King George says his songs sometimes become impromptu audience participation moments. George Washington has enjoyed a spike in Instagram followers. And the dance supervisor points to a backstage area piled high with fan-produced art.
Just about everyone associated with the touring production of "Hamilton" that opens Wednesday in Minneapolis agrees it's not like working on other musical hits.
"I call it a generational show. Once in a generation, you get one," says Marcus Choi, who will play the first president of the United States. "I was lucky to be part of 'Wicked' about 15 years ago and that was a similar feeling, in terms of just seeing it everywhere. But that was pre-social media. I think 'Wicked' rewrote the equation and now 'Hamilton' has taken it and exponentially grown it."
And, by "exponentially grown," Choi means stuff like Seattle artist Rafael Calonzo Jr., who goes by "huskypants" on Instagram and has created a dizzying array of images of "Hamilton," including a portrait of Choi as Washington labeled "Here Comes the General."
That's just one among hundreds of "Hamilton" fan-art pieces, many of which you can view on the Instagram page of Choi and other performers. Kourtni Lind-Watson, the Minnesota-raised dance supervisor for the tour that's coming here, says the artwork is her favorite part of being in the eye of the Hammicane.
"This show has inspired more fan art than I've ever seen," says Lind-Watson, who was in the Broadway company of the ill-fated "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" and a tour of "Wicked" after graduating from the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. "A lot of the actors get sent portraits or paintings of them in their costumes. There's so much fun stuff that comes in, and they bring it in to these tables we have backstage, just inside the stage door, so we all get to see it."
Jon Patrick Walker's King George III has appeared on a fan-created fake cover of a magazine called Awesome Wow (that's a quote from a King George song in the show), complete with articles about how to hold a scepter and break up with a royal ex. But his favorite piece of fan art may be a crown, knitted out of golden yarn.
"It's nice to have this little yellow crown that I can wear around the house, because I don't get to bring home my other crown at night," jokes Walker, who says there is a rock-star-like vibe to the attention that cast members of "Hamilton" receive. That's something he knows a little about, since he has recorded and toured behind three rock albums.