If history class had been half this interesting, my life could have had an entirely different path. Lin-Manuel Miranda's HAMILTON arrived on Disney+ this 4th of July weekend and its a massive gift for every American.
Filmed over the course of three days on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers theatre, it sits you in the front row, the front of the mezzanine, tenth row center, wherever you need to be to experience the story in all its power.
From the start, the energy explodes off the stage with Miranda and his original cast telling you the story of Alexander Hamilton, the founding fathers and a life that created much of our American history.
Tamara and I saw Miranda on Broadway in his first huge hit "In The Heights". I wasn't excited about the show, knowing it wasn't my favorite genre of music, but it blew the roof off and we left believers. Who knew that his next musical would be inspired by Ron Chernow's densely packed historical novel "Alexander Hamilton".
Miranda and his cast spew forth lyrics at a sometimes impossible pace, mixing humor and exposition into some magic, intoxicating brew that the world clearly loved en masse. It's musical styles range from hip-hop, classic show tunes, R&B and jazz, all blending perfectly into something wholly original.
The entire cast is flawless.
Leslie Odom is Hamilton's life-long nemesis Aaron Burr (Tony Winner), Daveed Diggs is excellent as Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson (Tony Winner), Renee Elise Goldsberry kills as Angelica Schuyler (Tony Winner) and Jonathan Groff brings down the house as King George, commenting on America's youth from afar.
There are so many great songs that will bounce around your head for weeks and some that rise to the all-time best of American Musical theatre.
"Say No To This", "The Room Where It Happened", "My Shot", "Ten Duel Commandments" "Hurricane", "Cabinet Battle #1", "You'll Be Back".....just try picking a favorite.
HAMILTON is a brilliant capture of the original cast, preserving the moment for future generations. Like Rodgers & Hammerstein tacking racism in 1949 with "South Pacific", Miranda's master work is destined to live for centuries.
We saw the touring company at Gammage and were blown away by the staging as well as the music and it's really been captured perfectly here. By filming two live performances of the show as well as additional camera angles and intimate closeups at the right moments, its a deeper look than you could ever achieve live.
If anything though, this should inspire millions more to witness a live production. There's nothing like the energy and intimacy of live theatre, but this is as close as I've ever seen it to be captured on film.
The winner of 11 Tony's and a cultural phenomenon, HAMILTON is the definition of an A+.
Now I think I'll go watch it again.....I'm not giving away my...shot!
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