Hamilton (2020)

[xaxat]

It's almost here!

 

[Shannon L.]

I can't wait!  I really enjoyed the production I saw, but we were a ways from the stage and I forgot my glasses so everything was blurry.  I'm also looking forward to seeing the original cast do it. 

[Spartan Girl]

I'm doing the Disney+ free trial just for this! I still wish they were releasing it in theaters but whatever!

[cpcathy]

4 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I can't wait!  I really enjoyed the production I saw, but we were a ways from the stage and I forgot my glasses so everything was blurry.  I'm also looking forward to seeing the original cast do it. 

As a glasses wearer, this is indeed a sad story!
 

I’m disappointed I will have to subscribe to Disney Plus for this and then cancel after I’ve watched. I don’t usually want anything Disney coming into my home!

[GaT]

I had no idea that this was coming out so soon & that it would be streaming, awesome! I also didn't realize that they were filming the play. I already have Disney+, so I'm all set.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I'm doing the Disney+ free trial just for this! I still wish they were releasing it in theaters but whatever!

I hate to tell you but Disney recently stopped offering the free trial. 

Edited June 22, 2020 by Guest

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

I hate to tell you but Disney recently stopped offering the free trial. 

Wait what? I can't even do it for 7 days?!

[scarynikki12]

2 hours ago, Dani said:

I hate to tell you but Disney recently stopped offering the free trial. 

Those rat bastards! I'm already signed up but I've been recommending the free trial to a bunch of people who want to watch Hamilton but don't want another streaming service.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Wait what? I can't even do it for 7 days?!

Nope. It was first reported a few days ago. Most are assuming it was because Hamilton is their biggest (and only) draw of the summer. 

[Shannon L.]

4 hours ago, cpcathy said:

As a glasses wearer, this is indeed a sad story!

I should have said it was a "little" blurry.  I could see ok, but it would have been perfect if I'd remembered them.

Disney Plus is $6.99 a month.  I'm not sure if you have to commit to a certain number of months, but if not, would those of you who don't have it be able to sign up for a month or two then cancel?  IMO, Hamilton is well worth $7--especially if you have family that will watch it with you, then it's even less per person. 

[xaxat]

How it started. (At this point Lin-Manuel was pitching it as an album.)

 

 

[Spartan Girl]

42 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

I should have said it was a "little" blurry.  I could see ok, but it would have been perfect if I'd remembered them.

Disney Plus is $6.99 a month.  I'm not sure if you have to commit to a certain number of months, but if not, would those of you who don't have it be able to sign up for a month or two then cancel?  IMO, Hamilton is well worth $7--especially if you have family that will watch it with you, then it's even less per person. 

Yup, that's what we are going to do. There's more than one way around a problem...

[Irlandesa]

I saw it when it was touring and I enjoyed it but I had a hard time understanding the songs which had more more speaking/rap in them.  My ear just isn't accustomed to it and I think not being able to see their lips up close made it harder.  And unlike the people around me who sang along and made it even harder to hear, I hadn't familiarized myself with the soundtrack before going.  I knew some of the songs but not all.

So being able to see the singing up close and having closed captioning will be very welcome.

I'm so glad I signed up for the year-long Disney+ option through Verizon right after the announcement if it has gone away.  I wasn't going to because I wasn't all that interested in Disney+ offerings but I knew I had to once they announced Hamilton.

[kieyra]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

 

I saw it when it was touring and I enjoyed it but I had a hard time understanding the songs which had more more speaking/rap in them.  My ear just isn't accustomed to it and I think not being able to see their lips up close made it harder. 

 

My husband had the same problem. (We saw it in NY, but not original cast.)

I, on the other hand, had listened to the whole soundtrack a million times. 🙂 But jeez, it would be really hard to absorb all of Lafayette’s rapid fire/French accent rap on the very first listen. 

[Irlandesa]

35 minutes ago, kieyra said:

But jeez, it would be really hard to absorb all of Lafayette’s rapid fire/French accent rap on the very first listen. 

Yep. It's why I enjoyed the second half more because there were more traditionally sung songs and those were far easier for me to understand.  And when I saw In The Heights, I ended up in terrific seats that were much closer; although I don't think the speed of that was as fast.

It makes me feel old even though rap has been around since I was a kid so it's not like I'm 'what is this new fangled music?"

[Babalu]

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And unlike the people around me who sang along and made it even harder to hear, I hadn't familiarized myself with the soundtrack before going.  I knew some of the songs but not all..

That is so rude! You paid to hear professionals, not fans.

I’ve seen it twice (far fewer times than many of my friends) - once the OBC (except Chris Jackson and Anthony Ramos, who were both out) and once a touring production. But I couldn’t understand many of the lyrics the first time because there was no cast album out yet, so I’d heard and seen only a couple of things (parts of “Alexander Hamilton” and “My Shot,” I think).

In a way I can’t wait, but I think I might, both because it drops at 3:00 a.m. here (I say, typing at 3:32 a.m.), but more because I’m afraid it will crash at first due to immense traffic.

[Shannon L.]

In case anyone is interested in a few historical details: 

22 Hamilton Lyrics, Explained

[Babalu]

Also, if you haven’t gone to the The Hamilton Genius site, I found it very helpful. Several years ago, I listened to one Hamilton song/day while reading the lyrics and the annotations (while also listening to the entire album on an almost daily basis without reading).

Genius also features many other musicals and albums, so, if interested, prepare yourself to devote many hours!

 

 

[jah1986]

On 6/23/2020 at 3:34 AM, Babalu said:

 

In a way I can’t wait, but I think I might, both because it drops at 3:00 a.m. here (I say, typing at 3:32 a.m.), but more because I’m afraid it will crash at first due to immense traffic.

THIS, I really hope Disney is prepared for what I think will be unbelievable traffic. Especially on a holiday Friday.  I am so excited. I saw the touring company but not the OBC, so really looking forward to this.

[xaxat]

Does anyone know how much Disney paid for the rights? Not only do they get to stream a highly anticipated movie that will almost certainly be Oscar bait, they they shaved a year and a half off its development schedule.

Edited June 24, 2020 by xaxat

[ebk57]

9 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Does anyone know how much Disney paid for the rights? Not only do they get to stream a highly anticipated movie that will almost certainly be Oscar bait, they they shaved a year and a half off its development schedule.

$75mm

I wonder if they will ever release it in theatres (hope so).  I've seen the show 3 times and I just love it.  I love it so much, I'm even willing to give Disney some of my hard-earned money for a month so I can watch it several more times. 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I’m glad they’re releasing this early. It will definitely look and sound better than the bootleg of the OBC that’s been floating around the last few years. 

I have seen Hamilton live a few times but I am looking forward to seeing the OBC in high def! I agree though - Disney better be prepared as shit for the surge in traffic. People are going to be angry if they can’t stream it because of heavy traffic. 

[dmeets]

16 hours ago, xaxat said:

Does anyone know how much Disney paid for the rights? Not only do they get to stream a highly anticipated movie that will almost certainly be Oscar bait, they they shaved a year and a half off its development schedule.

Would this even be eligible for the Oscars? Since it isn't a re-filming as a motion picture, but a fiming of the stage production from four years ago. Honestly I'm not even sure why it originally would have taken so long, even if the original plan was to show it in cinemas.

Still looking forward to this. I wish they'd do more of this sort of thing; the only other instance I can recall seeing like this was the DVD release of RENT's final performance.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, dmeets said:

Would this even be eligible for the Oscars? Since it isn't a re-filming as a motion picture, but a fiming of the stage production from four years ago. Honestly I'm not even sure why it originally would have taken so long, even if the original plan was to show it in cinemas.

I have no clue but it’s happened in the past. James Whitmore was nominated for best actor in Give 'em Hell, Harry! which was the filmed version of a play. 
 

As for why it took so long Lin Manuel Miranda was probably focused on the film adaptation of In the Heights. The distribution rights for Hamilton were only sold in March. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

This was filmed in 2016. The only reason it hasn’t been released sooner was to get people to see the live show on Broadway or on tour. There are a lot of people who would skip going to the theater if they had the option of seeing it at the local cineplex for a fraction of the price.

The live show has been a cash cow. They had simultaneous productions on Broadway, Chicago, the West End, plus three tours crisscrossing the country. Once the filmed version is released, a lot of people will lose their motivation to buy $100 tickets to see the live version. The Hamilton people were trying to rake in the live ticket sales as long as possible. 

Let's just say for the sake of simplicity that each theater seats 1000 people and the average seat costs $100 (although in reality, the theaters where Hamilton plays always have well over 1000 seats and orchestra tickets are definitely more than $100 - the Richard Rodgers seats 1300, the CIBC in Chicago holds 1800, the Orpheum in San Francisco seats 2200, and the Victoria Palace in London holds 1550). That's $100,000 per theater per night x 6 productions which means they were making $600,000 every night. Each company does 8 shows per week which means the six productions were making $4.8 million per week. Multiply that by 52 weeks per year and we're looking at these six productions making almost $250 million per year in ticket sales (and that's using my loosie goosie numbers - the actual $ amount is higher because the tickets cost more and there were a lot more than 1000 seats being sold every night).

Edited June 26, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[GaT]

11 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

This was filmed in 2016. The only reason it hasn’t been released sooner was to get people to see the live show on Broadway or on tour. There are a lot of people who would skip going to the theater if they had the option of seeing it at the local cineplex for a fraction of the price.

The live show has been a cash cow. They had simultaneous productions on Broadway, Chicago, the West End, plus three tours crisscrossing the country. Once the filmed version is released, a lot of people will lose their motivation to buy $100 tickets to see the live version. The Hamilton people were trying to rake in the live ticket sales as long as possible. 

They must have been so happy they already had it filmed when covid shut broadway down. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

LMM let Disney+ edit two words out of Hamilton so the upcoming release could get a PG-13 rating

The MPAA rule is that if you have the word FUCK more than once, it's an automatic R rating. Hamilton has FUCK in the show three times so they had to get rid of two. They didn't make any other edits (all the other swearing, sex references, etc were left intact).

Edited June 26, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Official clip:

 

[Shannon L.]

On 6/22/2020 at 7:46 PM, Irlandesa said:

And unlike the people around me who sang along and made it even harder to hear, I hadn't familiarized myself with the soundtrack before going.

When we found out when this was coming to our area and were discussing getting tickets, our daughter (who was obsessed with the soundtrack) said that she wasn't sure if she wanted to see it because she'd heard that it was becoming one, big, audience sing along.  I'm grateful that that didn't happen here because I do think it's rude.  In fact, I think they could have very politely announced at the beginning of the show that while they were so grateful for how much people loved the show and had come to see them, that they would request that people not sing along so that others who may not know the lyrics could hear them.  Of course, they shouldn't have to make that announcement, but some people don't think. 

For anyone already loves the show and for those who love it after seeing it for the first time, this "behind the scenes" book is a lot of fun and very interesting:

Hamilton: The Revolution

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 6/22/2020 at 7:46 PM, Irlandesa said:

unlike the people around me who sang along and made it even harder to hear, I hadn't familiarized myself with the soundtrack before going.  I knew some of the songs but not all.

 

1 hour ago, Shannon L. said:

When we found out when this was coming to our area and were discussing getting tickets, our daughter (who was obsessed with the soundtrack) said that she wasn't sure if she wanted to see it because she'd heard that it was becoming one, big, audience sing along.  I'm grateful that that didn't happen here because I do think it's rude.  In fact, I think they could have very politely announced at the beginning of the show that while they were so grateful for how much people loved the show and had come to see them, that they would request that people not sing along so that others who may not know the lyrics could hear them.  Of course, they shouldn't have to make that announcement, but some people don't think.

I have seen Hamilton six times in three different cities and there was only one show where anyone sang along (and it was just one person sitting behind me, but it was almost the entire show - except for the parts where the tempo really picked up which I guess he hadn't mastered yet).

There are definitely moments in the show that consistently get audience reactions ("include women in the sequel" and "immigrants - we get the job done" always get people hooting in appreciation, but never any singing along from everyone.

I was in choir in high school and I love musicals so I often know all the words to an entire show before I actually get to see it live, but I would NEVER sing along at a show unless it was specifically a sing along show. When I'm in the car, I have no qualms singing at the top of my lungs, but at a show? I won't even mouth the words. People pay money to see and hear the professionals, not randos in the audience. It's just rude to sing along during a live show!

[SeanC]

 

[Enigma X]

I normally do not spend a lot on any type of admittance (although I love live music) and hate crowds but paying $XXX to see Hamilton at the theater was not regretted. No one sang at the show I went to. It was the last performance of Hamilton in Chicago.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hamilton cast reunites for Helpless

 

[Rickster]

Saw Hamilton at a matinee on Broadway about a year ago, and nobody was singing along, at least within earshot. Having seen quite a few musicals over the years, including a few during their peak of popularity (Jersey Boys, Wicked, come to mind) I have never heard an audience sing along in New York or Chicago.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

New promo:

 

[estellasmum]

Wow that sucks about the Disney free trial, but I guess that I would have paid money to go see it in the theater with my daughter, so if I have a one month option, I will definitely pay to see it.

I'm sorry for all of the people that had to listen to other people sing along. The crowd in the city I live in "got" it, and only sang along with the small part that the audience is supposed to participate in. We had 3rd row tickets, and I would have been livid if I had paid that much only to hear someone sing the whole time.

[angora]

That virtual "Helpless" was so much fun, @ElectricBoogaloo! Phillipa sounded great! It cracked me up that most of the shots of Daveed were just of him dancing.

I'm so pumped for the Disney+ release. I was lucky enough to see the OBC - MINUS LMM. He was out sick that day. We saw his understudy Javier Munoz, who was very good, but I was still bummed to have missed LMM. Even though LMM isn't the strongest singer or actor on Broadway, 1) his rapping is obviously awesome and 2) he brings an energy/charisma to his stage presence that's pretty special. I got to see him in In the Heights back in the day, and I loved it to pieces.

[Growsonwalls]

I saw Hamilton about 2 years ago and while some of the replacement cast was good a few of the cast members were really phoning it in. I remember the Eliza and Angelica being particularly sluggish. I can't wait to see the OBC because the energy that people said they brought to the show definitely wasn't there the night I went. 

I also find it cool that the Hamilton OBC has been doing some Zoom reunions. Back in 2015/16 around NYC the feuding of some of the cast members was pretty common knowledge. Nice that they were able to put that aside. 

[nilyank]

This was from a few months ago. "Alexander Hamilton"

 

 

[Babalu]

9 hours ago, angora said:

I'm so pumped for the Disney+ release. I was lucky enough to see the OBC - MINUS LMM. He was out sick that day. We saw his understudy Javier Munoz, who was very good, but I was still bummed to have missed LMM. Even though LMM isn't the strongest singer or actor on Broadway, 1) his rapping is obviously awesome and 2) he brings an energy/charisma to his stage presence that's pretty special. I got to see him in In the Heights back in the day, and I loved it to pieces.

I’m the opposite of you, @angora. I saw Lin in Hamilton and Javier in In the Heights (after Lin had left the production). I wish I’d been able to see Hamilton again with Javier because he’s fantastic (but definitely in addition to, not instead of, Lin).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

I saw Hamilton about 2 years ago and while some of the replacement cast was good a few of the cast members were really phoning it in. I remember the Eliza and Angelica being particularly sluggish. I can't wait to see the OBC because the energy that people said they brought to the show definitely wasn't there the night I went. 

I also find it cool that the Hamilton OBC has been doing some Zoom reunions. Back in 2015/16 around NYC the feuding of some of the cast members was pretty common knowledge. Nice that they were able to put that aside. 

Hahaha, let me guess - you saw Mandy Gonzalez? Per the reports from New York, she's been phoning it in since she took over as Angelica.

As for the feuding, the cliche about a cast being family is often true, and that means sometimes it's easier to get along when you aren't spending eight hours a day together six days a week. And when you consider that it was essentially the same company from the time the cast started working on the show in New York in 2014 through the pre-Broadway run at the Public and then Broadway, I can see how some people might start to annoy you after that much time together day after day.

[Growsonwalls]

4 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Hahaha, let me guess - you saw Mandy Gonzalez? Per the reports from New York, she's been phoning it in since she took over as Angelica.

As for the feuding, the cliche about a cast being family is often true, and that means sometimes it's easier to get along when you aren't spending eight hours a day together six days a week. And when you consider that it was essentially the same company from the time the cast started working on the show in New York in 2014 through the pre-Broadway run at the Public and then Broadway, I can see how some people might start to annoy you after that much time together day after day.

Yes I saw Mandy Gonzalez as Angelica and Lexi Lawson as Eliza. Both were very low energy. Also James Monroe Englehart as Madison/Jefferson was pretty subpar. So I'm really looking forward to seeing the original acclaimed cast. 

[Shannon L.]

When we saw it, it was with an understudy playing Hamilton and I swear it was his first time playing the lead in front of an audience and he forgot his stage direction for few minutes during the scene in the bar.  First off, we were on one side of the stage and he kept his back to that side for several minutes.  I was starting to get irritated and thought there was no way a director would have directed the actor to do that.  Second, we couldn't hear him too well.  But, after a little while, he started to move around and get louder, so we think it was nerves.  I'll have to remember to watch for the direction during that particular scene to see if Lin manages to take in the whole audience or if it really was a stage direction to stand in one spot. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The first time that I saw the Angelica tour, Eliza could not get the letters to actually burn during "Burn." She tried valiantly but the papers just would not catch fire. I chalked it up to "shit happens" which is part of live theater. A friend saw the same company a few weeks later and he said the exact same thing happened so I don't know what was going on with the paper.

The only other big glitch I witnessed was Jefferson's microphone stopped working during one of the cabinet battles (the mic on his head). As soon as the song was over, he ran off stage and got his backup mic and everything was fine after that!

On a related note, if you haven't watched these behind the scenes videos, there's lots of interesting info! Adam Savage from Mythbusters did a series of behind the scenes stuff earlier this year:

Custom microphones:

Sound mixing:

Props:

Backstage:

This is a tour of the orchestra pit with Alex Lacamoire:

 

[cpcathy]

So I signed up for Disney Plus and will cancel before the end of the month. I also had to explain to my husband that we were going to sit down and watch this, and then had to explain which King George we were getting! He likes Taran Killam, but I keep telling him we are getting Groff from Mindhunter.

Also he asked me this, "How long is Hamilton? Six hours?"

[ElectricBoogaloo]

9 hours ago, cpcathy said:

had to explain which King George we were getting! He likes Taran Killam, but I keep telling him we are getting Groff from Mindhunter.

Since we're reminiscing about different Georges, I thought I'd dig up these old videos (honestly, I know we're just drumming our fingers waiting for July 3rd so we can watch Hamilton). For those of you who didn't know, whenever a new actor takes over the role of King George on Broadway, the cast has a coronation ceremony.

The Georges:

1 - Brian d’Arcy James (pre-Broadway)
2 - Jonathan Groff (pre-Broadway & Broadway)
3 - Andrew Ranells (Broadway)
4 - Rory O’Malley (Broadway & Angelica tour)
5 - Taran Killam (Broadway)
6 - Brian d’Arcy James (Broadway)
7 - Euan Morton (Broadway)

George the III the fourth:

George III the fifth:

George III the first and sixth:

And just for funsies since we're talking about King George, the first three Georges do the Schuyler sisters at ham4ham:

 

Edited June 30, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[cpcathy]

I’ve watched the three Georges when I’m down, it always makes me smile.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Satisfied clip:

 

[chitowngirl]

Disney is really going all out to promote this. It seems every commercial break of any channel I’m watching has a commercial for it.

Does anyone know if it’s still going to be released in theaters like it was originally planned?

[Luckylyn]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Satisfied clip:

 

I wish they played the whole thing instead of a little but I get the point is to entice.

Made me think of Jonathan Groff reacting to the Mixtape version of Satisfied.