Edward Albee play. Originated in 1962 and moved to the silver screen in 1966, the drama follows George, a history professor, and his wife, Martha, as they slide between illusion and reality—drinks and marital resentment greasing the wheels—eviscerating one another in front of their late-night guests, Nick and Honey.
Leif Norby plays George as undercutting while slightly buoyant, a stab-you-with-a-soft-smile cunning. George wields most of the conversation, only undercut by Martha, played by Lauren Bloom Hanover with a hard-edged sass. The history professor finds himself tangled in ruminations on the past, prodding at the new, young biology professor, Nick (played by Benjamin Tissell), a thing of the unshaped future. Tissell plays Nick like a tech bro, self-assured in what’s next, an unwavering confidence—until. His wife, Honey (Ashley Song), nails the consistent drunkenness like a pot of water boiling over—playful and bubbly, gaining heat as the brandy simmers and the night wears on and down.
The play is over three hours, with two intermissions, but the all-local cast holds it with strength and malleability, making the sometimes vicious material a pleasure for the audience, who moved to claim empty seats closer to the stage by the third act. Like Hamilton, Woolf is crammed with piercing, packed dialogue. But while Hamilton leaves you with candy-coated songs and questions only if you want to ask them, Woolf leaves no room to ignore. Neither play is a wrong choice, either is worth your money or your night. It’s just up to you what you want to think about, what world you want to travel to, for a few hours.
SEE IT: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave., 503-445-3700, pcs.org. 2 pm Sunday, March 16; 7:30 pm Sunday, through March 30. $25–$86. Hamilton at the Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St., 503-248-4335, portland5.com. 7:30 pm Tuesday–Friday, 2 and 8 pm Saturday, 1 and 7 pm Sunday, through March 23. $59–$199.