Interview: JOHN DEVEREAUX Has Hometown Nostalgia as HAMILTON Tour Makes a Stop at The Hobby Center for Performing Arts.

The term hometown hero is an understatement when it comes to John Devereaux. Having spent his formative years within Space City, attending Westfield High School and Texas Christian University, John Devereaux is excited to be back in home and around family as he tours with HAMILTON.

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What is it like being part of an ensemble of such a mega-hit show?

It's the definition of "living the dream," not only because of the popularity of the show and how huge it has gotten but because of the level of talent, creative energy, and its collaborative spirit. One of my favorite things about being in the show is that I get to work with all these incredibly talented people, from the people on stage, to the people backstage, to our directors and our music directors everyone is just so damn good at what they do. I feel like I become a better artist simply by osmosis, by just being around these people, and I'm so grateful that I get to experience that.

What is it like touring in the time of COVID?

Wow this is a great question...the physical aspect of touring has changed so much. Onstage nothing has changed, we're still doing the shell, we don't have masks on, we're still spitting and kissing so there's that, but everything has changed backstage. We're getting tested every single day, we are wearing masks everywhere, we're not allowed to do signings/autographs anymore, we can't do the things that we used to do at the stage door. We can't even do our fundraiser for BCEFA the way that we normally do it so it's a big change as it comes to the physical aspects of the tour. Mentally and spiritually, it's probably even heavier because we as artists are so connected to what we do creatively and I think when we were shut down for a year and a half, that really took us to a place of "What do we do now that we don't have our art?" For myself, I took my creative energy and started a candle business (Of Yours Products) and-like many other bored creatives at home-made a Tiktok (@thejohndevereaux). Coming back to work in August 2021, we had to figure out how to not go back to what it was before we got shutdown but how do we move forward WITH what we know now mentally and spiritually. That was a lot of work personally but also I could tell for my castmates as well.

What are you looking forward to while you are in Houston?

The food. It's always the food for me (laughter). But seriously just being back in my own space and being at home IN my home. Because with touring, you are kind of at the mercy of the schedule and I'm just glad the fates brought us here for our longest sit thus far; we're gonna be here for a month so just to be at rest for a little bit makes me feel so great.

How does it feel being back in your hometown?

There's nothing like it. As I said before touring you never get time to just rest and be in your own space so to be able to do things like visit my mom who is 15 minutes away from me now. I can drive and spend time with her is such a blessing for me. Also, the nostalgia effect is on 100 right now. Driving past my high school, elementary school, where I saw my first play, passing up places where my friends and I used to hang out, where I graduated, it's like I'm walking through a time capsule and I love it so much.

Any places you recommend to your fellow cast members to try while they are in town? (Restaurants, bars, etc.)

Absolutely. As I said you know I'm here for the food. From soul food spots like This Is It & JJ's to BBQ spots like Burn's, all of those! Also there are a few new places. Things I haven't been able to experience here in Houston yet; I haven't been able to go to Discovery Green and see what that's like. I was telling my friends to go to the Galleria, or just walked around River Oaks if you want to see some really nice homes. Of course the museums here!! I try to hit at least one museum every city that we go to and the museums in Houston are amazing and I cannot wait to go to them.

Why do you think Hamilton is such a mega-hit of a show?

The show is so well done. Everything has been thought about; there's not a choreography step or a lyric or a note musically that has not been thoroughly thought through. This show was created by The Avengers of creative teams, from lyrics to music to choreography to lights to directing it's all heavy hitters and people who know what they're doing so well in their field of expertise. Now the show isn't without its problems and faults. I can recognize those and I think that's part of art: it should be able to make you think and it should be criticized; that's all a part of the experience of this. As for the show itself I feel like the content & the context of the show is another reason why it's so popular. Who would've thought putting hip-hop and R&B popular culture with American history would be this successful as a musical no less? I feel like the show connects with so many audiences and it's trying to reach so many people that it couldn't NOT be a hit.

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