Pan actor John Devereaux brings history back to his home state with ‘Hamilton’
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com
Stand-by cast member John Devereaux is ready at the gate any time he needs to step onstage to portray any one of three characters in Hamilton . Four meaty roles with heavy dialogue are in his catalog — four! It takes, he said, a certain amount of crazy to do this, and that’s ok.
The Houston native and TCU alum took three years to audition for Hamilton and is now in his fifth year with the show. But the experience still feels as fresh as day one though.
“This is my first big job and the biggest show to be in,” he said. “There is lots of work that goes into the choreography and staging and singing, and then, to join a show that was already in motion — it was like double-dutching in. And that was a lot of pressure.”
The Broadway musical phenomenon Hamilton exploded on the Winspear Opera House stage last week to roaring applause and standing ovations. Presented by Broadway Dallas, the show runs through June 9 in Dallas, then heads to Fort Worth for a June 11-23 run at Bass Hall.
With so much to be responsible for, Devereaux said that there are times it can test his mind. “You feel like you don’t belong or it’s just overwhelming. All of that is normal even though it’s not in everyday life,” he said. “But after five years, I know that there’s an attitude you have to have, and too much can go wrong [if you are just] worrying about one thing.”
Being in such a production, Deveraux says, not much is normal. He can’t really set his roots down, so he gave up his place to live. His life is on the road, and the consistency he keeps are his own luxury items, like his self-made candles and lighting in each hotel room.
But as the price he pays to live out his dream, he said, “You get used to it.”
For the show, Deveraux’s title is principal standby. His job is simply to know the show. For now, he’s waiting offstage, prepared to go on whenever he is needed. But he will make his mark onstage in early June.
He didn’t say who he’ll play, but of the extensive cast, he is standby for King George, George Washington and the dual roles of Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.
To any layperson, this sounds intense. Devereaux calls it an advantage.
“This is a certain kind of crazy to learning all these tracks, but they also each inform me of the other characters I play,” he said. “It’s just the way my brain works. I like to compartmentalize, which helps me learn more roles. And seeing each character’s different perspective helps.”
His thirst and love for knowledge does also. Working on the show, Devereaux’s own interests have extended into personal research. He’ll cross-reference lines in the show to the actual history and, in doing so, has found both interesting facts and another layer to add to his characters.
His own excitement may add something as well, since he is now in the familiar territory of his home state while he’s working.
“Being on the road all the time and seeing new places can be exciting,” he said. “But there really is nothing like being somewhere where you’ve been before.”
Although Devereaux spent his college years in Fort Worth, the streets of Dallas are familiar too. “Having the lay of the land is a comforting feeling. I love seeing how things change and stay the same. Oak Lawn is still the same in a lot of ways, and I love JR.’s. Deep Ellum is really changing. I love all that,” he said.
Fight might find Devereaux in an escape room or, if there’s a pro wrestling match somewhere, he might have a front row seat. Whatever it is, he says he needs to feed that part of his life as well.
“We do what we do when we have the show, but finding balance is necessary. I love going to museums, escape rooms. I enjoy the gym and making candles. The show fills up most of our lives, but I have to carve out my own time,” he said. “I game a lot, and I love me some pro wrestling.”
Despite the drop kicks and body slams, he sees something else in the sport. “You know, it’s entertainment where they do these incredible acts of athleticism, but pro wrestling is also drag. They are putting on a show with all that pageantry, and I love every minute of it,” he said.
For tickets to Hamilton, visit BroadwayDallas.org and BassHall.com.