Considering the global phenomenon that Hamilton It has become since its Broadway debut in 2015, it didn’t strike me as crazy when Deadline announced that Disney had paid $ 75 million for theatrical rights to the filmed version of the musical and that it would be a major release in theaters next year. However, with the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc everywhere, creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Disney’s decision to launch it for the weekend of July 4 in the new Disney + streamer will not only spark a stampede to subscribe to the service, but also It is really a gift.
In fact, with much of the country closing beaches, banning fireworks, and re-imposing orders to stay home, Hamilton is maybe he reason to celebrate the holidays this year. When the original purchase agreement was made, no one could have known that Broadway, and the entire world in which the show is being presented, would be closed for months (now at least until 2021), making this record of the first The show’s wave not only keeps this remarkable musical achievement alive, it marks another surprising milestone in the journey of the hip-hop version of Alexander Hamilton’s life.
Miranda and the powers that be behind the show, including director Thomas Kail, made the smart decision to create a filmed record of the original cast of the 11-time Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner. Filmed on Broadway over a three-day period in late June 2016, Hamilton It uses six cameras in front of live audiences, as well as some special Steadicam works that were filmed between live performances of 13 of the more than 40 musical numbers. This is almost as good as it is in terms of turning the experience on stage into a cinematic experience. Yes, it is still a filmed theater show, but Kail has managed to keep the energy and excitement intact, while making it a much more intimate affair.
I was lucky enough to get tickets to the orchestra and see it at the Richard Rodgers Theater just a little over a month before it was filmed there. While the state of hysteria and anticipation in the audience is not intended to be recreated here (how could it be?), The show itself is once again a revelation. As they say, this historical theatrical wonder of non-traditional casting is a “America’s story then, told by America now” with an ensemble of black, brown, Asian, and white artists presenting the story as seen from an Obama era that is now he seems blessed optimistic, encouraging and hopeful in light of the polarized and divisive environment the country has become. If anything could unite us, it’s this exciting entertainment. A hip-hop musical about Alexander Hamilton? Imagine that.
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From the beginning, after previous presentations by Miranda and Kail explaining their desire to make this show available on a massive level, you really realize how extraordinary the work is. I can’t remember a thing, even from people like Sondheim or Rodgers and Hammerstein, who have a continuous chain of iconic music numbers from the start: “Alexander Hamilton”, “My Shot”, “The Story Of Tonight,” “The Schuyler Sisters” , “You will come back”, “Indefenso” and the sublime “Satisfecho” performed perfectly by Tony winner Renee Elise Goldsberry. And that’s just the first part of the first act! “The Room Where It Happens”, “One Last Time”, and perhaps the most touching and beautifully sad song on the show, “It’s Quiet Uptown” are among many to come. The latest melancholic number that brings Hamilton and his wife Eliza together about a huge personal tragedy is heartbreaking, and it seems much more personal after a closer look.
I’ve seen many filmed versions of theatrical shows before (James Whitmore even got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his individual show) Give them hell Harry), but clearly Kail, who so brilliantly directed the Emmy winner Grease Live! Fox knows how to use new film technology and techniques to make this production shine and become a permanent record of glorious work. Miranda as Hamilton, Lester Odom Jr. (another Tony winner here) as arch-rival Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, impressive Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, and the dazzling abilities of Daveed Diggs, another Tony winner as Marquis. from Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson, they manage to deliver one show after another. And then there is Jonathan Groff’s hilarious and evil King George with each comic expression so clear it’s like standing on stage next to him. The lines I lost are suddenly new in this setup.
Someday I would love to see a movie. adaptation of this, and it will certainly come (Miranda’s In the heights is already in the can for its delayed launch of COVID next summer, and its Tick, Tick … Boom has been filmed for Netflix as a movie.) However, there is something about a work of art that finds its true place in time, and ironically it is this epic story of a man, an orphan immigrant, who was not going to “throw his shot”, who was there at birth of the United States of America, which needs to be discovered and rediscovered at this time by a country in crisis, in protest and in action at a crucial moment in which we will not throw our Shooting. In fact it is a gift.
Hamilton begins streaming on Disney + on Friday. Check out my video review at the link above with scenes from the movie.
Do you plan to see Hamilton? Let us know what you think.
