For those of you who don't know the hit Broadway musical Hamilton was just released on Disney Plus on Friday and everyone needs to see it ASAP. I saw Hamilton live in Chicago last summer and I've been listening to the soundtrack ever since so seeing this recording with the original cast that I've grown to love was amazing.
Hamilton to put it simply is about Alexander Hamilton, one of America's founding fathers, and the ups and downs of his life. On paper that sounds boring as fuck, but Lin-Manuel Miranda brings so much to telling his story that there is never a dull moment.
This is not a traditional musical, this show takes this dull story and infuses it with a bevy of musical styles and a diverse cast of incredible talented performers. Lin himself plays the lead Alexander Hamilton and is a driving force. Upon watching this and listening to the recording a lot he is in my opinion weaker than some of the other performers, however this show is so loaded with talent that doesn't say much. He commands the stage and demands attention, and even if he sucked performance wise you'd have to give him all the credit in the world for his writing. Leslie Odom Jr is another insanely talented performer that shines in this show. He plays the antagonist of the story Aaron Burr and over time I've grown to sympathize a lot with his character largely through how he plays it. Burr is a frustrating character but Odom has an intense amount of charisma that makes up for that, and as he shows here and in his recent album Mr, he has some serious fucking singing chops. His song "Wait for it" is also becoming one of my favourites. Daveed Diggs is one of my favourite people in the entertainment industry. Blindspotting is my favourite movie of 2018 and the clipping. album There Existed an Addiction to Blood is a work of art that inspires me pretty much every day. He plays two roles here, Lafayette in the first act and Thomas Jefferson in the second. I don't have much to say on Lafayette but the flamboyant manner in which he plays Jefferson is one of my favourite things about the show. Act 2 opens up with the song "What did I miss?" which is my absolute favourite and the cocky arrogance he has at times kills me. Renee Elise Goldberry, Phillipa Soo, and Jasmine Cephas Jones (also from Blindspotting) play the Schuyler sisters, of which Eliza (Soo) marries Hamilton. Goldberry and Soo spend more time than Jones in their roles and both are fantastic, with Soo having some of the most emotionally vulnerable scenes/songs of the whole show. Okieriete Onaodowan plays Hercules Mulligan and James Madison and has some strong moments but has never really wowed me. Anthony Ramos is another cast member with an amazing recent album and does a great job in his roles as both John Laurens and Phillip Hamilton. And lastly Jonathan Groff plays the king and is hilarious and has another of my favourite songs in "You'll be back."
Style wise the show uses a minimalist set with some really cool moving parts to create dynamism while also placing focus on the performers. The costumes are fairly standard period piece attire with some exceptions but are all very beautiful. Where Hamilton leaves its mark is in the music. I don't love every song, but the brilliance of Manuel-Miranda's work here is that he encompasses so many different styles that it's hard to not find at least one song you enjoy. There are songs with pop, rap, hip/hop, rock, opera, pretty much everything, yet they are all stylistically tied together somehow into one uniform sound that will have you crying not long after you're jumping around to the beat, and as I've mentioned before, this is an insanely talented cast so those songs are all performed incredibly. Obviously most of the greatness is due to the brilliance of the play itself, but I did love the way it was shot and edited. All of the cuts feel organic and justified, and there are moments where the camera cuts in to create a more intimate feeling in the show's most emotional moments.
Hamilton is simply an incredible piece of art. Yes this "film" is just a filmed version of it, but it technically is a film and thanks to the masterful material it is something everyone, and I mean absolutely fucking everyone should watch.
Rating: 5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
Hamilton to put it simply is about Alexander Hamilton, one of America's founding fathers, and the ups and downs of his life. On paper that sounds boring as fuck, but Lin-Manuel Miranda brings so much to telling his story that there is never a dull moment.
This is not a traditional musical, this show takes this dull story and infuses it with a bevy of musical styles and a diverse cast of incredible talented performers. Lin himself plays the lead Alexander Hamilton and is a driving force. Upon watching this and listening to the recording a lot he is in my opinion weaker than some of the other performers, however this show is so loaded with talent that doesn't say much. He commands the stage and demands attention, and even if he sucked performance wise you'd have to give him all the credit in the world for his writing. Leslie Odom Jr is another insanely talented performer that shines in this show. He plays the antagonist of the story Aaron Burr and over time I've grown to sympathize a lot with his character largely through how he plays it. Burr is a frustrating character but Odom has an intense amount of charisma that makes up for that, and as he shows here and in his recent album Mr, he has some serious fucking singing chops. His song "Wait for it" is also becoming one of my favourites. Daveed Diggs is one of my favourite people in the entertainment industry. Blindspotting is my favourite movie of 2018 and the clipping. album There Existed an Addiction to Blood is a work of art that inspires me pretty much every day. He plays two roles here, Lafayette in the first act and Thomas Jefferson in the second. I don't have much to say on Lafayette but the flamboyant manner in which he plays Jefferson is one of my favourite things about the show. Act 2 opens up with the song "What did I miss?" which is my absolute favourite and the cocky arrogance he has at times kills me. Renee Elise Goldberry, Phillipa Soo, and Jasmine Cephas Jones (also from Blindspotting) play the Schuyler sisters, of which Eliza (Soo) marries Hamilton. Goldberry and Soo spend more time than Jones in their roles and both are fantastic, with Soo having some of the most emotionally vulnerable scenes/songs of the whole show. Okieriete Onaodowan plays Hercules Mulligan and James Madison and has some strong moments but has never really wowed me. Anthony Ramos is another cast member with an amazing recent album and does a great job in his roles as both John Laurens and Phillip Hamilton. And lastly Jonathan Groff plays the king and is hilarious and has another of my favourite songs in "You'll be back."
Style wise the show uses a minimalist set with some really cool moving parts to create dynamism while also placing focus on the performers. The costumes are fairly standard period piece attire with some exceptions but are all very beautiful. Where Hamilton leaves its mark is in the music. I don't love every song, but the brilliance of Manuel-Miranda's work here is that he encompasses so many different styles that it's hard to not find at least one song you enjoy. There are songs with pop, rap, hip/hop, rock, opera, pretty much everything, yet they are all stylistically tied together somehow into one uniform sound that will have you crying not long after you're jumping around to the beat, and as I've mentioned before, this is an insanely talented cast so those songs are all performed incredibly. Obviously most of the greatness is due to the brilliance of the play itself, but I did love the way it was shot and edited. All of the cuts feel organic and justified, and there are moments where the camera cuts in to create a more intimate feeling in the show's most emotional moments.
Hamilton is simply an incredible piece of art. Yes this "film" is just a filmed version of it, but it technically is a film and thanks to the masterful material it is something everyone, and I mean absolutely fucking everyone should watch.
Rating: 5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
yesssssssss, this is top notch stuff. I wholeheartedly agree. HOWEVER, I'm surprised you didn't touch at all on the work of the ensemble. They really bring the show together and help to make it what it is. Obviously the show is phenomenal and people love the music from it, but I think upon seeing it, the ensemble helps to create the magic that is live theatre and the show wouldn't be the same without such a strong ensemble.
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