Hamilton (2020)

[peggy06]

On 7/3/2020 at 9:41 AM, mojoween said:

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.”

I didn't know all that stuff about Aaron Burr, either. Ditto for Hamailton himself, though I always had a sneaking liking for him amongst the Founding Fathers.  

Thought that came to me while watching: In this production, Aaron Burr=Antonio Salieri. (Except for the part where killing AH really did happen.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 minutes ago, peggy06 said:

I didn't know all that stuff about Aaron Burr, either.

Burr was shady as shit. Aside from shooting Hamilton, he was also arraigned four times for treason before a grand jury indicted him, planned to raise an army and invade Mexico, racked up a bunch of debt and fled to Europe, and later married a wealthy widow and then lost most of her money through land speculation. His daughter Theodosia was lost at sea and there were all kinds of rumors about what really happened to her (the most popular version was that she was murdered by pirates).

[AheadofStraight]

 

On 6/30/2020 at 10:11 AM, 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?

I think I've seen Lin say on twitter that he still hopes it is released in the theater at some point...

17 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

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

This is common at shows. If you ever get to see a show from the first couple of rows, be prepared for spray. 😷 There is a reason Broadway is closed for the remainder of the year!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 minute ago, AheadofStraight said:

If you ever get to see a show from the first couple of rows, be prepared for spray.

 

[lurkerbee]

16 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. 

The one that stayed in was the incomplete one in "Say No To This".

Yes, Hamilton on Disney+ Will Include the F-Bomb (But Only One)

[Jenniferbug]

Not to be that person, but the real life Angelica was already married with a couple of children when she met Hamilton, so their relationship as portrayed in the show isn't exactly as it was in real life. I'm not a history expert, but I think they were super close and kind of flirtatious with each other, but not really pining for each other or anything. Someone who is better read on history can correct me though.

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, peggy06 said:

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.

I think because in 2009 it was just so unexpected that AH would be the subject of something like this.  Who could imagine, y'know?

Sort of the modern-day equivalent of Carol Burnett singing about John Foster Dulles...?

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by SoMuchTV
Edited to try to find an equivalent situation

[scarynikki12]

30 minutes ago, Jenniferbug said:

Not to be that person, but the real life Angelica was already married with a couple of children when she met Hamilton, so their relationship as portrayed in the show isn't exactly as it was in real life. I'm not a history expert, but I think they were super close and kind of flirtatious with each other, but not really pining for each other or anything. Someone who is better read on history can correct me though.

One of the historians I follow confirms that their relationship was platonic in real life. Alex did misinterpret a letter she sent him (the My Dearest referenced was actually from Angelica to Alex rather than how it happens in the show) but she instantly clarified that it was a grammar mistake and that was the end of it. They were close in real life just not romantically. 

[Empress1]

19 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

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.

When I saw it live, I remarked "He WROTE THAT." Like, that whole thing came from his head. I saw an interview years ago where he said he was struck by inspiration for "Wait For It" on the subway on the way to a party and he turned around, went home and wrote the song in half an hour. 

Watching the movie made me really miss being in theaters with people, because the mood of the audience can affect the experience. Hearing the audience in the movie laugh and exclaim and ooh and ahh made me miss being able to have that experience. When I saw it live, there was so much of that - when the line "You must be out of your GOT-DAMN MIND" came in the cabinet battle, the audience fell out. I so miss being able to experience that. 

I have such a crush on Daveed Diggs. His entrance in "Guns and Ships" changes the whole energy of the show in a great way, and he's so charming. (I met him once. He was as I hoped he would be.)

Renee Elise Goldsberry has said that she still has to audition a lot and still doesn't get roles, and that is a fucking disgrace. What she does with "Satisfied" should allow her to walk into any theater anywhere.

Leslie Odom Jr. put his whole, entire foot into this shit.

[Shannon L.]

I don't even know if there's a word to describe how I felt watching that other than "amazing" which seems way too simple.  I felt a myriad of emotions.  Our seats at the only live show we saw weren't great and I left the theater thinking that it was really good and a lot of fun, but I didn't remember much of it after a while.  This?  Wow!  What an experience.  They were all fantastic, but Daveed Diggs--man was he fun and so cute! 

Someone earlier mentioned how clever the lyrics were and I agree.  Did it occur to everyone else that  including "lying in wait" in Wait for It was a nod to the future?  "Lying in wait" is the term police use when someone is in the act of hiding/waiting for someone with an intent to kill.  I get chills when I hear it.

As powerful as most of the music and performances are, the one that moves me the most is One Last Time

I need to see this at least once more because I felt there were so many details on stage that I couldn't take them all in at once.  I need to watch again and look around more than just at the main people in the scene just to see what I might have missed.

[khyber]

I went into this with no previous exposure to any of the music.  It was great to have the subtitles, to catch all the subtleties. I really enjoyed this, as I now live in a small town, so we don't get the big touring shows. Now, if they would just do this for Book of Mormon. 

[SoMuchTV]

Maybe this is the place to say this.  I've heard interviews with both LMM and Daveed Diggs (maybe Fresh Air?  Bullseye?) where they both expressed a little bit of frustration with all the people who came up to them and said, I don't care for rap/hiphop, but I loved Hamilton.  Can I express another side?  I can't tolerate about 99% of musical theater, but I loved Hamilton.  I don't know if that will make them feel better or worse!

[mojoween]

I started watching again this morning and my son was like “I want to see the spitting part.”  Sorry Jonathan.

Quote

Watching the movie made me really miss being in theaters with people, because the mood of the audience can affect the experience. Hearing the audience in the movie laugh and exclaim and ooh and ahh made me miss being able to have that experience.

 

I took the CD in the car today and that’s how I felt.  I missed the audience reactions and the whole thing just felt more...polished.  Leslie Odom Jr. in the studio is smooth as silk, but his rawness in the live theatre is mesmerizing.

And “You’ll Be Back” without seeing the shimmy is just not the same.

Edited July 4, 2020 by mojoween

[Jordan Baker]

I saw the national tour of "Hamilton" in February. We were near the back of the balcony, which is generally not the best place to see a show. In particular, I had a difficult time understanding some the lyrics. (I am not someone who came to the show knowing all the lyrics, although the young woman behind me clearly did, as she demonstrated multiple times.) I thought the show was very good and was thrilled that I finally had a chance to see it, but watching this movie last night put things in perspective. The touring cast was fine; the original cast was extraordinary.

The singing, the acting, the energy were just magnified with the original cast.

The overall show, in fact, felt different. One small example--in the national tour, I thought the last scene, in which Eliza talks about her future, was rushed. In fact, I thought it was quite weak. The scene in the movie was so much better.

Everything was better.

It was such a gift for LMM/Disney to issue this now.

I love musicals, and, above all, I love the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, because the lyrics are intricate and witty and amazing and the music is sublime. I guess the same could be said for Lin-Manual Miranda.

Edited July 4, 2020 by Jordan Baker

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

Watching the movie made me really miss being in theaters with people, because the mood of the audience can affect the experience. Hearing the audience in the movie laugh and exclaim and ooh and ahh made me miss being able to have that experience. When I saw it live, there was so much of that - when the line "You must be out of your GOT-DAMN MIND" came in the cabinet battle, the audience fell out. I so miss being able to experience that. 

At this point I don't want to see a road company version of it (yeah, I'm theatre snobby like that 😉) but I hope one day Disney will be able to release the film in movie theaters and it'll be safe to go see it.

Though it wasn't remotely on the same level as Hamilton and it didn't have the original cast, I remember seeing Dreamgirls at the movies on opening day and was it amazing. The whole place stood up and applauded after Jennifer Hudson performed The Song, and you could hear some sniffles in the audience too. I miss having live experiences like that as well as theatre productions.

I plan to watch Hamilton again because I'm sure a lot of it went by me the first time. About 45 minutes in I was fairly overcome to be witnessing such brilliance in those song lyrics. I was one of those people couldn't understand why such a big deal was being made of Hamilton and eventually would roll my eyes every time I saw someone gushing about it. Now I understand.

[Brn2bwild]

19 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.

I've seen the show four times (including this), and he's the only person who manages to walk the fine line between flamboyant and menacing as Jefferson.  The London Jefferson came closest after him, but the other two I saw made him seem like an utter clown, which lessened him considerably as an adversary.

I was really impressed with Philippa Soo's performance.  Her singing voice doesn't quite do it for me (too delicate, slightly brittle), but her presence and quiet depth were amazing.    

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Though it wasn't remotely on the same level as Hamilton and it didn't have the original cast, I remember seeing Dreamgirls at the movies on opening day and was it amazing. The whole place stood up and applauded after Jennifer Hudson performed The Song, and you could hear some sniffles in the audience too. I miss having live experiences like that as well as theatre productions.

There was a standing ovation in my theater when I saw Dreamgirls too. And when you go see a horror movie, everyone gasps or screams at the scary parts. When you see a comedy, everybody laughs. It’s fun to be a part of that. With theater, every show is different so you never know what might happen, which is exciting!

Watching this also made me miss singing in any kind of organized way. In “Yorktown,” I was picking out all the parts when the chorus sang “the world turned upside down.” I used to sing, and got some reason that song reminded me of how good it felt to join my voice with other people, whether it was one other person or many, and produce something. (Also the instrumentals on that song are FIRE. I wish they’d been allowed to keep Hercules’ “fuck” in.)

[Browncoat]

I finally watched tonight, and came to it without having heard all the music (just a few snippets here and there), and DAMN!!!  This show is amazing!  I am so impressed by pretty much every aspect -- lighting, costumes, staging, acting, singing, choreography, and obviously the music and lyrics.  One of the few shows I've seen that really does have it all.  I'm nearly speechless at how incredible this show is. 

Daveed's Jefferson was a riot.  Leslie's Aaron Burr, Sir was spot-on, conveying exactly what he meant to convey.  I did actually want more of King George III.  For a tyrant, he was delightful (spit and all).  I just can't say enough good about everyone.  

Definitely going to have to re-watch.  And despite having it at my disposal, I'd still like to see it performed live.  Even if it has to be a touring company -- though I'd love to be able to go to New York and see it there.

[Growsonwalls]

I've just watched Daveed Diggs happily prancing around onstage during "The Reynolds Pamphlet" like 10 times. It's awesome and cracks me up every time. 

One thing the musical gets right is the Jefferson/Hamilton feud. The two actually did dislike each other and leaked scandalous information about the other to political tabloids. When Hamilton died Thomas Jefferson simply wrote to his daughter, "“I presume Mr. Randolph’s newspapers will inform him of the death of Colo. Hamilton, which took place on the 12th.”

[ElectricBoogaloo]

For anyone who is on the fence about whether to see this live eventually (translation: whether to pay $$$ after seeing it for $7 in the comfort of their own home), Mr. EB and I see a lot of theater. We have several subscriptions, including the Broadway tours that come through SF. I'd say his reaction to about 75% of the shows we see are, "It was okay." My standard of measurement is a sliding scale of "Would you see this again?" and the varying degrees are:

3 stars - I would see this again and pay $$$
2 stars - I would see this again if it was really cheap
1 star - I would see this again if it was free
0 stars - I wouldn't see this again even if it was free

Mr. EB almost never gives 3 stars to ANYTHING but he knew I really wanted to see Hamilton so he spent four hours waiting in the online queue room to get tickets and ended up getting us really good seats. He didn't listen to the soundtrack beforehand because he wanted to experience it all live. He ended up loving it, so when I told him that I wanted to see it again he said he would definitely see it again. I can't remember another show that he gave the 3 star rating to the last time in the last decade. After he saw how good the show was, he entered the online lottery EVERY SINGLE DAY (neither of us ever won, but he knows several people who did, and even some people won won multiple times, so his reaction was a combination "good for you!"/"DAMN IT, WHY NOT ME?").

We have seen the show live six times over three years but we were both eager to see this high def recording with the OBC. Mr. EB really liked it but when I asked him if he liked it better than seeing it live, he said that seeing it live was definitely better. Don't get me wrong - I am SO glad that the cast and producers did this (in one recording, LMM mentioned that they paid for it themselves because that's how much they wanted to capture this show live) and I'm really glad that I got to see the original cast up close in a way that you don't get even if you're in the orchestra section. But there is something so different about seeing theater live with an audience and that's what shows like this are made for.

Related: LMM said that "immigrants - we get the job done" always get the audience hooting and applauding so he had Alex Lacamoire experiment with holding for the applause for a few seconds (not to milk the moment for more applause but because he thought holding for longer would let everyone cheer and then the audience would be able to hear the next line clearly) but no matter how long he had the orchestra hold, the audience would continue to applaud after that line until the next line began so he ended up cutting the length of the pause to the original.

Anyway, my point is that this show was meant to be seen live, so if you enjoyed watching it on your screen, I would definitely recommend seeing it live in the future. It's an enhanced experience seeing it in a full theater with other people. I've seen several Broadway shows that were filmed and shown in theaters and there is something about the communal experience that really makes seeing it so different. But I will admit that I love that I was able to watch Hamilton at home knowing that there wouldn't be a tall person sitting in front of me blocking my view or an annoying person singing loudly behind me!

Edited July 8, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[phalange]

I’ve had the entire thing memorized for years but never got to see it live, so I had fun yesterday singing along by myself at 3:00 a.m.

This cast is just so amazingly talented. Everything Daveed Diggs does is perfection. The camera zooming in every time Groff spit was hilarious. And I never knew he stayed on stage after I Know Him. His dancing off to the side during The Adams Administration took me out. Renee Elise Goldsberry killed it during Satisfied, and the stage spinning as they actually rewind back to Helpless looked so cool. And Phillipa Soo, just wow. Not just her voice, but also her scream after Philip dies, and her gasp at the end when she sees the audience. I’ve watched it twice so far, and keep noticing little background details; everything is just so well done. 

Edited July 5, 2020 by phalange

[ElectricBoogaloo]

13 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

Not to be that person, but the real life Angelica was already married with a couple of children when she met Hamilton, so their relationship as portrayed in the show isn't exactly as it was in real life. I'm not a history expert, but I think they were super close and kind of flirtatious with each other, but not really pining for each other or anything. Someone who is better read on history can correct me though.

There are lots of historical inaccuracies in the show but it doesn't really bother me because we live in the internet age which means anyone can google these people and find out the truth. No one should take everything presented in this show as 100% true (which is the general rule of thumb for any work of art based on real people/events).

Other inaccuracies in the show:

• Angelica says her father has no sons so her job is to marry rich. In reality, her father Philip Schuyler had 8 children who survived to adulthood, including three sons. Angelica was the oldest child and there may have been premarital hanky panky with her parents (they married on September 7, 1755, and Angelica was born on February 20, 1756, so either she was born extremely premature or this was a "get married before the baby is born" wedding)
• The other Philip Schuyler (Eliza and Alexander's son) says on his ninth birthday that he has a sister but he'd like a little brother. In reality, by the time that Philip turned 9 in 1791, he already had one sister and two brothers.
• Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after [Hamilton] - this has been discussed a lot and was  thoroughly debunked here (lots of info about Hamilton the man here if you're interested!)
• In the show, Hamilton confesses to Burr, Madison, and Jefferson about his affair and immediately publishes the Reynolds Pamphlet to get ahead of the news in hopes of controlling the conversation. In reality James Reynolds was arrested for forgery in 1792 and asked Hamilton for help. When Hamilton refused, Reynolds went to House Speaker Frederick Muhlenberg, Rep. Abraham Venable of Virginia, and future President James Monroe and told them that Hamilton had an affair with his wife (he conveniently left out his blackmailing) and that the speculation scheme he was in prison for involved Hamilton. Muhlenberg, Venable, and Monroe questioned Hamilton about the accusations and brought letters that Reynolds said Hamilton wrote to Maria. Hamilton admitted to them that he’d had an affair with her but denied any part in the speculation scheme. Monroe sent the letters to Jefferson and they were leaked to others. In 1797, a pamphlet was published about Hamilton's affair and his possible involvement in a speculation scheme. In response, Hamilton published the Reynolds Pamphlet to defend himself. He thought that if he came completely clean about the affair, people would realize that would come to the  conclusion that he was telling the truth about not being involved in the speculation scheme.
• Before One Last Time, Jefferson resigns from Washington's cabinet so he can run for President and Washington tells Hamilton he is stepping down. In reality, Jefferson resigned in 1793 and Washington left office in 1797 (and Hamilton left Washington's cabinet in 1795).
• In the musical, Philip was aiming for the sky before the count of ten when George Eaker shot him. In reality, the reports were that they both stood pointing their guns at each other for a full minute before Eaker fired.
• In the show, the Burr/Hamilton duel was brought on by the 1800 election results. In reality, their duel was a result of Burr running for governor in 1804.
• Jefferson "won in a landslide" as a result of Hamilton's support in the show. In reality, Jefferson barely won.

Fun fact #1: when Maria Reynolds divorced her husband, Aaron Burr was her attorney.

Fun fact #2: when Aaron Burr's second wife (coincidentally named Eliza) divorced him, her attorney was Alexander Hamilton, Jr.

Fun fact #3: the pistols that were used in the Philip Hamilton/George Eaker and Burr/Hamilton duels belonged to Angelica’s husband, John Church, who duelled with Burr in 1799.

Edited July 5, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

10 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Renee Elise Goldsberry has said that she still has to audition a lot and still doesn't get roles, and that is a fucking disgrace. What she does with "Satisfied" should allow her to walk into any theater anywhere.

It is ridiculous to me that someone with her resume and talent is still not getting cast. She was Nala in the Lion King, Mimi in Rent, and SHE WON A FREAKING TONY for Hamilton!

6 hours ago, Jordan Baker said:

in the national tour, I thought the last scene, in which Eliza talks about her future, was rushed. In fact, I thought it was quite weak. The scene in the movie was so much better.

Tours often speed up the song tempos so that the show will end earlier because when you rent a theater, there are often caps on how long the show can be (it's similar to renting a wedding venue). I can't remember which show I saw a few years ago (maybe Phantom or Les Mis?) but most of the songs were noticeably sped up and I was like OMG, SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!

9 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

I need to see this at least once more because I felt there were so many details on stage that I couldn't take them all in at once.  I need to watch again and look around more than just at the main people in the scene just to see what I might have missed.

3 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Watching this also made me miss singing in any kind of organized way. In “Yorktown,” I was picking out all the parts when the chorus sang “the world turned upside down.” I used to sing, and got some reason that song reminded me of how good it felt to join my voice with other people, whether it was one other person or many, and produce something.

1 hour ago, Growsonwalls said:

I've just watched Daveed Diggs happily prancing around onstage during "The Reynolds Pamphlet" like 10 times. It's awesome and cracks me up every time. 

What I absolutely LOVE about having the show filmed like this is that I can now watch the background action at my leisure. Usually when I see a show live, I focus on whoever is singing at the time but I really love being able to watch the ensemble dance or rewind to see a funny/favorite moment again!

3 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Watching this also made me miss singing in any kind of organized way. In “Yorktown,” I was picking out all the parts when the chorus sang “the world turned upside down.” I used to sing, and got some reason that song reminded me of how good it felt to join my voice with other people, whether it was one other person or many, and produce something.

Yes, I LOVE that moment! Also on the list is "tiiiiiiiiime" in the opening number. There's something about harmonizing in a strong moment that reminds me how awesome it is to be a small part in something big.

[angora]

10 hours ago, lurkerbee said:

The one that stayed in was the incomplete one in "Say No To This".

Yes, Hamilton on Disney+ Will Include the F-Bomb (But Only One)

Okay, so that WAS the "fuck." I kept wracking my brain trying to figure out what they left in. I thought of that one, but isn't it actually just "Fuhhh--" - that still counts? Boo. If I was choosing, I'd have kept, "Southern motherfucking Democratic-Republicans!" I love that line so much.

Eternal thanks to LMM, the cast/crew/orchestra, Disney+, and everyone else who had anything to do with making this and getting it in front of our eyeballs. I agree with everyone who's said that it doesn't replace live theatre, but I'm grateful for every show that gets recorded. Even if the show in question doesn't really connect with me personally, it's still special to capture that moment in time and make it available for people to see it who otherwise wouldn't have a chance to. And for people who have seen it live, to rekindle those memories and/or give them the opportunity to see it with the original cast.

Because - that cast! There's not one weak link in the chain.

• I remember that it took me seeing the show to fully appreciate just how great Okieriete Onaodowan is, because as much as loved his Hercule Mulligan on the cast recording, I didn't get how fantastic his performance was until I saw just how much of a cold fish Madison is onstage. He plays hilariously off of the wildly-animated Jefferson, and it's such an amazing contrast to the gritty, dynamic Hercules Mulligan.
• Leslie Odom Jr.'s voice is just like silk, and both "Wait for It" and "The Room Where It Happened" are such incredible moments in the show. The bridge of "Wait for It" (starting with "I am the one thing is life I can control") is an instance where I inevitably get choked up even though the lines themselves aren't as explicitly-emotional as other moments in the show. LMM is a composer who can sometimes make me tear up because his melodies are just THAT DAMN BEAUTIFUL, and when you put it together with the lyrics and Leslie's soaring vocals, I'm just dead.
• Jasmine Cephas Jones is another one I had to see onstage to fully appreciate. Her Peggy is a delight, and then she's completely different as Maria Reynolds.
• Can Christopher Jackson be my president? He brings such presence to the role. I love how, even though Jackson is just a few years older than LMM, you can completely buy Washington as a father figure to Hamilton - he's just out there with ALL the gravity, and then he still brings the gentlemanly rapping with the Gilbert & Sullivan references and everything. "One Last Time" kills me every time. After In the Heights, I hoped he'd become a big star, but it feels like LMM is the only Broadway composer who knows how to treat him right.
• Phillipa Soo is the one who invariably wrecks me. It starts with "Burn," with a bigger wobble at that soft delivery of "It's quiet uptown," and then as soon as we get to her part in the finale, I'm gone. Even if I'm just singing "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" in the shower, sometimes I can't even sing her part. "Eliza...", and that's it for me.
• Jonathan Groff is so great as King George. I love that his costume gets less elaborate each time he comes onstage as he grows more dejected about his "relationship" with the U.S. Everything about this character is perfect.
• Everything about Anthony Ramos is so earnest. Even when Philip is being all cocky, he's still got his heart out on his sleeve. He's a great Laurens - I especially love the "Rise Up" lines in "My Shot."
• Oh man, Renee Elise Goldsberry. ICONIC. She tears the roof off of "Satisfied" - I'm spellbound from "Number one:" all the way to "At least I keep his eyes in my life." I was blown clean away the first time I heard that song. I was obsessed that the fact that we were presented with a woman who explicitly tells us she's rejecting the guy she wants in order to marry for money, and that decision is given CONTEXT and a sympathetic portrayal. She's another one that needs to be a bigger star like yesterday.
• Obviously, LMM. He's of course a better composer/lyricist than he is an actor or a singer, but when he keeps to his wheelhouse - namely, passionate, energetic, and idealistic, so Hamilton all over - he does well. He plays off Jefferson especially well, along with Eliza and Washington. I also love all the moments of him being obnoxiously-extra, like speaking for 6 hours at the Constitutional Convention or sending Burr an itemized list of 30 years of disagreements (the ensemble carrying each page over to Burr separately - ha!!!) "Hurricane" is another one where I always get choked up at a less obvious moment, because everything just comes together so beautifully - it's, "They passed a plate around, total strangers moved to kindness by my story."
• Daveed Diggs is an absolute CHARISMA BOMB. I love everything about both Lafayette and Jefferson. "Guns and Ships" just explodes off the stage, and Jefferson steals every goddamn scene he's in. On this viewing (the first of many, no doubt,) the only moment I rewound to watch again was the "I'm in the Cabinet - I am complicit in..." run in "Washington on Your Side," because he's just that great. Also, Jefferson making it rain with the Reynolds Pamphlet gives me life. I don't know if Diggs wants to do more Broadway, TV, movies, music, writing (have you seen Blindspotting? you should,) or whatever, but I want him to be able to do EVERYTHING he wants to do.

[Empress1]

6 hours ago, angora said:

I don't know if Diggs wants to do more Broadway, TV, movies, music, writing (have you seen Blindspotting? you should,) or whatever, but I want him to be able to do EVERYTHING he wants to do.

I have seen Blindspotting. He’s also starring in Snowpiercer on TNT right now, and he was in a play called White Noise, written by Pulitzer winner Suzan-Lori Parks (it is VERY different from Hamilton!). He had a recurring role on Black-ish as Bow’s brother ... he seems to really have capitalized on the opportunities Hamilton has given him, in addition to continuing the pre-Hamilton stuff (he & Rafael Casal worked on Blindspotting for like nine years before it got made, and he’s been a rapper for ages). He’s one of those “this overnight success is years in the making” people.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

7 hours ago, angora said:

have you seen Blindspotting? you should

I got to see Blindspotting in Oakland the weekend that it opened so Daveed and Rafael did a Q&A before the show started. One of the cutest things was that he said he saw his first movie, The Little Mermaid, in the same theater where Blindspotting was playing (the Hamilton connections: (1) LMM loves The Little Mermaid, which is why his older son is named Sebastian and (2) Jasmine Cephas Jones is also in Blindspotting).

Edited July 5, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Browncoat]

I wanted to add, after thinking about it a lot overnight while I wasn't sleeping due to random fireworks, that I really appreciated the way it was filmed and edited.  So many times when a show is filmed, it's either all pulled way back so you lose some nuance, or it's all extreme closeups so you lose background action.  This had just the right mix, I think -- closeups when they were a benefit, and wide shots when the background mattered.  As to that, the ensemble really shone, which also leads me back to the costuming and costume changes.  No time for elaborate changes?  Put everyone in basically the same foundation garments, and add jackets, coats, and skirts as needed.  

I admit, too, that I appreciated that the characters all introduced themselves.  There are far too many plays and musicals (and movies!) where I have to spend too much time trying to figure out who is who (and in some cases, Dunkirk, I never could).  

But what happened to Peggy?  She was in the Schuyler Sisters bit, but then we never saw her again, did we? 

 

ETA:  Are they really also planning a "regular" movie of this?  I can't imagine what it would add.  Some plays and musicals are improved by that transition, but I don't think this would be.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Browncoat

[mojoween]

One thing I was surprised wasn’t ... more ... was “...and Peggy” because all of the memes made it seem like that was a HUGE deal but I only heard it twice,  and then in the second act Peggy was Maria.

I thought it was going to be a bigger part of the show.

I hope this gets released in theaters, sometime, and also released on Blu-Ray so I can have them for my very own.  It makes me nervous being on Disney+ because I don’t know if they are going to still put stuff in the vault.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

18 minutes ago, mojoween said:

One thing I was surprised wasn’t ... more ... was “...and Peggy” because all of the memes made it seem like that was a HUGE deal but I only heard it twice

Peggy wasn't originally going to be a character in this show, so "and Peggy" is kind of the joke in itself.

22 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Are they really also planning a "regular" movie of this?  I can't imagine what it would add.  Some plays and musicals are improved by that transition, but I don't think this would be.

LMM has been asked about this in several interviews this week and he said that right now he's not thinking about it because he's just happy this version is out there (and he's already got a lot of projects on his plate) but maybe one day in the future. There is always a bit of translation when you take a musical or play and change the medium to film, but because it's sung through and therefore already pretty tightened up, turning it into a film would either add dialogue or keep it sung through with more elaborate sets/backgrounds. I was not a fan of the movie adaptations of Les Mis or Phantom of the Opera so I'd rather just let the filmed version of Hamilton be it. Plus I don't even want to think about the Hollywood casting they would do for a movie adaptation of Hamilton. I'm tired of bigger names with subpar singing abilities being cast in movie adaptations of musicals.

[angora]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I got to see Blindspotting in Oakland the weekend that it opened so Daveed and Rafael did a Q&A before the show started. One of the cutest things was that he said he saw his first movie, The Little Mermaid, in the same theater where Blindspotting was playing (the Hamilton connections: (1) LMM loves The Little Mermaid, which is why his older son is named Sebastian and (2) Jasmine Cephas Jones is also in Blindspotting).

Plus Daveed Diggs is playing Sebastian in the live-action Little Mermaid, which will also feature a few new songs co-written by LMM! (God bless Disney - one way or another, they're going to get LMM that Oscar for his EGOT.)

6 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

LMM has been asked about this in several interviews this week and he said that right now he's not thinking about it because he's just happy this version is out there (and he's already got a lot of projects on his plate) but maybe one day in the future. There is always a bit of translation when you take a musical or play and change the medium to film, but because it's sung through and therefore already pretty tightened up, turning it into a film would either add dialogue or keep it sung through with more elaborate sets/backgrounds. I was not a fan of the movie adaptations of Les Mis or Phantom of the Opera so I'd rather just let the filmed version of Hamilton be it. Plus I don't even want to think about the Hollywood casting they would do for a movie adaptation of Hamilton. I'm tired of bigger names with subpar singing abilities being cast in movie adaptations of musicals.

That's part of why it took so long to make In the Heights into a movie, even though the film rights were first picked up back in 2008 - Hollywood didn't know how to cast it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

FYI - if you're new to the Hamilton fandom, you might be interested in checking out the Hamilton Mixtape (which is an album of covers and remixes) and the Hamildrops (which is a series of songs that LMM released monthly). The two that are the most relevant to the show are First Burn and the Dear Theodosia reprise.

First Burn is an earlier draft of Eliza's song Burn with alternate/additional lyrics. It's sung by the five actresses who were playing Eliza at the time that the song was recorded: Lexi Lawson (Broadway), Rachelle Ann Go (London), Arianna Afsar (Eliza company), Julia Harriman (Angelica company), and Shoba Narayan (Philip company). It definitely has an angrier edge than the version that ended up in the show.

The Dear Theodosia reprise was originally in Act 2 (it was between Burn and Blow Us All Away) but the song was eventually cut from the show. This is the original version sung in the show by Leslie Odom Jr:

This is the Hamildrops version with Sara Bareilles:

And just for fun, this is Weird Al's Hamildrops polka medley:

The Hamilton/Dear Evan Hansen mashup Hamildrop is a duet with Ben Platt (a portion of the proceeds were donated to March for Our Lives - this song was recorded shortly after the Stoneman Douglas shooting in Parkland, Florida):

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[DearEvette]

20 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Renee Elise Goldsberry has said that she still has to audition a lot and still doesn't get roles, and that is a fucking disgrace. What she does with "Satisfied" should allow her to walk into any theater anywhere.

Renee and "Satisfied" is just what I call a sublime display of talent.  It really, really, is.

I remember the first time I heard her sing.  I was a huge Evangeline fan from One Life to Live.  But had no idea she was also a theatre performer.  Back in the day ABC soaps used to have something called Super Soap Weekend where they'd have a big weekend of public events for fans of all the soaps and one of the events was a night to live musical performances.  Renee would sing accompanied by her co-star Trevor St. John who played Todd.  They always did a couple of sets together where he would play percussion -- just a small drums or bongos -- and she would sing.  One of my favorites of them was a cover of a song called 'Borrow Mine' where is was nothing but her singing and his drumming.  It was a gorgeous song and she tore it up.  Such an expressive singer.

Edited July 5, 2020 by DearEvette

[SoMuchTV]

52 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

FYI - if you're new to the Hamilton fandom, you might be interested in checking out the Hamilton Mixtape (which is an album of covers and remixes) and the Hamildrops (which is a series of songs that LMM released monthly). The two that are the most relevant to the show are First Burn and the Dear Theodosia reprise.

First Burn is an earlier draft of Eliza's song Burn with alternate/additional lyrics. It's sung by the five actresses who were playing Eliza at the time that the song was recorded: Lexi Lawson (Broadway), Rachelle Ann Go (London), Arianna Afsar (Eliza company), Julia Harriman (Angelica company), and Shoba Narayan (Philip company). It definitely has an angrier edge than the version that ended up in the show.

The Dear Theodosia reprise was originally in Act 2 but the song was eventually cut from the show. This is the original version sung in the show by Leslie Odom Jr:

This is the Hamildrops version with Sara Bareilles:

And just for fun, this is Weird Al's Hamildrops polka medley:

 

OMG.  I haven't been able to keep up with the many (I'm sure excellent) clips that have been posted, but I just had to check out the Weird Al one.  Can't say I regret it.

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

OMG.  I haven't been able to keep up with the many (I'm sure excellent) clips that have been posted, but I just had to check out the Weird Al one.  Can't say I regret it.

Of all the Hamildrops, that one was the most shockingly good. Like I never knew what to expect month to month but that one sounded like such a bizarre idea when I heard it was Weird Al doing a Hamilton medley. When I listened to it, I thought welp, this is exactly what I would have imagined a Weird Al polka Hamilton medley would sound like (but in a good way).

[GHScorpiosRule]

32 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

OMG.  I haven't been able to keep up with the many (I'm sure excellent) clips that have been posted, but I just had to check out the Weird Al one.  Can't say I regret it.

 

I KNOW!!!!! I wish he’d done a video! Would have loved to see that! Al is another genius!

[Luckylyn]

45 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I KNOW!!!!! I wish he’d done a video! Would have loved to see that! Al is another genius!

The casts made their own video of the Hamilton Polka

[Haleth]

Just wanted to chime in with my love for this presentation.  I'd never seen the show or heard the music but was familiar with all the hype.  What an absolute gift to make this available to audiences now.  LMM is brilliant, which goes without saying.  While watching I was texting a friend, saying how adorable Daveed Diggs is.  ("Adorable" is how a 63yo woman describes a hot guy young enough to be her son without sounding creepy.)  The rest of the cast was wonderful too, but Leslie Odem Jr?  He captured my attention fully every time he opened his mouth.  That voice! <swoon>  I intend to watch several more times before my month of Disney+ runs out.

[kieyra]

I don’t have Disney Plus. Are closed captions available on this? Because that would be quite a feat. 

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, kieyra said:

I don’t have Disney Plus. Are closed captions available on this? Because that would be quite a feat. 

Yes. 

[SoMuchTV]

41 minutes ago, kieyra said:

I don’t have Disney Plus. Are closed captions available on this? Because that would be quite a feat. 

 

22 minutes ago, Dani said:

Yes. 

I think I said above, they are spot-on.  I assume that's because all the text has been available and it wasn't transcribed on the fly.  I know I followed along with it when I listened to the soundtrack album quite a while ago (I can't remember the site, but I think someone may have linked to it earlier.) Quite a contrast to some movies made from live performances over the years, and back in the day.  Captions for well-known songs were pretty much filled with Mondegreens.  Woodstock comes to mind.

[mojoween]

I read somewhere this weekend that during “Guns and Ships” Daveed sang something like 19 words in three seconds.  And when I was rewatching again today I noticed he did the rap flawlessly while jumping off of a table.  Like I needed any more reason to love him.

One thing, and it’s so small, is that the microphones in the hair are distracting to me.  Before I knew what they were I thought Lin had hair paint running down from the top of his head.

[SoMuchTV]

11 minutes ago, mojoween said:

One thing, and it’s so small, is that the microphones in the hair are distracting to me.  Before I knew what they were I thought Lin had hair paint running down from the top of his head.

I saw that, and my first thought was, ew, do they have a bug in their hair?  Then I pretty quickly realized they were mics, and I wondered about people like Burr and GW who didn’t have hair to place the mic in. So now I’m wondering why the “hair mics” were necessary. 

[mojoween]

33 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I saw that, and my first thought was, ew, do they have a bug in their hair?  Then I pretty quickly realized they were mics, and I wondered about people like Burr and GW who didn’t have hair to place the mic in. So now I’m wondering why the “hair mics” were necessary. 

I saw after the fact that Lin said it was personal preference. 

In “The Room Where it Happens” Burr sings that “two Virginians and an immigrant walk into a bar...” and pardon me Burr, sir, but they’re all immigrants.  Heh.

[mojoween]

Ok last observations (for now...).  I love the choreography during “Helpless”.  I know nothing about music, but the timing of the song and the movements of the dancers was perfect to my layman’s eyes.

Also I may be imagining it, but it seemed like before each of his songs, King George’s scepter hold was sadder and sadder.  For the last song he was dragging it despondently and I don’t know if that was Jonathan or the director but it was perfect.

And it’s possible our world would be better off if all of our leaders were Christopher Jackson.

Edited July 6, 2020 by mojoween

[irisheyes]

So, my first real intro to Hamilton was their performance on the Tony Awards, so when Leslie Odom won the Tony over LMM, I was kind of surprised. Then, I got the soundtrack and was like, “I guess I can see why he won. Maybe.”  Then, I saw it two years ago when it came to ATL.  And then I realized that it’s not really Hamilton’s story at all. It’s a character study of Aaron Burr and how his intense jealousy of Hamilton destroys his life. Then, I watched Leslie Odom perform as Burr. 
 

Oh My Gosh. That man deserved every award and accolade ever. He jumps off of the screen. (Daveed Diggs too, but he plays his characters in such a fun way.). Burr just stalks the whole time. I was entranced. (Don’t get me wrong. LMM is a genius, but here, he’s clearly the weaker actor.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

5 hours ago, mojoween said:

One thing, and it’s so small, is that the microphones in the hair are distracting to me.  Before I knew what they were I thought Lin had hair paint running down from the top of his head.

 

4 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I saw that, and my first thought was, ew, do they have a bug in their hair?  Then I pretty quickly realized they were mics, and I wondered about people like Burr and GW who didn’t have hair to place the mic in. So now I’m wondering why the “hair mics” were necessary. 

The hair mics are the least obtrusive for the actors because they're totally out of the way. I'm sure you've seen interviews with clip on mics where the actors touch their shirt or move their arm and you hear that muffled staticy sound. Since 99% of actors will never need to touch the very top of their foreheads for any reason during a performance, the head mics provide clear sound with very little chance of accidentally bumping it or touching it even while they're dancing, fighting, or being really active.

Chris Jackson, Leslie Odom, Jr., and other actors without hair wear microphones that go over their ears and have a small tube that extends towards their mouths like this. They're much smaller than similar looking models that Janet Jackson used to wear in the olden days, but they are still noticeable and leave a shadow on the face.

Edited July 6, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Brookside]

On 7/4/2020 at 3:20 PM, Jordan Baker said:

It was such a gift for LMM/Disney to issue this now.

 

It would be a gift if Disney was broadcasting it for free.

Does anyone know whether Disney is sharing any of the $gajillians they're making off this with the now (presumably) unemployed cast and crew?  Somehow I doubt it.

[mojoween]

I know streamers doesn’t usually release their data, but I am dying to know how many new subscriptions Disney+ had on Friday and also how many downloads of the film there were over the weekend.

[Empress1]

On 7/5/2020 at 8:24 AM, Browncoat said:

But what happened to Peggy?  She was in the Schuyler Sisters bit, but then we never saw her again, did we? 

The real Peggy didn’t live very long. She married very well and died pretty young. Both Jasmine Cephas-Jones & LMM get this question a lot, and that’s what they say. Also I don’t think her relationship with Hamilton was particularly interesting; it was purely platonic. I could see a case for leaving her out altogether (hence “... And Peggy”), but you know people would be all “But there were THREE sisters!”

[Growsonwalls]

28 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

The real Peggy didn’t live very long. She married very well and died pretty young. Both Jasmine Cephas-Jones & LMM get this question a lot, and that’s what they say. Also I don’t think her relationship with Hamilton was particularly interesting; it was purely platonic. I could see a case for leaving her out altogether (hence “... And Peggy”), but you know people would be all “But there were THREE sisters!”

"The Schuyler Sisters" was originally written because the actresses who played Eliza/Angelica/Peggy-and-Maria were very close backstage and so that song was a nod to that.