‘Hamilton’ star hoping friends fill audience | Arts & Entertainment

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MAHOMET — Like many actors in musical theater, Champaign native Jonathan Butler-Duplessis always hoped to get a shot at performing in “Hamilton” on Broadway.

However, he didn’t actually think he’d get that chance.

“Opportunity, location, age, whatever it may be, I just thought this was an opportunity for someone else,” he said.

And yet, for the past year and a half, the Champaign Central High School and University of Illinois grad has been part of the show’s ensemble and, from time to time, covers the roles of Aaron Burr, George Washington and Hercules Mulligan/James Madison.

Butler-Duplessis estimated that he’s gotten to play each of these about 40 or 50 times, and he enjoys each role for different reasons.

Playing Mulligan in Act I and Madison in Act II allows him to show off his comedic skills, he said, while being Burr is a “whole Shakespearean experience” that’s a perfect match for his classical acting studies at the UI.

“But if I’m honest with myself, I do just like being the big guy rapping with a sword,” Butler-Duplessis said. “Washington’s a lot of fun. And he’s also an older gentleman, so he doesn’t have to run and jump off the table. So no matter what physical shape I’m in that particular day, Washington can do it. If I feel like walking, guess what? So does Washington.”

Community members will have a chance to see some of Butler-Duplessis’ repertoire from “Hamilton” as part of his upcoming “night of song and stories” at Yellow & Co. in Mahomet later this month.

His first performance at 7 p.m. July 20 has already sold out. However, he recently added a second performance at 5 p.m. July 21.

Tickets and more information are available at yellowandcoevents.com. As of Monday evening, only 18 tickets were left, said co-owner Mike McDermith.

The show will also feature Butler-Duplessis’s wife, Kathleen, who is a composer, singer and actress.

“She’s brilliant and funny and so talented,” he said. “I think she’s better at this than I am. You’re going to love her.”

In discussing the origins of the upcoming show, Butler-Duplessis said that a friend from church put him in touch with Yellow and Co.

“I was looking for an excuse to come back to my hometown,” he said. “I’m originally from Champaign, and there aren’t that many venues that I could perform at. … It’s been, I don’t even know, 10, 15 years since I’ve ever performed anything of meaning in Champaign County, so when this opportunity came up, I just kind of jumped at it.”

He was actually a bit nervous when the Saturday performance sold out, as he worried that the people he grew up with might not have had a chance to get tickets.

That’s when he and Yellow and Co. started talking about adding a second performance.

Butler-Duplessis added that he owes a lot to his local experiences in theater and has carried that with him in his performances of “Hamilton.”

“There’s actually a big area for self-expression and the kind of acting that I learned to do in Champaign and Chicago, and I’m able to bring those ideas and those techniques all the way to Broadway,” he said. “And it’s really exciting to have my own take on Aaron Burr, to have my own take on Washington. And they’re all unique to me and they carry the experiences that I’ve had — all the way from the Station Theatre, all the way to Broadway.”