By Megan Fitzgerald

Blaine Alden Krauss will take center stage at the Kravis Center in April playing the principal role in the national tour of the award-winning musical Hamilton. Although he spent years preparing for the role, he knows that he didn’t get there completely on his own.

“My whole life story is a product of ‘it takes a village’ and that stretches from my family to my teachers,” he said.

He also recognizes that he is lucky that everyone has been incredibly supportive over the years.

“In my family, my dad is kind of an artist. He just retired from the army, but he was a rapper. That’s funny to say,” he said. “But he was also a DJ and loves music and my family just loves culture in that way.”

Krauss, who started performing at McDonald Elementary School in Tampa Bay, credits a school guidance counselor as one of the people who helped him get involved in the arts when she approached his mom about a performing arts camp, she thought he should attend, even finding him a scholarship. Many people along the way, like his guidance counselor, did things out of their own hearts without ever being asked, he said.  

“From the beginning, I am a product of a lot of people taking care and making sure the journey has been what it’s been,” he said.

Even with this strong support system, he said that he still experienced the many hills and valleys that come with a career in the arts. With Broadway credits including Kinky Boots, The Cher Show, and Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, Krauss does not take his professional opportunities for granted.

“It’s exciting to be doing this work professionally and to be doing it at this level with Hamiliton—it’s just crazy,” he said. “When I think about all the years I’ve put in and all the shows that have brought me to this moment, then it really magnetizes everything, And, you know, I find myself right now just kind of grinning ear to ear,” he said.

Krauss has viewed himself as an artist his entire life.

“Knowing that I wanted to do this since I was very young, I think that afforded me a lot of time to get really practical with what it meant to be an artist and what that would mean on my end,” he said.

Prior to joining the tour as Hamilton, Kraus had previously been cast as the standby for both Hamilton and Burr when he joined the company a few months before the pandemic. He then rejoined the tour on and off over recent years playing both characters.

“Now they’ve messed up and given me the keys to the city and I’m playing Hamilton full time,” he joked. “It’s really thrilling and exciting to carry that every night and to do my job and to be as truthful as I can—so that part of Hamilton, I love that part.”

The musical has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.

“They’re these epic people,” he said. “It’s cool to humanize them. And then, because it’s a musical, it’s really fun because it’s done through the lens of hip-hop, rap, and jazz and musical theater. And so, you’re learning about old people, but it’s new and it’s fresh.”

Krauss said that his role as Hamilton is yet another blessing to count. 

“I’ll always say that to be an artist and live an artist’s life is already a blessed life, but the financial part can get tricky,” he said. “So, to be able to be living my dream and make a really great income and not worry about that is a blessing above anything else.”

He acknowledges that his life is, as he calls it, an unconventional road.

For those looking to follow it, he advises, “Make sure that your passion, your love, and your joy are what’s leading you. And, if it is your love and your joy then pursue it relentlessly.”

Hamilton will run April 10-21 at the Kravis Center. For additional information visit www.kravis.org/events/Hamilton/