Hamilton (2020)

[Shannon L.]

Two reviews that remark on how outstanding the filming of the show is:

‘Hamilton’ Review: The Next Best Thing to Being in the Room Where It Happens

Ultimately, no filmed version could ever be a suitable substitute for a live performance, but as someone who has seen Hamilton on Broadway, Kail’s movie gets the audience pretty close to the same exhilaration and wonder created by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning musical.

'Hamilton': Film Review

I had seen the musical four times, three of them with this stellar original cast, listened countless times to the recording and watched what feels like a hundred Zoom reunions. But experiencing the complete production on film for the first time, I was affected by parts of it more piercingly than ever before.

[scarynikki12]

For anyone wondering when the best time to watch is:

 

[Guest]

Hamilton original cast to reunite for behind-the-scenes doc to debut alongside filmed version

[xaxat]

11 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

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?

Knowing Disney's penchant for squeezing every penny out of their intellectual properties, I'd be surprised if it didn't get a theatrical release. But I have no idea when that will be.

Edited July 1, 2020 by xaxat

[Morrigan2575]

10 hours ago, Dani said:

Hamilton original cast to reunite for behind-the-scenes doc to debut alongside filmed version

I love that Disney is doing this for original content. I thoroughly enjoyed the BTS Mandalorian series. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Fun interview with most of the cast (plus Lacamoire & Blankenbuehler). They discuss which songs from the show they wish they could have sung, the upcoming film, etc.

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The cast talks about missing lines or lyrics while performing:

 

[mojoween]

I have the CD, and I’ve seen clips, but had never seen it.

I NEED A CIGARETTE.

It lived up to the hype and then some.  We always learned in creative writing class that “it’s so good” is a terrible descriptive phrase but at this time I cannot formulate something better.

Shallowly - Okieriete is SO HOT.  Helloooo Daveed I love you.  Oh fuck Christopher is wearing glasses.

Story wise I’m 46 and suddenly I care about the treasury of New York.  I did not know Eliza helped to get the Washington monument created.  I wonder if Schuyler Lake is named after their father?  Also, embarrassingly, I did not know Aaron Burr was a senator.  Also also Aaron Burr was a jealous man who was easy to root against, no matter how lovely Leslie Odom is.

If Jefferson and Madison were not actual dude bros in real life I will be sad.

For those of us of A Certain Age, will we ever again hear the name Aaron Burr without hearing it through a mouthful of peanut butter?

20/10 will watch again.  And again and again and again....

The behind the scenes was done recently so I hope Ratemyskyperoom is watching.

Ok so I had to add this, because I found reviews from 2015, and this one from EW explains how I felt about Jonathan Groff better than I ever could, especially the reference to the cat - 

“Smothered in jewels and brocade and preening like an inbred Persian cat, he plays a fantastically camp King George, flouncing on and off stage to deliver supremely bitchy dispatches from England.”

Edited July 3, 2020 by mojoween

[LilWharveyGal]

32 minutes ago, mojoween said:

For those of us of A Certain Age, will we ever again hear the name Aaron Burr without hearing it through a mouthful of peanut butter?

"Aawa Buhhhh!"

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

For those of us of A Certain Age, will we ever again hear the name Aaron Burr without hearing it through a mouthful of peanut butter?

Fun fact: it was one of Michael Bay's first projects!

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

I found reviews from 2015, and this one from EW explains how I felt about Jonathan Groff better than I ever could, especially the reference to the cat - 

“Smothered in jewels and brocade and preening like an inbred Persian cat, he plays a fantastically camp King George, flouncing on and off stage to deliver supremely bitchy dispatches from England.”

I've seen several different actors play King George and no one is as delightfully bitchy as Groff. You can compare Georges 1 & 2 here (audio only):

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Spartan Girl]

It was so worth it to get Disney+ just for this! I don't care if people think Lin-Manuel's singing isn't great, I think it is and more importantly he acted the crap out of Hamilton!

Totally agree that King George and Jefferson were the scene stealers. I've got "You'll Be Back"/stuck in my head now.

"It's Quiet Uptown" destroys me. Every. Damn. Time.

I got to see the stage show last summer and now I've seen the OBC! Bless you, LMM and I hope to God we get In the Heights next year!

[Juneau Gal]

Watched as soon as it dropped. Extraordinary! My only one minor complaint/questions is: why did Leslie Odum sound so lispy? I’ve listened to the soundtrack a million times and never noticed, but last night it was very prominent to the point of distracting. 

[Inquisitionist]

On 6/25/2020 at 1:17 PM, Dani said:

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. 

During his interview with NPR's Fresh Air last week (available online -- Google it!), L-MM said that In The Heights was being delayed to next year as Coronavirus interfered with post- production work.  So I sort of assumed that Hamilton was pulled forward as compensation.  

I've watched Act I so far and am loving it.  I think the camera work is spectacular and really showcases the acting ability of the OBC.  I think the sound mixing is just a wee off at times, but I can live with it.  Overall verdict: an absolute treasure(y).  😄

[ElectricBoogaloo]

54 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

I hope to God we get In the Heights next year!

LMM and Anthony Ramos both confirmed during interviews this week that In the Heights will be released summer 2021. LMM said it needs to be seen in a movie theater so they wanted to wait until next year when they can release it properly. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

12 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

"It's Quiet Uptown" destroys me. Every. Damn. Time.

I was lucky to see this show live several times. The first time I was trying my best not to outright SOB during this song. After that, Mr. EB came prepared every time we got to see the show again. He kept a packet of tissue in his pocket just for me and as soon as those piano notes started at the beginning of the song, he just silently handed me a tissue and waited for me to commence with the waterworks again.

People talk about Lin’s genius for his rhyme patterns and word play, but one of the most powerful, moving, and insightful lines is from It’s Quiet Uptown: “the moments when you’re in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down.”

After I saw the show, I read this story about how Oskar Eustis’ 16 year old son died by suicide in the early days of Hamilton (which just makes me cry even more when I hear this song):

Quote

AN MP3 ARRIVED by email, hours after Jack’s death. It came from Lin-Manuel Miranda, a new arrival to the Public fold.

It was a demo recording of “It’s Quiet Uptown,” the song from “Hamilton” describing Alexander Hamilton, and his wife, Eliza, as they grieve the death of their 19-year-old son, Philip:

There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is suffering too terrible to name
You hold your child as tight as you can
And push away the unimaginable
The moments when you’re in so deep
It feels easier to just swim down.

“There is nothing you can say,” Mr. Miranda recalled thinking. “And yet, I had a song about this. So I wrote to him saying, ‘If this is useful, then lean on it, and, if not, delete this email.’”

Mr. Eustis and his wife found it useful. “Every line of ‘Quiet Uptown’ feels like it’s exactly correct to my experience,” Mr. Eustis said. “It was the only music we listened to for a long time, and we listened to it every day, and it became a key thing for the two of us.” 

“For me, the beautiful thing about ‘Quiet Uptown’ is, it serves a ritualistic function — it takes us into the grief, and then it takes us out of it,” Mr. Eustis said. “And there’s nothing, there’s no other ritual that I know of, that can do that for me.”

Edited July 4, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Growsonwalls]

I watched it this morning and reviewed it on my personal blog. Really was bowled away by the film and it was so much better than the cast I saw.

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2020/07/hamilton-on-disney-plus-happy.html

[DearEvette]

 I already had HULU so bundling Disney was only an extra three dollars.  Not a bad deal.

I have a projector that we use occasionally.  I pulled it out, projecting it full out so it fillec an entire wall, darkened the whole room and turned on the surround sound.  Trying to get as close to theatre atmosphere as possible. LOL.

Really enjoyed it so much.  Like the movement and energy. 

Standouts for me: Daveed Diggs' Lafayette, Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler) , and Jonathan Groff (King George). And the female dancers in their breeches and their big ass natural hair!! 

Watched the first time with no CC but the second time I had CC on to follow along better with the songs.

 

ETA:  The Hamilton/Jefferson rap battle debate was everything!!

Edited July 3, 2020 by DearEvette

[Enigma X]

Just finished and loved it. I could not help to compare it with the one time I saw it in the theater with different actors. Very interesting the differences in theatrical interpretation.

[GHScorpiosRule]

This was AWESOME, and I’m bitter I didn’t watch it in the theatre (being unemployed made it impossible) when it first came out.

But now I HAVE to see it live. Once it’s safe to do so. A big FU to the pandemic.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

Watched the first time with no CC but the second time I had CC on to follow along better with the songs.

BIG shout-out for the CC's.  I caught a lot I had missed before, after multiple listens to the soundtrack and reading the lyrics online.

[choclatechip45]

I saw the show after the original cast left. I was most excited to see Daveed, Renee, and Leslie in this and they lived up to the hype! I can't wait to watch it again.

[Jenniferbug]

2 hours ago, Enigma X said:

Just finished and loved it. I could not help to compare it with the one time I saw it in the theater with different actors. Very interesting the differences in theatrical interpretation.

Yes! I was lucky enough to see it with a touring company. And as amazing as Leslie Odom Jr is, I have to say that I preferred the Burr from the show I saw more (Nik Walker). I thought he showed more of Burr's humanity and made him feel less villainous. 

I don't think it will ever matter how many times I see or listen to this- I'm always going to sob through most of the 2nd act. 

[Joimiaroxeu]

Lin-Manuel Miranda is an absolute genius. I'm watching Hamilton on Disney+ right now and I'm almost crying at how brilliant it is.

[Enigma X]

I preferred my Burr too, and my King George rivaled (not bested) Groff. 

Yeah. I was a crying mess by the end.

Edited July 4, 2020 by Enigma X

[bettername2come]

Question: did a “fuck” stay in? I only noticed the two edited out and only remember the others as curses cut short.

[xaxat]

Late notice, but members of the Hamilton crew (Lin-Manuel, Leslie, Alex from what I've seen so far.) Are holding a twitter watch party RIGHT NOW! It started at seven, so you still have plenty of show to go. There's a lot of noise in the #hamilfilm and #hamiltonfilm, so you might just want to stick with Lin-Manuel who retweets the reactions of other members of the production.

Edited July 3, 2020 by xaxat

[AimingforYoko]

Question to Hamilton-philes, was Groff drooling during "You'll Be Back" scripted?

Edited July 4, 2020 by AimingforYoko

[ebk57]

6 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Question to Hamiton-philes, was Groff drooling during "You'll Be Back" scripted?

Nope.  It's just a natural "talent" of his.

[MrWhyt]

7 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I've got "You'll Be Back"/stuck in my head now.

I've been humming the da, da, da, dat, da... all day

[crimsongrl]

I never saw the play but I was obsessed with the cast album for about a month 4 years ago. It was amazing how familiar I was with all the songs. The movie helped me appreciate Angelica so much more. Satisifed is fantastic! I think Chris Jackson is still my favorite.

🎶Here comes the General! 🎶

Edited July 4, 2020 by crimsongrl

[SoMuchTV]

58 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

Question: did a “fuck” stay in? I only noticed the two edited out and only remember the others as curses cut short.

I had the same question. I read that LMM “gave two f’s” so the movie could stay pg-13, but I didn’t notice what stayed in. I guess that’s a testament to how good this is - everything just sounds right and not out of place. 

[ebk57]

We're at intermission now.  I'm so happy... 

[Growsonwalls]

The wit of the lyrics is astonishing. Like the Maria Reynolds affair: "I wish I could say this was the last time/But the last time because a past-time."

[scarynikki12]

The Twitter watch party has ended but was a ton of fun. I think my favorite non-show part was when Vanessa (Lin's awesome wife) revealed that she always boos when he kisses a costar on stage. So their boys joined in tonight and the older one, Sebastian, kept count of the kisses so they wouldn't miss a chance to boo, hee.

Within the show my favorite remains Leslie's Burr. Wait For It is my favorite song of Act 1 and The Room Where It Happens is my favorite of Act 2. Sheer brilliance.

Pippa's Eliza always makes me cry and Who Lives Who Dies Who Tells Your Story just unleashes the weeping. I know it's coming and I can't stop it.

All I can ever say about Daveed is Holy.Fuck. Lin described him as a force of nature when he was on Colbert and it's 100% accurate.

Joanne Freeman is a historian I follow and she was part of the watch party tweeting out history facts. She included one that Phillip had been involved in 10 duels prior to the one that killed him and all had ended before the actual dueling. When Alexander learned that Phillip had left for the last one he fainted. This makes the whole thing sadder and explains his nonchalance in the show (most disputes die and no one shoots).

[Lyinfait]

When one character said

Spoiler

I shot him,

 I immediately started doing peanut butter mouth and giggling. I know that one! But then it got started. And wow! If this is the filmed version and there was that much passion and energy, I can only imagine what being there live would be like. It was much greater than my expectations. I loved all the natural hair and glorious voices. Some of those voices were revelations. The music, the rhythms, the choreography, the wit--that is how a vision comes together. I'm gushing but it has been a very long time since music (my passion) made me feel passionate. I had chills. Can't wait to watch again. 

Edited July 4, 2020 by Lyinfait

[ebk57]

I've seen the show 3 times.  All the casts have been good to great (the first time was about a month after the original cast left, but Renee Elise Goldsberry and Christopher Jackson were still there - and Brandon Victor Dixon was Burr... swoon.....).  The cast I saw at the Kennedy Center (Austin Scott was Hamilton) was probably my favorite overall.  However, this cast is pretty darn perfect.  I'm guessing I'll be watching this every day for the next month.  Because there's nothing more important going on in my life now. 

I love this show. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I had the same question. I read that LMM “gave two f’s” so the movie could stay pg-13, but I didn’t notice what stayed in. I guess that’s a testament to how good this is - everything just sounds right and not out of place. 

That's what I read too but I didn't notice any fucks.  I did notice some shits that got in. 

1 hour ago, Lyinfait said:

 I loved all the natural hair and glorious voices.

Renee G said on Twitter that she normally wears a wig on stage (very common) but because it was being filmed, she didn't want the wig lace to show so she went with her own hair. 

[JessePinkman]

Okay okay okay but did anyone see Renee's face when Angelica said "I'll leave you to it!" during Satisfied?

It's my favorite song in the show (MAYBE NOW tied with One Last Time after Christopher Jackson decided to destroy my disposition with that performance) already but my god being able to see Angelica's heartbreak up close and in technicolor is really too much for my soul.

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

That's what I read too but I didn't notice any fucks.  I did notice some shits that got in. 

They didn't censor anything but the two fucks. They left all of the other swearing and sexual content in because they wanted to change as little as possible.

2 hours ago, Lyinfait said:

I loved all the natural hair and glorious voices.

Many of the cast members wore wigs (including the non-POC) because it's easier to have their hair consistently look the same every night that way. And honestly, it can be less maintenance to throw on a wig cap and put on a wig that's been pre-styled and taken care of by the hair people beforehand than sitting in a chair to have them style your hair just so every night. There are a couple of actresses in the ensemble who have shown their Hamilton wigs in backstage photos and you would never guess that they were wearing wigs because their hair looks exactly the same in other (non-Hamilton) pictures (like hanging out at home). Both of these are wigs:

But I agree that it's nice to see natural looking hair. There have been a few cast members who had non-traditional (for Broadway) hair and they were allowed to wear it that way for the show. Emmy Raver-Lampman played Angelica like this and I loved that they didn't insist that she had to have shoulder length hair for the role:

[Growsonwalls]

Daveed Diggs is such a scene-stealer. Every time he's onstage he cracks me up. His timing is impeccable -- not sure anyone could ever replicate his humor and energy. Wow. What a performance.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

14 hours ago, Enigma X said:

Just finished and loved it. I could not help to compare it with the one time I saw it in the theater with different actors. Very interesting the differences in theatrical interpretation.

I have seen three of the touring companies but five completely different casts (I was able to see the Angelica tour on dates that were about a year apart so there had been a major cast change after contracts expired and only three of the main cast members were still the same - ditto for when I saw the Peggy company about a year apart and there were only three people in the main cast who I saw the previous time). I also saw the bootleg of the OBC so I watched six different casts in total and one thing that I really appreciated was that the tour casts were not told to just imitate what the OBC did. They were given the freedom to interpret their characters and make different choices, whether it was little flourishes, individual gestures, or musical style.

[mojoween]

Does anyone know if Jonathan Groff was the one who gives the “no recording” warning as King George at the beginning?

8 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Daveed Diggs is such a scene-stealer. Every time he's onstage he cracks me up. His timing is impeccable -- not sure anyone could ever replicate his humor and energy. Wow. What a performance.

During the song where they are excited Hamilton is finished (sorry I don’t have the song names memorized yet, heh) Daveed does this hop on the desk that looks difficult, and is also adorable.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

6 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Does anyone know if Jonathan Groff was the one who gives the “no recording” warning as King George at the beginning?

Yes, King George is the one who makes the announcement at the beginning of each show. Jonathan Groff did the one for this recording.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Cast reunion with Seth Rudethsky:

 

[DanaMB]

On 6/22/2020 at 10:46 PM, 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.  

I had the same problem when watching it yesterday. I turned on captions, but they were too distracting and kept drawing my away from the actors, so I decided to watch without them. I plan on watching it again, and I’ll turn on captions then. 

[Spartan Girl]

11 hours ago, JessePinkman said:

Okay okay okay but did anyone see Renee's face when Angelica said "I'll leave you to it!" during Satisfied?

It's my favorite song in the show (MAYBE NOW tied with One Last Time after Christopher Jackson decided to destroy my disposition with that performance) already but my god being able to see Angelica's heartbreak up close and in technicolor is really too much for my soul.

 

That was a nice touch. However, and this is probably an unpopular opinion, I don't feel THAT bad for Angelica considering that she and Hamilton were pretty much having an emotional affair behind Eliza's back. This wasn't exactly Eponine pining after oblivious Marius. Angelica sized up who Hamilton was, knew immediately that he wasn't marriage material for her (no matter how taken she was for him) and introduced him to her sister because it was a better match for everyone involved.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Some fun Hamilton stories from George III the third aka Andrew Rannells (one of the stories that LMM told in the interview above reminded me of these two stories):

 

[Inquisitionist]

14 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

The wit of the lyrics is astonishing. Like the Maria Reynolds affair: "I wish I could say this was the last time/But the last time because a past-time."

Close!  🙃  "I wish I could say that was the last time/I said that last time/It became a past-time."  All lyrics available here.  And if you don't have a copy  of Hamilton: The Revolution, get it!  👍

[peggy06]

On 6/22/2020 at 8:03 PM, xaxat said:

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

 

 

Maybe it's because I only know this from watching the show on Disney+, but why does everyone laugh when he goes into character as AH to say the name? I didn't think that was funny or even really meant to be funny.