NEW YORK—When you see the Broadway smash “Hamilton”—if you’re lucky enough to see it, that is—you should know that something important quietly happens at intermission.
The walls get bigger: Stagehands add 8 feet to the brick walls at the back of the stage. It’s a subtle change, reflecting the musical’s transition from showing the nation’s birth in Act 1 to building a nation in Act 2.
It’s a touch supplied by David Korins, who earned his first Tony Award nomination for his deceptively simple-looking set. The scenic designer, who has created worlds for “Grease Live!” and Kanye West, isn’t bothered if the audience doesn’t pick up on the change.
“No one sees it. They’re busy reading their programs and buying merchandise or whatever they are doing. But when they come back in, subtlety, the massing of the walls and the set is different,” he said.
“I think if one person understands, either consciously or subconsciously, those walls have grown, that’s a profound difference—to know that we’ve taken the time and the energy to create that for them.”
Korins’ work in opera, film, concerts, theater and TV ranges from sleek, hyper-minimalist to homey and crafty. People tend to call him when the job is going to be hard, as in lots of locations and items that will defy physics.
That’s why he was the perfect guy for the job when the musical about Alexander Hamilton came calling. Here was a sweeping, epic story that took place over 30 years and multiple places.
“When I read the piece and I listened to the music for the very first time, I felt a swirling, circular motion to the thing,” he said. “I didn’t really know what that meant. I just sort of filed it away in my mental Rolodex.”
Korins started by investigating every real location and detail from actual history, from the spot where Hamilton died to the size of George Washington’s desk.
