You’ll see this Mizzou grad in the national tour of ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’
Missouri theater-goers who flock to see "Hamilton: An American Musical" during the Tony-winning production's first national tour might recognize a familiar face.
He's Bryson Bruce, a 2014 graduate of the University of Missouri and a former resident of Lee's Summit.
Bruce, who attended Lee's Summit West High School, will play both Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette in the national tour of the musical. He is currently performing at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C.
"Hamilton," created by composer, actor and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, took the theater world by a storm when it debuted off Broadway in 2015, showcasing a soundtrack with hip-hop, rap, R&B and a diverse cast playing white historical figures in American history.
The show received 16 Tony nominations and won 11, including "Best Musical," after its Broadway debut later that year.
"Leave it to Miranda ... to find in the stampeding meter of hip-hop the capability to pack all those lives into one evening, and to leave room for sharp portraits of such men as Marquis de Lafayette and Jefferson, both played to sparkling effect by Bryson Bruce," wrote Washington Post chief theater critic Peter Marks last week.
Bruce is part of one of two Hamilton casts touring the country through the 2020 season. He is not part of the ensemble that performs in Kansas City next year.
At Mizzou, Bruce directed a co-ed a cappella group called Mizzou Forte. He also performed in "A Midsummer's Night Dream," "Spring Awakening," "Angels in America" and "Romeo and Juliet" through Mizzou's theater department.
He was cast as "Mr. Jefferson" and performed as an understudy in the 20th anniversary national tour of "Rent."
“He definitely displayed all the chops, all the skills and talent that it takes to do ‘Hamilton,’ ” Mizzou professor Cheryl Black told the Columbia Missourian. “He was a singer, a dancer and actor. He did comedy, drama, period pieces set in the past, as well as contemporary works.”
This story was originally published June 18, 2018 at 2:10 PM with the headline "You’ll see this Mizzou grad in the national tour of ‘Hamilton: An American Musical’."