Some new blood will soon be in the room where it happens: Brandon Victor Dixon, Lexi Lawson, and Michael Luwoye are joining the cast of Broadway’s Hamilton in the roles of Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s wife Elizabeth Schuyler, and an alternate Alexander Hamilton, respectively. The news comes as the cast prepares for the departures of Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton), Leslie Odom, Jr. (Aaron Burr), and Phillippa Soo (Elizabeth Schuyler) after their July 9 performance; it was previously announced that Hamilton understudy Javier Munoz would be taking over the role of Hamilton. Munoz and Lawson will take the stage and Luwoye will begin his alternate duties beginning with the show’s July 11 performance, while Dixon will join the cast sometime in mid-August.
The newbies will perform alongside Tony winners Renée Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Shuyler) and Daveed Diggs (Thomas Jefferson), both of whom reportedly joined principal cast members Christopher Jackson, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Jasmine Cephas Jones in renewing their contracts for an unspecified amount of time
Though Dixon has big shoes to fill now that Odom Jr. has won a Tony for his portrayal of Burr, he scored a Tony nomination for his role in Shuffle Along. Lawson, meanwhile, is no stranger to the music and lyrics of Lin-Manuel Miranda: She cut her teeth in the lead role of Vanessa on the first national tour of In the Heights.