‘Hamilton’ returns to the Pantages with an Israeli dance captain

Photo: Yossi Chaikin in “Hamilton.” Courtesy Yossi Chaikin

Almost 18 months after the stage went dark on “Hamilton” at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles because of the COVID-19 lockdown, the touring cast and crew is back treading the boards. On the opening night for friends, family and the media, there was a thrum of electricity. It wasn’t merely the audience cheering for the people they knew onstage. It was something palpable and exhilarating, as audience and performers fed off one another, linked with that invisible thread that brings a production alive.

The performances seemed more powerful, the lights brighter and the sets bolder. “Hamilton” boasts a huge ensemble cast that’s shifted into overdrive. Look closely, and you’ll see not only high-octane, complex dance moves, but a million tiny things that fall on the ensemble’s shoulders, to ensure the production moves at its breakneck pace.

Returning to the Pantages after such a long hiatus required the performers to work even harder to remember everything that had been drilled into them. It’s one person’s job — the dance captain’s — to ensure that the ensemble is tight and precise. In this production, that job falls to 30-year-old Israeli-born Yossi Chaikin. He also serves as a swing in the cast (he understudies multiple ensemble roles and sometimes has to jump in at a moment’s notice).

“As an artist and performer, it’s truly a privilege to be a part of something that’s so contemporary, so unique, so groundbreaking. “[‘Hamilton’] is truly a frontier and in terms of musical theater, it’s a first.”

Chaikin has been the tour’s dance captain since 2017, starting in Chicago. “The stamina of this show is very demanding,” he says. “The ensemble is working more than you would see in most shows on Broadway. It’s a three-hour show and they’re onstage 90% of the time. If we’re not dancing, we’re not just standing. We’re moving. We like to say we’re living in the area that we’ve set onstage because we’re changing what’s inside the space.”

Chaikin speaks of how the ensemble is responsible for moving and shifting and creating the space and then erasing the space to create yet another space. “That’s really unique,” he says.

It’s also his job to ensure the ensemble trains daily outside of the theater. A morning routine, he explains, includes “a lot of footwork. Basically waking up muscles, pushups, pullups, then power/strength training each day. Chaikin is at the theater most of the time, holding rehearsals from 1 to 5 p.m. before the curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m. It’s a job that requires, “a lot of sleep, a lot of water and good nutrition.”

Asked to sum up his role, he says, “The dance captain’s job is to maintain or to keep the freshness of the show. “(Fresh) is a really cute word that basically means we need to upkeep what the creatives have created. We maintain the quality and sharpness of the show. At all times, we give notes, we run rehearsals.”

If a new actor comes into the show, it’s also Chaikin’s job to teach them their roles, along with notating the show. “I need to make sure my dancers, my ensemble, the people that are working in the show know what they need to do.”

He’s also their go-to person if they have questions or concerns or doubts about the show. “If I don’t have the answers, I’ll talk to the creatives above me or my supervisor.”

It’s an extraordinary achievement for the young performer. “Hamilton” was Chaikin’s first equity job after graduating from the renowned and elite performing arts school Juilliard in New York. Before that, he’d done only a non-equity national tour of  “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” playing one of Joseph’s brothers. “Basically a side role,” he says. “I did backflips eight times a week for nine months every night. It was an incredible experience. And,” he adds, [“Joseph”] was actually the first musical I saw when I was 12 years old.” He also calls the experience “very rewarding because it was a true kind of test of the Broadway schedule and the theater industry lifestyle.”

But Broadway was not always Chaikin’s dream. At Juilliard, “I was trained as a concert dancer, so I had a very strong ballet foundation and modern techniques. My trajectory was not musical theater whatsoever.” But after an injury in his final year, Chaikin decided he wanted to follow something more “story oriented and I started taking vocal lessons and acting lessons. The rest,” he says in true theatrical parlance, “is history.”

And to over quote “Hamilton,” Chaikin is not throwing away his shot. “As an artist and performer, it’s truly a privilege to be a part of something that’s so contemporary, so unique, so groundbreaking,” he says. “[‘Hamilton’] is truly a frontier and in terms of musical theater, it’s a first.”

With its multicultural ensemble cast, Chaikin says he relates to the production because “there’s something to say about the fact that I’m not truly from [the United States]. “I’m an Israeli born to Soviet immigrant parents, and I was a gypsy myself for many years before coming [to the U.S.]. So the immigrant story is very close to my heart.”

Chaikin was born in Haifa, Israel, and grew up in a Kiryat Motzkin, a small town just outside that city. His parents were dancers in Europe who met at a dance festival, married and moved to Israel, where Chaikin was born in 1991. As a child who used to stutter — “verbal communication was never a strength when I was younger” — Chaikin turned to dance. “It was a way for me to be confident about myself. I was able to travel the world and compete and perform and encounter so many people that I would never have otherwise.”

 “I’m an Israeli born to Soviet immigrant parents, and I was a gypsy myself for many years before coming [to the U.S.]. So  [‘Hamilton’s’] immigrant story is very close to my heart.”

After graduating from high school in Israel, Chaikin auditioned for Juilliard, was accepted and moved to New York. His entire family, including his two younger brothers, still live in Israel. Chaikin had the opportunity to return to Israel with his Israeli-born wife and spend time with family when “Hamilton” closed during the pandemic, and help out at his mother’s dance studio.

He recalls the shutdown period as one of  “existential dread. I think this past year was mostly about reevaluating where we were; what our goals were; what’s important in life.” He adds the entire hiatus was “challenging.” Although he was still teaching during the pandemic — “it’s not like I was sitting in my house watching Netflix, but after being spoiled with such a high caliber of performance and work, going back to teaching 12- and 13-year-old girls to do basic jazz was a challenge. But it wasn’t a bad thing.”

Returning to the stage, Chaikin speaks of how “incredibly palpable it was to be back with an audience. I had goosebumps up my arms and into the back of my neck. When we got the message (we were returning), it was as exciting as it was frightening. Being onstage is the most incredible drug,” which is why, he says, he used the term “existential dread” earlier. “Because you think, ‘If I don’t do this (perform), what am I here for? What is my purpose?’ ”

Which is why hearing they were going back “was an incredibly euphoric moment but the second sensation was complete fear because even though we’re in shape, we hadn’t done the show for over a year.”

Nonetheless, he says the company has “been incredible with building a truly comfortable and caring process of having us return. They catered to our process of returning not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally.”

Chaikin is settling back in to the rhythm of the show. But does he have plans beyond dance captain and being a swing?

“If we’re not dancing, we’re not just standing. We’re moving. We like to say we’re living in the area that we’ve set onstage because we’re changing what’s inside the space.”

“Obviously the goal is Broadway,” he says. “I’m in the process of transferring more into the theatrical arts and, in the years to follow, hopefully I’ll be able to transfer more into principal roles and more acting-oriented roles.” His body, he says, isn’t going to survive as a dancer forever. “So I’m laying the groundwork for the next steps. I mean, if the opportunity shows itself, I would love to play Hamilton or Lawrence and Philip, or even King George.”

For now, though, he’s just delighted to be back with the show. He’s also thrilled to be in Los Angeles again. “I cannot talk enough about how amazing it is to have a sunny day every day,” he says. “And honestly, this is even better than Israel. There is no humidity.”