Best photoshoot in the human history. Sorry, I don't make the rules. #Hamilton pic.twitter.com/OciF5VcFG2
— šš„ššÆš¢š. (@househarington) July 5, 2020
Disney+ began streaming a filmed version of the stage production of Lin-Manuel Mirandaās brainchild, Hamilton, at the stroke of midnight, Friday, July 3rd. Die-hard fans of the musical tuned in the minute it hit the airwaves. My Twitter feed was full of Hamilton tweets and I wondered if maybe it was just the folks I follow. The answer is no ā everyone logged in to see Hamilton. Well, okay, not everyone but a whole bunch did ā enough to increase Disney+ app downloads by over 70%
āHamiltonā delivered for Disney Plus with the musical movie of Lin-Manuel Mirandaās reimagining of the founding fatherās life spurring a spike in app downloads over its July 4th weekend debut.
The movie premiered on the Disney Plus streaming service on Friday, July 3. From Friday through Sunday, the Disney Plus app was downloaded 513,323 times globally, including 266,084 times in the U.S., according to analytics firm Apptopia.
That means that in the U.S., the total Disney Plus downloads were 72.4% higher than the average of the four weekends in June 2020 over comparable time periods (Friday through Sunday), per Apptopia data. Worldwide, app downloads were 46.6% higher than the average. (The global numbers do not include India or Japan, as the Disney Plus service is delivered through preexisting apps in those countries.)
Disney has been banking on āHamiltonā to reel in paying customers for the direct-to-consumer biz: Note that in mid-June, Disney Plus stopped offering a free seven-day trial offer. It remains a question, of course, how many new Disney Plus customers stick around after the āHamiltonā hype wears off.
In terms of net subscriber gains, the āHamiltonā bump for Disney Plus was certainly higher than the mobile app data reflects, given that people could sign up for the service online and through smart TVs (and may not have also downloaded it on mobile), noted Apptopiaās Adam Blacker, VP of insights and global alliances.
Honestly, the Hamilton recording was the best coup Disney could have wrangled. I get they own several beloved franchises, but this kind of decision is where Bob Iger earns his reputation. He won the battle for the rights early in February and released it on the thematically appropriate 4th of July holiday. I subscribed to Disney+ pretty soon after it launched so I didn’t realize it ended the free trial a couple of weeks before the playās release. My hunch is it will return, but long after the Hamilton hype dies down. Itās unfortunate for those who were hoping to see Hamilton at no cost but again, a smart move on Disneyās part.
Financially, the deal certainly paid off. But what about personally, for all of us? Iāll admit that I never got that excited for Hamilton. I couldnāt afford to see it on stage, even when it traveled to LA. So many people spoke of it with such reverence, I fully expected it to be over-hyped so I lost interest. Literally the first time Iād even listened to a song from the show was when the cast appeared on Some Good News. However, given a particularly traumatic weekend and the need for a distraction, I logged in with my daughter and father to check it out. Man, I loved it. I got caught up in it and engaged in every aspect. And now I have the emotional debt to the entire cast for holding my hand while I awaited a call from the hospital that, fortunately, turned out to be the news weād hoped for. Beyond my personal drama, I spent the entire performance trying to figure out who I found most talented. Holy crap! I never settled on an answer, but my two current crushes are Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom Jr. My daughterās favorite character was the spy, Hercules Mulligan, which makes me laugh but also convinces me I should probably start sleeping with one eye open.
If you want to see how pure this cast is, check out many of them taking the Buzzfeed quiz to see which Hamilton character they are:
You want your mind blown even further? After you have watched Hamilton once, take some time to gather your emotions which will be all over the room, then turn on the captions and watch it again. So. Many. Incredible. Words. Packed. Into. Milliseconds. #Hamilfilm
— Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) July 4, 2020
Photo credit: Twitter, YouTube and WENN/Avalon
I watched the first 30 minutes of Hamilton and couldnāt get into it. Is it because Iām not American and none of the history is known to me? I think Lin-Manuel Miranda is a gifted song writer, but I was just not blown away. Do I need to give it more time? Am I just a philistine?
So, I think you might want to give it more time, I love it but I do think it takes a few songs for the plot to start coming together and all the characters to click into place. It’s about American history so knowing George Washington and the battle of Yorktown and things like that are helpful, but I don’t know if its necessary.
That said, like any piece of art, if it doesn’t speak to you, it doesn’t, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
It also helps to have captions on because there is so much information be passed through the lyrics that can be easily missed.
Iām not American and I think it may be my favourite piece of art produced since the turn of the century at least. So thatās my way of saying: Iām not sure an investment in and knowledge of the history is necessary…and Iām really biased! š But to each their own, I know it wonāt click for some people. That can be hard when everyone else seems to be losing their minds over it, but not getting it is not a crime.
I am curious how it plays for those for whom English is a second language. The text is insanely DENSE. I wonder if the visuals help at all. Iāve seen it on stage but having the camera so close to the actors brought an intimacy to it.
Glad you had positive news @Hecate! Without any context Iāve made that āwaitā, and itās terrifying. Glad things worked out.
I watched it with a 90 year old woman with hearing difficulties and a group of college students from Bangladesh. We watched it with the captions on and that really helped everyone follow what was happening because it is so very dense and packed with information that gets glossed over. John Adams is reduced to three throwaway lines and Franklin barely mentioned. I had to fill in who Adams was, who Aaron Burr was, and dueling.
Thatās great @Lightpurple. I was so pleased that had it all captioned. I think that will help a lot of people. Itās been amazing given that I know the album by heart and have seen it live, how much I am getting from the visuals that is new. I knew about the āBulletā but this was the first time I have been able to track the dancer on her path as āimpending deathā the whole time. Itās chilling! (I think there are a few articles about it if anyone wants to Google.)
Anners, I recommend listening to the soundtrack again before watching it. I do not get into things if I don’t know the lyrics and I think watching Hamilton without any prior listening can be tough!
I’d say yes because I wasn’t sold on it either after the first few numbers until Angelica’s song. Did you watch that? That’s when I got hooked.
Thanks all for the suggestions – I’ll try again with the subtitles on and maybe brush up a bit on US history and the soundtrack. I’m definitely willing to give it another go – I’d love to see and feel what others seem to feel š
Iāve watched it 4 times since it started streaming….
Same here! I also expected it to be over-hyped and didn’t think it could live up to it but damn was I wrong. Daveed is my favorite but they are super talented!
I was wondering Hamilton’s impact on Disney+ numbers. Sounds like it paid off for them! I paid for 3 years of Disney+ through the Disney fan club offer (so I think I paid 120 or 150 for 3 years) so I don’t even think about the cost at this point, because I don’t pay it monthly.
I love Hamilton and I loved the movie production. I thought they did a very good job of making you feel like you were still watching a play – I liked hearing the applause at various points, etc.
I have been seeing some criticism about its historical accuracy which I don’t fully understand because I don’t think its meant to be all and end all of American history. l look at it more like any piece of historical fiction or art – its a jumping off point to make people want to learn more. I also love how it makes the founding fathers seem real. They weren’t saints, they weren’t stodgy men in white wigs, they had tension and drama and there was backstabbing and infighting and disagreements etc. As a history lover, I appreciate how this show makes history come to life.
And I LOVE the whole idea of “who lives who dies who tells your story.” I think that is a good perspective on the show and on history in general.
“meant to be THE be all and end all. Ugh I hate it when I type too fast lol.
It seems like it made a great impact on Disney+ numbers, but I honestly wonder how they are EVER going to make back the $75 million Disney spent on it! Maybe in a year or two they’ll do the theatrical release they originally planned. They’d probably make that money back in a day then!
Yup, I bet they’ll do the theatrical release (honestly I would probably go see it in the theater, lol) and if they release it for purchase, not just streaming, they’ll probably make a good bit of money that way too.
I need a sequel: ELIZA!
That amazing woman’s incredible story gets packed into the final two minutes when she deserves so much more. His legacy was preserved because she fought for it. Much of what is considered his work was written in her hand, how much of it was actually hers? She gave birth to and raised 8 children, mostly as a single mother, and also raised a foster daughter. She founded an orphanage. We need to demand more attention be paid to our founding mothers.
I totally agree! Eliza is so incredible. I think Phillipa Soo gives one of the best performances of the show and she does not get enough attention when compared to the other actors (who are obviously equally phenomenal). I guess itās such an Eliza thing to happen to her. Her final moment is breathtaking.
Breathtaking and heart-breaking. 50 years of an amazing woman’s life compressed into two minutes. And Phillipa Soo has a lovely voice.
I cry everything I hear Eliza’s last song. It’s breathtaking.
Agree, we should know more about her. Ron Chernow’s book covers her later life in the first few chapters.
The musical is as much Eliza’s story as it is Alexander’s. Watching either the movie or a production with a good Eliza makes you more aware of that facet than just listening to the soundtrack. Eliza’s songs aren’t the showstoppers that Satisfied is for Angelica, and watching the stage performance of Burn and Helpless show how good Phillipa Soo was Angelica.
Fantastic idea!
Her performance, her songs and her wonderful singing voice is probably the most poignant and beautiful aspect of the show for me. I do need a play about the women who married these men, borne many many children and never got their due.
I am still on the tired of over-hyped stuff. My friend accessed it for her daughters here in the Iām and didnāt get what the big deal was artistically (not politically of course).
It just pains me to see so many writers, poets, singers, musicians fighting the fight and producing marvelous work when all of humanityās attention goes to one single thing which might not be bad but surely is not the ONLY thing.
So sick of this monolithic, idolatrous society.
Iām sorry, but that is ridiculous. LMM worked extremely hard on this an created something amazing, why shouldnāt he receive the praise? And itās not like he was a millionaire or even really truly famous before this. He worked hard and got recognized for it. Most of the cast were also unknowns and deserved to get recognized for their talent. Daveed Diggs (who is amazing) never even had a proper role before.
I refuse to not give them their proper due just because not everyone is recognized all the time ever
Hamilton was special. Iām not american (and even quite disliked the US) and thought it was brilliant. My 60+ year old father who doesnāt not care about arts (and watched no more than 10 movies in his lifetime) watched it and liked it, being impressed with the amount of hard work that went into it.
So should we all just not talk about it because, surprise surprise, the world is not fair? LMM and everyone else in the play are usually the guys that donāt get recognized, so Iām more than happy to praise them
Hi @Kath Iām not saying ādonāt see itā and Iām not saying ādonāt praise itā. I am just a little flabbergasted to see so many people trying to force themselves to watch something because it became a trend. I am very happy to see that actors and singers who would not get so much recognition are having it. I celebrate that. Just saying that there is more place for others to share that center stage, and other art forms, perhaps less entertaining but equally important. The effort some people are putting In trying to like Hamilton would perhaps be more rewarding if they read Chimamanda Ngozie Adichieās books for instance. Or listened to Daveās album Psychodrama.
I loved the show, but I was also disappointed by it? The songs and performances are stellar and I too am torn between Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom. But… when I studied American History in uni I got turned off by the whole founding fathers myth and most of the founding fathers themselves, particulary Hamilton, who basically ingrained capitalism into your institutions. Aaron Burr was actually for abolishing slavery and giving women the vote. Eliza Hamilton was her husbandās secretary, recording what he dictated and so had an important hand in his work, but she got to be the wife tearing the husband away from his important work. Where were the comments on the plight of Native Americans? Why did they act like Hamilton would have ended slavery? Why buy into the myth instead of creating a new origin story? Why the emphasis on Hamilton as a pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps kind of story?
Such an interesting comment! I am really looking forward to other peopleās comments. Ready for your knowledge Celebitchy community. This site really has the best commenters.
Wilma, when LMM was writing Hamilton, he based it on one particular book he read about him. They book had certain slants and perspectives, which have the play certain slants and perspectives for sure, emphasizing some things,leaving others out and being inaccurate in some ways.
This is an interesting comment, Wilma. Basically LMM response is that while he sees all of these criticisms as totally valid, he was just trying to fit as much story ā that was at times accurate and at times just worked dramatically but was less accurate āĀ into a 2.5 hour musical. So I think it’s fair that he just focused on certain aspects of these people’s lives and not others. And I think it is especially fair that they didn’t delve into the plight of Native Americans āĀ something that I think deserves a story in itself and wouldn’t seem appropriate (to me, anyway) as a footnote in a larger story.
What Hamilton does do is prompt people to research the real stories of these people and get people excited about history. It also gave people of color in the Broadway community opportunities they never had before. There’s so much value in those two things alone.
Because he’s telling a story, not a history lesson. And I don’t mean that in a snarky way – its like what I said above – its not meant to be the be all and end all for American history or for Hamilton’s life. LMM read a book about Hamilton and was inspired by the story of his life so started working on the play. but there are some historical inaccuracies for sure and LMM glosses over other things.
I think the play actually makes the founding fathers look more flawed, and Hamilton definitely isn’t someone to be admired by the end, but I think that’s part of the point of it. They had flaws, they weren’t perfect, but they played a big role in a fascinating story.
I agree – I watched it very skeptically and thought it towed the line of not revering the founding fathers (other than Washington). I did not come out of it thinking Hamilton was this amazing guy – I see a man driven by ambition and self-interest to improve his station and create a legacy while also being unfaithful and unattentive to his wife. The others seem to just be politicians – working to advance their financial interests and/or have important roles in the new country. Yet somehow, Miranda weaves emotion through the story and powerful songs and I truly admire the actors’ talent and Miranda’s creativity.
Why buy into the myth instead of creating a new origin story?
DID they buy into the myth? They donāt even mention most of the Founding Fathers and basically every Founding Father in it (including Hamilton!) comes across as an a**hole. The exception is probably Washington but that makes perfect sense. America is literally founded on his myth, especially at the time the musical takes place. And some of his myth was true, and a lot of it wasnāt. Thatās how history and storytelling works.
āWhy the emphasis on Hamilton as a pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps kind of story?ā
Because it was that too? So why not? And thatās the story that makes the best musical.
I take Hamilton as a tremendous piece of entertainment and the message of Hamilton as that history and people are messy. You mention that Aaron Burr was actually for abolishing slavery and giving women the vote? But you donāt mention that he fathered children with an East Indian woman who was a servant in his house. And never acknowledged them. For every good point about a person, we can bring up a bad. Who tells your story? This is not an educational piece, itās a piece of art. Where people take it from there (for better or worse) is up to them.
This is spot on, Mia4s. I think it’s VERY crucial to note that this show is steeped in themes of legacies, stories, and how people remember you after you’re gone, regardless of what else you did or didn’t do. The show actively comments on that throughout. That’s why, for instance, some of Burr’s better qualities are brushed aside āĀ he’s the “villain in our history” because he is chiefly known for his duel with Hamilton. And so on and so forth. It’s a very, very meta show and shouldn’t be read on a surface level.
YES I love the themes of legacies and who decides what gets told about a person. That’s part of the point of this piece – to shed light on a figure who many people only know as being on the 10 dollar bill, without having a clue as to why. History is objective but how we learn about it isn’t, and that’s part of the point. There’s always a bias, and we have no control over who tells our story after we’re gone.
It’s not a history textbook, its a work of art. I think the discussions around it are important and can help to further develop those themes mentioned above, as with any piece of art.
Even 1776 covered some of the darker issues, but I wouldn’t expect it to be a documentary. Think of Hamilton as a jumping off point to do some reading.
If you go to the twitter of Joanne Freedman-sheās a professor at Yale and a preeminent Hamilton scholar-she live tweeted the show and has some great historical insights. Sheās credited on the show and one song (10 duel commandments) is based off her book and doctoral thesis so she worked with the team.
As a theater person that was lucky enough to see the OBC on Broadway I was Slightly disappointed. I really missed some of the stage view (it was to dark sometimes) and the camera cuts or angles was distracting. It took away from just seeing the performance. But thatās nitpicking. It was 95% still awesome!
We’re on a 6 month subscription thanks to my boyfriend getting a new phone contract and this is on my list of things to watch. I’m nit huge on musical theatre but having heard SO MUCH about this show I have to try it.
I saw it in London with excellent seats and honestly itās a testament to how wonderful the show is that I was blown away and did not for one second miss the original Broadway cast. I actually cried after the first song and after the show once it hit me I had been Ā«Ā in the room where it happenedĀ Ā» if you forgive me for using that ooold Hamilton joke!
Having said that, there has been a lot of press prior to the streaming. YouTube has a bajillion clips of the cast promoting it and LMM has always been the first to say that it was NOT a history lesson per se, that he had to make choices and he was very quick to say that itās strange to see it NOW as opposed to a few years ago, especially in these times of reckoning when it comes to all those historical figures. The film was brilliant but my opinion is that it doesnāt replace seeing it live, regardless of the casting. But I know that tickets can be hard to come by and are very expensive, particularly on Broadway. Iām all for giving access to art without having to take a second mortgage. It shouldnāt be a privilege or a luxury.
I’m American and watched it with subtitles and was grateful for them. “Hamilton” is an instant classic, a national treasure. I was blown away by the rapid pace writing and lyrics, the premise, the energy, the history, seeing all the people of color on stage playing as the founding fathers – FABULOUS! It’s art that reflects America at its best and to watch it during our worst was something I needed. “Immigrants We Get The Job Done.” I have goosebumps just thinking about it! What a performance.
Yep I got Disney+ because of this! Love Hamilton! Never got the chance to see the original cast so I’m excited it’s been made available. I know the soundtrack by heart & have already watched twice since it’s been uploaded. Definitely recommend!
Let me help you out Hecate, Leslie Odom, Jr. That is your crush.
I just adored him and was so upset that his arc on Person Of Interest had to end because he took a commitment to do a Off Broadway play about Alexander Hamilton.
I mean, whatever happened with that play?
History may have been my worst class in school, apparently I missed some exciting stuff, lol. So for me part the genius is making something that I would pay you not to talk to me about into something I unabashedly adore.
Same!! I love history… when it’s historical fiction. I need my medicine with a spoonful of sugar. Watching the show encouraged me to read information about Hamilton and his buddies…something history class never inspired me to do.
I never had the chance to see Hamilton live (I simply couldn’t justify the astronomical cost) but always knew I’d love it.
I watched it twice this weekend. It lives up to the hype and goes beyond that. This is such an incredibly layered story āĀ it has downright brilliant music and lyrics with recurring motifs and pieces of meta commentary you could dig into for eternity, I think. And the very end of this musical elevates the story to masterpiece level for me. It’s absolutely genius, and what a treat to be able to watch the actors’ every expression in the film.
Leslie Odom Jr. is my favorite. Burr is such an awesome, complex character that has the elegance of some of the classiest villains but also has tons of humanity and vulnerability. Such a great performance.
I did the Disney+ free trial in early April when lockdown had just started, and kept it for a few months because i had found Spiderman and his Amazing Friends (Iceman and Firestar) which was a cartoon i loved as a child, and the nice man i lived with had started the Mandalorian.
I also LOVED all those 7 minute Disney cartoons that were made between the 1940s and 1960s that i saw during my childhood in the 1970s-1980s. But in June i had seen all the Disney+ content i needed to see and turn the amazon app renew to “off”.
When i heard about Hamilton, i checked my end date, July 5. I actually put on my calendar to watch Hamilton on July 3.
As it turns out, i watched it twice on the 3rd, and once on the 4th. And i LOVED it. It was spectacular, and its worth a free trial of Disney+ or even paying for a month to get that on to your tv screen.
In my humble opinion.
Hamilton is my favorite musical. I was blessed to have seen it here in Chicago (a friend gave me a free ticket!) when Wayne Brady was playing Aaron Burr. But Ive always wanted to see it with the original cast since the soundtrack was my introduction to the musical long before Iād actually seen it. It was amazing to watch! Just like when I listen to the soundtrack Leslie Odom Jr singing Wait For it brought me to tears. Satisfied was amazing and Daveed Diggs is just awesome all around. My brother even liked it and musicals are generally his thing.
Prior to everything shutting down, I’d been trying to get the lottery tickets forever! I haven’t watched it on Disney yet, haven’t had a good chunk of time where I can watch and pay attention, but I’m hoping to this week.
I was surprised I just couldnāt get into it, donāt know why. I lasted 45 min. Broadway/Musicals are like my fave thing too
Oh well š¤·š»āāļø
ā Broadway/Musicals are like my fave thing tooā
I donāt think that necessarily means youād love this. Itās been calculated that Hamilton is so rapid and so text-rich that if it was sung at the pace of a typical Broadway musical it would be between 4-6 hours long. It really is unique and hard to compare to anything else.
Maybe that’s why I liked it because I normally dislike broadway shows and get impatient while they are singing for 5 minutes about something that could have been spoken in 5 seconds. This show is definitely engaging and never boring!
I got into Hamilton with “It’s Quiet Uptown,” the song about grief (don’t want to spoil it for people who haven’t seen it). I could relate in many ways and it helps me feel the feelings I often push down. And then the rest of the musical followed. I was lucky enough to receive a free ticket through work to the show when it came to Boston and it blew me away (as I knew it would). The show was the same week as a significant anniversary and I just felt like it happened for a reason…
I could go on and on about the genius of Hamilton…but the two things I’ll mention: songs contain callbacks to the other songs in the musical (e.g., reference to praying in “Can’t Say No To This” and “It’s Quiet Uptown”) and the characters’ singing/rapping ability morphs through the show as they become more involved in the government and the struggles to form it.
I watched it Friday night, I can’t wait to watch it again. Maybe tonight!
I had tickets to see it in Toronto this April, but the show was cancelled because of Covid so I got Disney plus to be able to watch the OBC and was not disappointed. I have the soundtrack and mix tape and so I knew the songs well, but seeing the performances to go with the songs was great to see. I actually think Leslie Odom Jr was better in the film than the soundtrack, if thatās possible. Daveed Diggs also Impossibly had more energy and Chris Jackson was great in One Last Time and more emotional than I anticipated.
My parents hadnāt seen much of anything about and enjoyed it too. My mother did a second watch because she felt there was so much she missed. I will do that too at some point.
Itās not a perfect encapsulation of American Revolutionary History or even of Hamilton, but it was never meant to be. The main through line of the musical is āwho tells your storyā and this musical is how LMM tells the story. It is a starting point for discussion both with respect to history but also musically, because the combo of hip hop, rap and traditional musical style was combined in such a perfect way. This work of art can be rewatched and analyzed on many levels and for many years to come.
I loved it!
Never got the hype around Hamilton. Love that minority theatre actors are getting their shine but it seems so strange that the opportunity comes from playing racists and slave owners. Also I can not take the Kidz bop rapping!
My husband and I sat down and watched it on the 4th with some very skeptical cursory knowledge of the play and not knowing any of the music. We enjoyed it immensely, Chris Jackson (Washington) is such a talent! We must have been in the zone because we were able to follow the rapid lyrics. I didn’t think there would be so much comedy! It’s just so good.
It would be so great if we started seeing more theater shows filmed in this way. I love theater and go to local shows, but the likelihood I will ever get to New York to see shows is slim to none. It seems like it would be a great revenue stream for theater and could expand the theater audience.
In addition to Hamilton, I watched Holland Taylor’s one woman show “Ann” when it was on PBS recently. I loved both shows. If you haven’t seen “Ann,” it’s really wonderful. Holland Taylor’s Ann Richards is outstanding.
Hamilton is the best and seeing the original cast was a life changing experience for me. Hecate, I’m glad your situation worked out for the best and I love the phrase emotional debt. I owe emotional debt so many artists, especially now.
I never got to see the Broadway version of Hamilton though I live in the tri-state area, it’s just so dang expensive and you have to buy tickets months in advance. I got tickets for my parents a few years ago for my dad’s birthday and I paid a small fortune for them (we are talking over $1,000!). So I was excited for the movie version because my cousin gave me his log-in info for Disney+ which means I didn’t have to subscribe to yet another streaming service just to watch one movie.
And I really loved it. I laughed, I almost cried, it was an emotional show. I had heard a lot of the songs already and seen some clips from the Broadway version when they were featured on some award show (like the Oscars or the Tonys I forget). But it was so great to finally have context for the songs and see the whole thing with the original cast. It was great to watch it with subtitles because I know just from listening to the songs on Youtube there is SO MUCH stuff packed into those lyrics, references and wordplays and jokes. I think half of it would be lost on me had I watched it live for the first time. The songs are very dense in themes and information and it’s so easy to miss that. Whenever Broadway shows resume (they’ve been canceled for the rest of the year in NYC), I will have way more appreciation for Hamilton if I ever get to watch it live on a stage. Even if Hamilton isn’t your thing, you have to admit Lin-Manuel Miranda is enormously talented and a gifted wordsmith and artist.
When it comes to the actors, they are all really talented but I think we can agree Lin-Manuel is not the best singer and never will be. Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs are both phenomenal. Also the guy who plays George Washington, I can’t think of his name off the bat, he is pretty amazing. As for Philippa Soo, she is incredible as well. I actually saw her in the VERY short-lived musical Amelie on Broadway, it was barely open for 2 months. I met her after the show and she signed my playbill and was very sweet and humble and we had a “lol” moment when I told her my name is also Amelie.
Also totally random but one of the dancers in the ensemble cast is actually the sister of someone I went to college with. She’s pretty prominent on stage and she got her own credit at the end of the movie. Kind of boggles my mind I’m only 3 degrees of separation from the Hamilton cast!
You really had to get in toward the beginning of the show’s run. I have a friend who’s not rich but is a big theater nerd and she had a membership to The Public (where Hamilton premiered before it moved to the Rogers Theater on BWY) and got to see it 3x without emptying the bank. I was later to the party and bought tickets when they released a new batch in October 2015 for the following August. My ticket was only $99.00 + fees (granted it was fairly far back but even with my crappy eyes, I don’t recall having any trouble seeing everything). I realize that even $100 can be prohibitive for a lot of folks, esp. when they have a whole family that wants to go, but it was a lot cheaper than even the same tickets for later in the run.
As an aside, Imagine my disappointment when I found out that the OBC contracts ran out in July 2016 and I was missing the OBC by a mere 2-3 weeks. However, about 1/2 of the original cast was still there when I saw it including Renee and Chris Jackson and the bench of talent was so deep and the material so strong that I didn’t really miss them, except perhaps for the Cabinet Battle between Daveed Diggs and LMM. As you’ve noted, LMM is a brilliant creative mind and had the attendant charisma as the guy who created Hamilton but not the strongest actor or singer. Anyway, I adored it and I’m generally not a huge fan of musicals (much more of straight play/drama person).
All that being said, my home TV set up is pretty basic so without going into all the details, I didn’t and won’t get Disney + just to see Hamilton again but if I had Disney+ I’d definitely watch it. Also, a few years ago there was a PBS documentary, Hamilton’s America, that is basically about the making of Hamilton and includes filmed scenes of the production, OBC members going to various historical places such as Hamilton’s home, as they researched their roles, and input from historians (I recall Joanne Freeman is in it but I’m not sure who else. I highly recommend it if you can find it online or if your local PBS station rebroadcasts it.
I really want to see it but I’d have to watch it on my laptop. I’m not interested in the Disney channel but I can spend 6.99 to see it. I’ll think about it.
If you buy a HDMI cable (fairly cheap) you could link your laptop up to your TV and watch it on your TV screen
I saw it live in London a few years ago and it was amazing – I have a special interest in Hamilton as his family came from the same place in Scotland as I did. I grew up in the small town next to his family’s Scottish home – the Grange (formerly Kerelaw Castle) which was owned by his grandfather at one point.
My 80 year old Mom and I watched it this weekend and enjoyed it! We’re planning to watch it again.
I refuse to see it. I think it should be canceled since it celebrates slave owners!!!
I’m very surprised to see all these positive comments. I would have thought celebitchy readers would have been the first to boycott this show based on the history of Hamilton as a slave owner.
I think people can view it as celebrating the talent and success of the people behind the show (many of them POC) rather than actually Hamilton himself.