Rory O'Malley Steps Into Jonathan Groff's Hamilton Shoes for the First Time
(© Tristan Fuge)
Tony nominee Rory O'Malley (The Book of Mormon) joins the Broadway production of Hamilton beginning today, April 11, in the role of King George. O'Malley replaces Jonathan Groff, Broadway's original King George, who departed the show following the Saturday, April 9 evening performance to begin filming David Fincher's new Netflix series, Mindhunter.
O'Malley was last seen on Broadway in The Book of Mormon, for which he received Tony and Drama Desk nominations, and in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He was set to star this season in the Broadway musical Nerds, a production that was canceled during rehearsals.
Directed by Thomas Kail and inspired by Ron Chernow's biography Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton explores the life of the American founding father and first Secretary of the Treasury, as well as his experiences as an orphan of the British West Indies who immigrated to the 13 Colonies and helped shape the United States of America. The show, which had its world premiere at the Public Theater, features a hip-hop score by Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also stars as the title character (Javier Muñoz takes on the role of Alexander Hamilton once a week).
The featured cast also includes Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), Drama Desk Award winner Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler), Phillipa Soo (Eliza Hamilton), Daveed Diggs (Marquis De Lafayette, Thomas Jefferson), Christopher Jackson (George Washington), Anthony Ramos (John Laurens, Phillip Hamilton), Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan, James Madison), and Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Shuyler, Maria Reynolds).
The production opened on August 6 at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre.
