Hamilton

Yes, this thread (I know, not all posters) is reminding me of those frequent threads about people ‘researching’ Disney holidays (meal plans, fast passes, difference ride waiting times, character restaurants etc etc) as if they were plotting to invade a country! If a musical requires intensive preparation to be an audience member, doesn’t that suggest it doesn’t quite work as a musical?

I thought it was brilliant. I was advised to watch it on Disney before the theatre which I did but actually I don't think it was necessary. I agree with pp who says not to do that as I was blown away by the Disney version & would have loved to have had that experience from the theatre

@motheronthedancefloor - I see where @Home1mprov3ments is coming from, even though I think LMM is a genius. The Hamilton I saw onstage had the most incredible voice that he added something extra for me. I loved both versions though!

I've only seen it on Disney+ and thought it was brilliant - but sooooo long that we watched it in a couple of sittings. I didn't feel the need to see it live after that but I can imagine it's very good. I think it would be much more useful to know something of the history than to learn the songs.

It was filmed in 2015/2016 so long before it was released on Disney. LMM was in the cast at that time, as were all the originals. He's the best Hamilton by far and multi talented.

It's incredible. Watched it on Disney plus in lockdown and saw it live a couple months ago.

If you loved Les Mis, think of it as a spin off.

In real life, Lafayette was one of the coffin bearers at Lamarque's funeral.

The beauty of both shows is that they're a retelling of history through the lens of theatre.

Hamilton is lyrically superb and brilliantly staged.

I love it, but then I studied History so I get all the little references that others may have missed e.g. "sally, be a dear, won't you open it?" - Sally was allegedly Jefferson's mistress.
I've seen it twice now and also on Disney. I don't think any version can beat the original version though. The cast are just SO good.
Satisfied is my favourite song - Renee and that voice. The pain she conveys.
You won't regret seeing it but definitely watch it on Disney plus first.
edited to add - I found the second half did drag a bit.

I think people will be studying Hamilton in school in 200 years time. Honestly, best musical ever.

Interesting pov.

I love the whole thing but favour the first half with all the war drama and emotional stuff.

My daughter - a law and politics student, prefers the second half.

It's my favorite show. The music is fantastic and lyrically so clever. It's fast paced and humorous in parts. Just book it!

😂

It’s the best I’ve seen by far and I’ve seen a fair few musicals

Nothing stacks up imo

The energy is incredible

It's sooo much better than six (and I quite liked six!). It made me laugh, cry and gape. Please go and see it!

I loved it and didn't know anything about it when I saw it. Other than it being a big hit.

DD and I just seen it in Edinburgh last week. If you have the opportunity then I 100% recommend it. It is a masterpiece.

I watched the Disney+ recording of the Broadway one first and was not overly impressed but seeing it live was breathtaking.

I have to say I became slightly obsessed after seeing Hamilton with LMM and how talented he is (Moana, Encanto), and found out Hugh Laurie inspired the lyric "You'll be back".

Why would you learn songs before you go?

No-one is paying to hear you sing?

And when asked in a 1:1 by our CEO what I wanted from my career, I actually answered with a Hamilton lyric: I want to he in the room where it happens … because that is actually what I want, to get to the C suite.

I also used the same line in a big bid qualification meeting, as justification for why our org would want to participate in something and a colleague really surprised me by responding quick as a flash ‘you got skin in the game, you stay in the game’ - it wasn’t someone who I thought would be mega into Hamilton either. Its blockbuster status is deserved.

Seen it live twice and loved it.

I took my then 14yo DD to see it as she was really keen, had no real introduction to it beyond 1 listen to the soundtrack on Spotify. I was blown away. So funny, heartbreaking and clever. I'm a sucker for an intelligent lyric and although I'm not the world's biggest fan of rap I loved it. Besides, with You'll be Back and Helpless amongst others it's really not all rap throughout! And yes, Lafayette... <swoons>

The staging is clever but minimal and there's a fair amount of doubling, but I enjoy that kind of theatre far more than the lavish, constantly changing sets/fabulous costumes variety.

I last saw it just before lockdown and can still hum/sing most of the songs. I saw Sister Act on Wednesday, and I couldn't tell you a thing about any of the songs in that if you held me at gunpoint...

Please don’t learn it before you go, and don't make it conditional. That'll suck all the joy out of it. Immersion and being carried along by it is far more enjoyable.

Btw, if you sat next to me and started singing along, I would have had you thrown out.

spoilers - scroll on by if you don’t want to read them.

I really don’t understand those saying the history is dull. It’s the war of independence, America becoming its own separate country, free from British rule, and it follows some key characters from that time.

It centres Hamilton, the man on the $10 bill, and this is important because the average American knows (knew?) far less about him than the other founding fathers, even though he was instrumental in winning the war of independence as one of Washington’s trusted advisors, he then established the fiscal system of the USA which actually bound the states and made them impossible to separate.

He is also just quite an interesting character, a prolific writer so there is a lot of material to work with, I mean he wrote and distributed a pamphlet detailing an affair he had (and was extorted over). He was an orphan born in the Caribbean who came to America with nothing and later married into society, which enabled him to be there at the founding of the country. He had a lifelong frenemy situation going on with Burr (which eventually causes his early death). It is quite incredible that it’s a true story, or at the very least based on the life of a person who actually lived (the Hamilton/Angelica angle may not be true as she was already married when they met)

And the lyrics are on the whole great (some are cheesy but not that many). The rap battles as a way of communicating some of the key political debates of the era are so clever. Some of the rap sequences are ridiculously fast (Angelica, Lafayette) that it’s incredible just to watch.

I had very little knowledge of or interest in the founding of the USA, and now my kids (and millions of other people) have a pretty neat understanding of it from a rap musical - that’s mind blowing.

you have no control/ who lives, who dies, who tells your story.

There weren’t as many racing cars as I’d expected

I loved the colour blind casting. From what i gather previous to this, black actors could get lead parts in the lion king and that was pretty much it. So many talented actors got so much exposure from this show that they wouldn't have got in the white dominated theatre scene.

And the Disney plus one introduced me to renee elise goldsberry who has one of the most incredible voices I've ever heard. Her version of "quiet uptown" is a masterpiece.

If not for the colour blind casting, do you think a black woman would have ever got anywhere near that role, even though there was arguably nobody better for the role?