Coming Out With Hamilton’s Daniel Assetta
Theatres, long shuttered as COVID brought life to a standstill, are turning on their lights, opening their doors, and raising their curtains to audiences hungry for live theatre, and no one is happier to be back treading the boards than the cast of the mega-musical Hamilton.
For Daniel Assetta, who plays Samuel Seabury and understudies the role of King George III, returning to Hamilton, which he calls “one of the most exciting pieces of theatre in our generation,” feels like “the beginning again.”
In a conversation with the Star Observer, Assetta says, “I’m just so grateful to be back, and to be performing in front of audiences.
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“It was a very overwhelming feeling on our reopening night; to just take in an audience that had obviously missed being at the theatre and onstage, performers and cast and crew who had just missed coming to work and doing what we love.
“The audience were just so responsive. You could feel their energy cheering us on, crying along with the story and being emotional… it was a very surreal feeling to be standing there.“
“Initially, the pause on the show was quite a shock,” says Assetta. “We only opened in March this year. We had just celebrated 100 performances and then a week later we had to step away. No one knew how long that was going to be for.”
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Assetta had already experienced a major disappointment when COVID first dug in its heels in Sydney in 2020.
“Last year I was in the process of opening A Chorus Line at the Darlinghurst Theatre. We had done four previews and we closed on our opening night, which was devastating.
“I found out I got Hamilton in September last year. I was waiting a very long time for that phone call. We didn’t know if the show was going to get pushed back.
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“The day I got the phone call from my agent was quite overwhelming. It was a very joyful day.”
Assetta first saw Hamilton on a trip to New York and says it was a highlight of his life. “Within the first three minutes my eyes were watering and I had no idea why. I just could feel this buzz in the theatre from the performers.”
Performing As A Proud Out man
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As an Out performer, Assetta has fostered an open and positive presence in his social media, and often features his husband Tobias Madden in his posts. Madden, whom Assetta met when they were both appearing in Cats, recently published a novel, Anything But Fine, for young adults.
“It is the Queer book I wish I had as a teenager,” Assetta raves. “I’m so proud of him.”
“Eight years ago I would not have thought this is where my life would be; married, being so proud and having the life that I do with my family.
“This is the ideal version of what I always wanted but never thought I would get. I feel very lucky.”
Assetta says his openness developed organically.
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“I became very comfortable in my own skin and I loved living the life I was living and I wanted to share that with everyone else.”
“Along the way that has inspired other people. I have received countless messages from people on social media about how inspiring it is to see a performer, and obviously with my husband, just living our lives and being proud of what we are and who we are as people. I hope that encourages other people to live their truest lives and just love each other and spread joy and be happy. I love sharing the joys of my day-to-day life in the hope that other people will do the same.”
