JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The popular musical “Hamilton” will be coming to the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts from December 1-13 as part of the FSCJ Artist Series Broadway in Jacksonville. I got the chance to talk with actor and Orlando-native Eddie Ortega, who plays Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, about being in the iconic show, how he got into acting, and how he manages to remember all of his lines.
“So I’ve been playing the role for like, almost two and a half years, because I did it back in ‘23 until June ‘25 last year. So at this point, not nearly as difficult as it used to be when I started back in ‘23. Now it’s different challenges of [...] ‘okay, I remember how I felt doing some things before’ and now there’s a little bit of freedom to free up some of those habits,” said Ortega on the difficulty of playing Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in Hamilton. “Difficult is not the word; it’s more fun, honestly, at this point. You’re catching me at a fun time. I feel like there’s more openness with playing my own version of Hercules Mulligan and James Madison and not feeling 1. the pressure of how others have done it before or 2. even how I did it before. It’s kind of a place of discovery right now.”
You can hear more of Eddie’s acting journey, as well as his thoughts on driving in Orlando, in the full interview.
Tickets to see Hamilton at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts are on sale now.
You can hear more interviews in the Chase Chats section of WOKV.com.
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