OUR Hamilton Reviews- Page 5

[iwuldwf]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 4:11pm

Fosse76 said: "I remember hearing at the time he was the last holdout. I wondered if he finally agreed because they told him that they would simply shoot around him, and film his characters' scenes in an empty theater with someone else."

Didn't he finally agree because they reached a profit-sharing agreement?

On a related note, if anyone hasn't read it, this Bloomberg article is a really interesting look at the negotiating process, including emails between the cast members.

[DAME]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 4:50pm

Couldn't they just CGI away JG's drool?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 4:51pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "They wouldn’t shoot around him. This is a stage production so they simply would have used another actor in the role. Simple as that. I’m sure there was another actor as a Plan B in case Odom declined to participate."

That would not have been viable to the extent that a live audience was considered essential (and it was). This Plan B would involve getting him to relinquish the performances, something that it is inconceivable to me he would do in the context of what would have been a failed negotiation. The best Plan B would have been to film it after he left the show (which of course would have its own share of issues).

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 4:55pm

iwuldwf said: "LMM also responded to a tweet asking "For how long it will be available on D+?" by saying"You will just have it. For as many times as you like, right next to A Goofy Movie and Talespin and An Extremely Goofy Movie...""

Thanks for this, which I had not seen. This confirms something I thought possible (and that I may have written above, I am too lazy to look) is happily not the case. I thought it possible that when they amended the original agreement to allow the streaming they put a sunset provision in, but from the horse's mouth, they did not.

[bear88]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 6:14pm

The Hamilton film is happiest of reminders: The musical we saw back in 2015 or 2016 really is extraordinary, a wonderfully-written work with smart direction, wonderful orchestrations and standout performances that marks a revolutionary, artistic achievement.

I've seen the show five times (first in April 2016 on Broadway from the rear mezzanine and four times on tour in orchestra seats) so I'm not unbiased about the musical. I think the harsher assessments of the show, including the critique of it glossing over the sins of the Founding Fathers (save Jefferson) to fit Lin-Manuel Miranda's goals in writing it, are interesting - and may gain resonance in coming years. Hamilton is a serious work of art, and should be treated seriously, as its critics have done and will do now that more people are seeing the film. But I've always thought the musical was more about Black and brown performers - and its creator - reclaiming American history for themselves - even if the audiences were white and traditionalists can like the show too. One can accuse Lin-Manuel Miranda of having his cake and eating it too, but there's a canny polemicist and deft politician at work here. Some lines hit in a different way in 2020 than they did in the tail end of the Obama era. "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" indeed. That's the mark of an impressive artistic achievement.

None of these interesting debates would matter if the show wasn't such a terrific work of musical theater. Seeing Hamilton on a television screen doesn't match the visceral thrill of seeing it at the Richard Rodgers, but there are the compensations of a much better seat and the ability to see some wonderful performances up close. Renee Elise Goldsberry and Daveed Diggs were standouts I haven't seen matched even in good performances on tour, and it was a genuine thrill seeing them recorded for posterity and catching subtle facial expressions I couldn't see from a distance. Diggs walks the fine line between cartoonish and brilliant better than any other Jefferson I've seen, and his technical skills (and charisma) make him the best Lafayette too. While I would have preferred a more straightforward approach to the rewind portion of "Satisfied" to highlight the choreography, Goldsberry's performance - and the chance to see her brilliance and anguish up close - is a gift.

Unsurprisingly, the film places more of the focus on individual or small group performances and less on the ensemble (and, for that matter, the turntables). This works especially well for Phillipa Soo, who I always thought was a little underrated in the stage musical. She's wonderful, from her lovestruck performance in "Helpless" to her bitterness in "Burn." I didn't think Leslie Odom Jr.'s overall performance was as good as I remember it (and I have seen other excellent Burrs, including Joshua Henry), but he absolutely nails "Wait for It" in the film and does well in the showpiece performances. (His performance of "The Room Where it Happens," and especially its climax, is my favorite moment in a Broadway theater. Odom Jr. comes close here, but it wasn't quite as thrilling - although that's probably more a function of my bias and the limitations of a small screen than anything else.) 

Christopher Jackson is as marvelous as I expected in "One Last Time" and as commanding as anyone could want as Washington. Jasmine Cephas Jones makes the most of her small roles, especially her wonderful R&B voice as Maria Reynolds. Jonathan Groff, who I caught in his final week before he left the cast, was just as hilarious as I remember. Anthony Ramos gives a looser performance than I recall (not a bad thing) but broke my heart twice. Miranda was sick when I saw the musical, so I was naturally curious about his performance. I liked it, overall. He's most effective, of course, when rapping and acting - but his singing was good enough, and he didn't really bother to try straight-up singing in "It's Quiet Uptown," as he was too busy conveying Hamilton's emotional anguish. It's a little much, but I didn't mind. 

It sometimes goes without saying that Miranda's book and score are fantastic. But seeing it in a different format just reminded me of how good and cleverly constructed the songs are. Miranda may never scale these heights again, but the range of terrific songs in completely different styles - all in service of a coherent and fast-moving plot - is extraordinary. Last night, my wife asked what my favorite songs of the musical were. And honestly, I was stumped. The run of songs from "My Shot" to "Wait for It" is fantastic, as is a second wave from "What'd I Miss" through "One Last Time" - but that leaves out a whole bunch of songs! Miranda's knowledge of 1980s and 1990s rap, and his equally impressive knowledge and respect for traditional musical theater, made him the perfect composer for this show. But he still had to actually write all the songs and work it all out with Alex Lacamoire. There's a reason Hamilton didn't inspire a lot of revolutionary, commercially successful theater in its wake; that sort of genius is really difficult to pull off.

As a film, I won't say it was flawless, but it was as close as I had any right to expect. And to get a chance to see it now, with all theaters closed in the midst of a pandemic on the Fourth of July weekend in a pivotal election year, it feels like Hamilton - again - hit at the perfect moment.  

Updated On: 7/4/20 at 06:14 PM

[ImaginaryManticore]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 7:20pm

It is glorious. I saw the London production, which was spectacular, but there's something so special about seeing the original cast. I'm so glad we all get to see it.

I cannot get over how overnight Hamilton's gone from being one of the most notoriously exclusive and expensive shows to being one of the most accessible. Surely soon it will be among the most widely seen filmed stage musicals, if it's not that already.

I couldn't help but think - this is a historical document. This is a landmark piece of theatre preserved in its original form. Will this change people's minds about musicals, the people who'd never see anything onstage and might have only seen the watered-down movie versions (which are also overwhelmingly white)? And with Hamilton renewing its place in the spotlight, will it reshape how people remember the history itself, the way Shakespeare's histories have indisputably influenced the cultural memory of English and Roman history?

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 9:14pm

Still absorbing and processing it all.

Will probably re watch several times to pull the little details out that I caught but did not want to lose concentration to follow up. 

Performances were wonderful, full of grace and strength. ( I don't know where I saw "The Room Where It Happened" performed b4 but I get what people are saying  seemed a bit  less not sure if it was editing)

I was very Impressed w the direction of Thomas Kail both as the show and film director, I know he did GREASE! Live as well as Verdon/Fosse and he has really taken on the film vocabulary and vision very quickly. I suspect when filming resumes he is going to get lots of offers to direct which many mean Bway will lose him.

I also was impressed w the cinematographer Quinn. It can't be easy to light for film a show lit for stage but he did it very well, better than I would have expected.

I get the issue about the choreography- but even so I was so impressed w the ensembles execution I forgive some of the excesses.

I can see  watching this again and again.

I will say this, replacements and touring companies are gonna have to step up their game to compete w these memories.

 

 

 

[schubox]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 9:16pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "They wouldn’t shoot around him. This is a stage production so they simply would have used another actor in the role. Simple as that. I’m sure there was another actor as a Plan B in case Odom declined to participate."

I think I remember reading at the time that they were going to use his understudy if they couldn't work out a deal

[Wick3]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 9:19pm

I saw Hamilton back in 2016 and Odom was out. Sydney James Harcourt was his understudy and was amazing!!! Had they not reached a deal with Odom, I think whichever understudy (Harcourt or someone else) would have done a great job too.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 9:19pm

I will finally say out loud what I have thought the first time I saw "Hamilton" without Daveed Diggs:

Daveed Diggs is the Donna McKechnie of Hamilton. There were subsequent Cassies in A Chorus Line, and subsequent Jeffersons in Hamilton. But nobody will ever come close to doing what the originals did. Thank god there's a visual record!

It's impossible to replace the irreplaceable.

 

Updated On: 7/4/20 at 09:19 PM

[sppunk]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 10:45pm

Saw Hamilton at the Public, in March 2016 and later in Chicago and Baltimore. 

They did a fantastic job of capturing the show. But 2 things stand out:

1) The entire Hamilton/Mariah scene lacks the emotion/sensuality you see live for some reason.  
2) It reminds me how much more I enjoyed Munoz’ interpretation of the role compared to LMM. YMMV, clearly. 

I hope this brings more fans to live theater. I bet it will.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/4/20 at 10:47pm

I've watched Daveed Diggs happy dancing through "The Reynolds Pamphlet" like 10 times now. I laugh every time.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 12:22am

I never jumped on the HAMILTON bandwagon. I bought the Original Broadway Cast Recording the day it was released. I never got more than 15 or 20 minutes into it. When the show originally came to Los Angeles I tried for the lottery every day but never won. I've paid crazy money for concerts and shows on Broadway before...but nothing ever came close to the thousands of dollars "just OK" seats were selling for at the Pantages in L.A. 

So when I watched the show on my 70" television with tremendous 5.1 audio, I wasn't expecting much. I had a dinner to go to on Friday night so I decided to watch HAMILTON at noon.

I was not prepared to be blown away on so many different levels. There's no need for me to parrot the praises lobbed here in earlier posts. I just want to say that this performance is, without a doubt, the best thing I've ever seen from Broadway; either in person, or in a filmed/taped production. I cannot get it out of my mind. I have listened to the cast album three times since viewing on Disney+. I guess for me, I needed the whole picture...and I certainly got it with this magnificent record of the Original Broadway Cast. I will be watching this again and again over and over. I FINALLY get it! Finally. I've joined the club!

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 2:18am

HogansHero said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "They wouldn’t shoot around him. This is a stage production so they simply would have used another actor in the role. Simple as that. I’m sure there was another actor as a Plan B in case Odom declined to participate."

That would not have been viable to the extent that a live audience was considered essential (and it was).

The audience is essential, I agree. But that still wouldn't have prevented them from being able to film his scenes with another actor in an empty theate. Oklahoma! with Hugh Jackman was filmed on a soundstage, with the singing pre-recorded. Yet there are audience reactions throughout. Rachelle Ann Go filmed her role in Miss Saigon in an empty theater, yet her main song had an audience response (unlike Groff, she didn't return for performances). Most of what is seen in Rent Live on Broadway was the footage from the empty theater filming, Very few scenes from the final performance appear (and this is the company that filmed Hamilton). So it can be done. 

"This Plan B would involve getting him to relinquish the performances, something that it is inconceivable to me he would do in the context of what would have been a failed negotiation. The best Plan B would have been to film it after he left the show (which of course would have its own share of issues)."

They could have bought out the rest of his contract. It's done all the time. I don't recall, but wasn't this filmed in the last weeks of the original cast? 

I had that initial impression because it was an abrupt about-face on his part, as it was pretty common knowledge he didn't to do it. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 2:25am

HogansHero said: "iwuldwf said: "LMM also responded to a tweet asking "For how long it will be available on D+?" by saying"You will just have it. For as many times as you like, right next to A Goofy Movie and Talespin and An Extremely Goofy Movie...""

Thanks for this, which I had not seen. This confirms something I thought possible (and that I may have written above, I am too lazy to look) is happily not the case. I thought it possible that when they amended the original agreement to allow the streaming they put a sunset provision in, but from the horse's mouth, they did not."

Well, the show's producers are savvy enough to know that once it hit the streaming service, itd be "out there" forever, not matter if they pulled it. It could also, and most likely be LMM overstating its longevity to ease the inexplicable whining from people who kept asking if was only a on-time or one-day stream.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 2:49am

Jordan Levinson said: "Has anyone realized yet that this capturecould give Lin-Manuel a PEGOT? We all know of his Tony, Pulitzer Prize, and Grammy wins, and he shared an Emmy with Tom Kittfor "Bigger" (the 2013 Tonys opening number).

He has lost his only Oscar nomination so far, for the Moana standout "How Far I'll Go.""

i honestly just assumed something like this wouldn't be eligible because i've never heard of something like it winning an oscar but the thought is very exciting

anyone else get such a kick out of that shot during Non-Stop when Angelica spins away from Ham and Eliza is singing staring at the empty space and then gets spun right so she's looking at him? i saw the original cast 4 days before they filmed this but haven't seen it since so i had forgotten about it, it made me laugh but it was very well-done.

[bear88]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 4:08am

MichelleCraig said: "I never jumped on the HAMILTON bandwagon. I bought the Original Broadway Cast Recording the day it was released. I never got more than 15 or 20 minutes into it. When the show originally came to Los Angeles I tried for the lottery every day but never won. I've paid crazy money for concerts and shows on Broadway before...but nothing ever came close to the thousands of dollars "just OK" seats were selling for at the Pantages in L.A.

So when I watched the show on my 70" television with tremendous 5.1 audio, I wasn't expecting much. I had a dinner to go to on Friday night so I decided to watch HAMILTON at noon.

I was not prepared to be blown away on so many different levels. There's no need for me to parrot the praises lobbed here in earlier posts. I just want to say that this performance is, without a doubt, the best thing I've ever seen from Broadway; either in person, or in a filmed/taped production. I cannot get it out of my mind. I have listened to the cast album three times since viewing on Disney+. I guess for me, I needed the whole picture...and I certainly got it with this magnificent record of the Original Broadway Cast. I will be watching this again and againover and over. I FINALLY get it! Finally. I've joined the club!"

I think I'm more interested in your reaction than mine, because you went from disinterest in the cast recording after a few songs to loving the filmed musical when you finally got a chance to see it. What changed your mind? Hearing the score differently when it was accompanied by the performances, choreography and direction? Although I am mildly surprised you didn't give the cast recording more of a chance, just out of curiosity, I don't think it's all that unusual to appreciate a musical a lot more when you see the story and actors and staging.

You were judging Hamilton as a film because you never saw the stage musical or heard more than a few songs of the stage show. So I'm curious. 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 9:41am

@MichelleCraig - I had similar reaction to yours after seeing Hamilton for the first time in November 2015. I had listened to the OBCR only once prior and really couldn’t get into it. I vividly recall listening to it the next day as I walked around the West Village listening to the cast recording in my headphones and being amazed at the miracle that was filling my ears. The only way I can explain it is the difference of the first 15 minutes of black-and-white Kansas in The Wizard of Oz then switching to the glorious Technicolor of Oz. I finally “got it!” It’s remained my favorite musical ever since.

[Princeton2]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 10:34am

SmoothLover said: "Sounds like the timing of this filmed production could not have been better given the pandemic, the election, Black Lives Matter and the closures of Broadway theatres."

Interesting you say that because I was actually thinking current events may actually date this show quicker than many would think. I'm not saying I think this, but we are very much in an age of cancel culture and demands are being made for statues and the like representing anyone  who once owned slaves to be pulled down. regardless of any other achievements they might have been known for.  And here is a musical celebrating people who once owned slaves, regardless of what else they did. Additonally they are being played by BAME actors which may make it better or worse depending on your viewpoint.

We have seen as every new generation comes through what was once deemed progressive or acceptable isnt. There also doesnt seem room for context or debate in anything anymore

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 10:48am

I’ve seen this mentioned on social media, but don’t think its been discussed here. Was Leslie Odom Jr purposely performing with a lisp during the film? It’s not heard on the cast album and he doesn’t regularly talk or sing with one. His performance is amazing, but I’m curious.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 11:02am

I did want to mention that one of the ensemble members took over Hamilton’s IG Stories last week and stated that in addition to being filmed during those live performances, they also filmed some parts in the theater subsequently without an audience.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 11:34am

^I do think that's been discussed- but perhaps I'm remembering that from an article I read.

I think that's what makes this film as good as it is: deciding when we needed the audience. The exciting of this is a marvel.

Frankly, I signed up for D+ just to see this....but spending 7 bucks a month to KEEP seeing it is very tempting.

[jpbran]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 11:37am

1) The entire Hamilton/Mariah scene lacks the emotion/sensuality you see live for some reason.  

Correct. The choreography was tamed a bit for the filming... 

[jpbran]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 11:39am

ljay889 said: "I’ve seen this mentioned on social media, but don’t think its been discussed here. Was Leslie Odom Jr purposely performing with a lisp during the film? It’s not heard on the cast album and he doesn’t regularly talk or sing with one. His performance is amazing, but I’m curious."

My thoughts too! I kept thinking it was like he was singing/speaking with a mint or candy in his mouth. 

[JGPR2]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 12:19pm

" Couldn't they just CGI away JG's drool? "

I would think they could or maybe gone with another camera shot of him instead of a closeup.