Chicago's 'Hamilton' Announces Its Cast
By Gwendolyn Purdom in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 13, 2016 3:00PM
"Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda left some big buckled shoes to fill when he bid the title character of his hit musical farewell last week, but Miguel Cervantes has been officially tasked with the job in Chicago. The Broadway veteran will head what appears to be a pretty stellar cast, announced Wednesday, for the show's Chicago run when it kicks off in September. Karen Olivo, a Tony-winner and alumna of Miranda's first Broadway show "In The Heights," will play Angelica Schuyler; Alexander Gemignani will play King George; and "American Idol" finalist Ari Afsar will play Eliza Hamilton. The role of Hamilton's dueling foe Aaron Burr has yet to be announced.
Cervantes joins the cast following stints in Broadway's "If/Then" and "American Idiot," while Olivo marks her return to the stage with the Chicago run following a two-year hiatus in which the 39-year-old actress has taught musical theater performance at the University of Wisconsin's Madison campus, the Tribune reports.
Olivo. Angelica. Chicago.
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 13, 2016
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/pd5DFIl2vK
Miranda shared his excitement about the highly-anticipated cast on social media Wednesday, tweeting a photo of Olivo as well as an article about the casting captioning the post, in part, "*Oprah voice* Chicaaaaaaaaaagoooooo!"
He unfortunately failed to mention whether he'd actually be stopping by the Chicago stage as he hinted at last week.