HAMILTON's Newest Stars Brandon Victor Dixon & Lexi Lawson Talk Joining Hit Musical

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier this week, HAMILTON will welcome two-time Tony Award nominee Brandon Victor Dixon (SHUFFLE ALONG) as Aaron Burr, Lexi Lawson (IN THE HEIGHTS) as Eliza Hamilton to the Broadway company this summer.

In a new interview in today's The Hollywood Reporter, the two actors chat about their historical characters and what it means to be joining the game changing production.

"I'm excited," shares Lawson. "I've worked with all of these folks since 2008, and I've become fans of them even more since then. It's some of the best acting I've ever seen onstage. There's so much passion in this show; it's something I haven't seen in a long time."

Adds Dixon, "I'm very grateful for the outpouring of love and support. I know how popular the show is, but I'm not in the center of that storm. But there's a real sincere love for Leslie and these characters. And Hamilton and Shuffle Along are closely connected because the ensembles are all friends, and they both deal with historical figures and the impact they've made on American life. That's the kind of work I like to do: challenging work that has a message."

Speaking on his character Aaron Burr, Dixon says, "I know Burr as a historical figure, but I never delved deeply into his qualities before. Burr is a positive, eager, engaged individual. He wants to understand the game, learn the rules and operate according to them; get ahead by working hard. He does all the right things, but he sees this charming upstart who just flouts through and continues to achieve. I can see how he gets to that level of personal frustration. You can't look at him as a villain; you have to look at him as a hero in order to get into his psychology. He starts in a positive place and ends up on a road he never expected."

On taking on the role of Alexander Hamilton's wife Eliza, Lawson shares, "I like Eliza because she, to me, has a bit of everything. At the start of the show, she was so young when she met Hamilton, full of life and joy and newness to the world. She gets to have this amazing arc throughout the show and eventually establishes a private orphanage - did she know, at 19 or 20, that she'd do so many beautiful things? It's exciting to know that these are real people we're portraying onstage, and this was once happening here in New York."

Read the interview in full HERE

With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical direction and orchestrations byAlex Lacamoire, HAMILTON is based on Ron Chernow's biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The musical will celebrate its 1st anniversary at theRichard Rodgers Theatre (226 W. 46 St.) on August 6.

HAMILTON won eleven 2016 TONY AWARDS including Best Musical, Score, Book of a Musical, Direction of a Musical, Choreography and Orchestrations. Mr. Miranda received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Hamilton.

HAMILTON is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation's first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON is the story of America then, as told by America now.

Photo: Kelly Cameron

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos