Jimmie “JJ” Jeter has played all the heroes of “Hamilton,” but turning heel isn’t as easy as it might seem.

Although Jeter will portray the maligned Aaron Burr in the Aug. 16-25 run. of “Hamilton” at Walton Arts Center, he’s also spent time playing the valorous Hamilton on Broadway. As a former principal standby he’s stepped into the role of seven other characters from George Washington to King George III, in addition to being an assistant director when Hamilton toured Australia.

“I find that being on one side of the story and then being on another side of the story, in some obvious ways makes my job a lot easier,” Jeter said during a phone interview with What’s Up. While he knows every word in “Hamilton,” the trick is to authentically embody characters who motivations and reasons are opposite to one another.

He credits Lin-Manuel Miranda’s writing for tracing a clear path about why each person makes the decisions that they make, which is invaluable for a complicated character like Burr.

“It all starts from somewhere. It comes from an honest place,” he said. Playing just one role, he said, allows him to grow closer to Burr’s character, though, unlike just playing a character for a couple of performances as a standby.

The Broadway tour of “Hamilton,” the hit musical with book, score and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda is based on Ron Chernow’s biography about Hamilton and his part in shaping the U.S. government beside other figures like Washington and Thomas Jefferson. It also covers his marriage, the loss of his son, as well as his infamous rivalry with Burr. To date “Hamilton” has won 11 Tony Awards, a Grammy, Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for drama and a special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.

For this run of “Hamilton,” Jeter said that he feels like he understands Burr better now than with past productions of “Hamilton.”

“I think Burr is such a sensitive human. Before I felt that maybe there was more of a place of hardness that he came from, but he really is trying to find this place in the world and doing it from, I think, a soft place. Then there are things that happen that push him to the edge.”

Again, Jeter credits Miranda’s script and lyrics for allowing him to create a complex and tragic character that is complicated and not at all one-sided.

“When honoring the text and honoring the show, I think my job is really about honoring the full quilt of humanity and showing who we are, and why we do what we do,” Jeter said.

As a kid, Jeter loved being the center of attention. Growing up in Winston-Salem, N.C., he said that church was more like the theater for him — providing him with an audience and drama. At family functions, he was a star.

“I would find a moment to get in front of everybody and put on some performance of something,” he said, no matter how serious the reason for gathering.

But it was the trifling Miss Hannigan in a local production of “Annie” that caught his attention when he was a kid and set him on his path to acting.

“At the time, I didn’t know what it was, but I was inspired. There was something about every time she was on stage, I was wrapped in,” he said. When he went home that night, he told his mom that he wanted to be on stage too.

He made his way into community theater and then went to a performing arts high school. From there he attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and later Juilliard.

“I think at heart, I’d always wanted to tell stories,” he said. After playing seven principal roles for Hamilton, Jeter said playing Burr has been just one of his favorite roles, but each story holds a special place.

“I think my favorite is whichever role that I’m doing that particular day because being able to hop between all of them is great.” He said adding that even the roles who aren’t on stage as often come with their own challenges — even the comical king who “acts like a nut” between acts. Each character has their own story.

“It’s like you know seven people’s different secrets,” he said.

TOUR LAUNCH

One of the national U.S. Broadway tours of “Hamilton” will hold technical rehearsals and launch from the Walton Arts Center after its 12-show run in Fayetteville.

Curt Owens, director of programming at WAC, explained that the local arts center is a good starting point for Broadway tours for a myriad of reasons.

“We’re a relatively inexpensive market in the middle of the country, which saves on production costs and opens up the routing for the tour,” he said. “We’re an intimate size for a national touring house but have the average capacity of a Broadway theater. We have a stellar crew and production team working backstage with the tours to make sure each production has an outstanding experience here.”

Owens said that the economy also sees a bump with the visiting cast and crew eating at local restaurants, shopping at local stores and sleeping at local hotels. But the impact surpasses economics.

“There’s also a pride of place benefit that is important too,” Owens said. “Northwest Arkansas gets to show itself off to the cast and crew from the show and NWA audiences get to see shows before they head out across the country on tour which gives us bragging rights over other cities and venues.”

And while bragging rights are fun, the community enjoys welcoming the tours. Owens said that each and every cast and company who brings a tour to the Baum Walker Stage feels welcome in Fayetteville.

Even though this will be his first visit to Northwest Arkansas, Jeter echoed that sentiment. Apparently actors swap stories of getting shouted out in Fayetteville.

“I have friends that were on other shows or were on ‘Hamilton’ before when they came through, and they were like, ‘Look, Arkansas is going to be so ready! They are excited, and they love their theater!’”

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FAQ

“Hamilton”

WHAT — Walton Arts Center is hosting two weeks of technical rehearsals leading up to the first performance of the Broadway smash hit “Hamilton.” A revolutionary story of passion, unstoppable ambition and the dawn of a new nation following the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love, and a legacy that would shape the course of a nation. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s book, score and lyrics blending hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway.

WHEN — Aug. 16-25: 8 p.m. performances Aug. 16 & 17, 23 & 24; 2 p.m. performances Aug. 17 & 18, Aug. 24 & 25; 7 p.m. performances Aug. 20 & 21; 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22.

WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville

INFO — waltonartscenter.org and hamiltonmusical.com/us-tour/cast/#angelica 

NOTE — Best availability is in the Aug. 22-25 performances