Watch the Broadway smash hit from your living room
When news broke that Disney + was releasing Hamilton, the Broadway production, with original cast on their new streaming service, social media channels were flooded with cheers and excitement.
Covid-19 has closed Broadway and numerous other playhouses around the country for the foreseeable future, so any streaming of a Broadway show is received positively, especially a hit that’s is impossible to get tickets.
Hamilton has been a success since since opening off-Broadway, at the Public Theater in 2015. It moved to Broadway, the Richard Rogers theater at the end of that year. In 2016 it won 11 Tony Awards and the show has been sold out ever since touring the country and world.
Hamilton is the story of Alexander Hamilton told as a musical, but the show is heavily influenced by R&B and Hip Hop music. The show has been described as “America then, as told by America now”.
Created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton was a passion project that shot to fame in 2009. Miranda has been invited to the White House to perform his current Broadway hit, In The Heights, for then President Barack Obama, but Miranda had an idea to perform the first some from Hamilton titled Alexander Hamilton.
In 2013 a workshop of Hamilton was performed at the Vassar Reading Festival, it was called The Hamilton Mixtape, directed by Alex Lacamoire, it included the first act and three songs from the second act. As it was a workshop there was a number of actors standing around a rehearsal room singing to Lacamoire accompanying them on piano.
Two years later Hamilton opened off-Broadway and the rest is history.
Disney + has spent a lot of time and money on recording this production of Hamilton, that will remind the viewers of everything that is good about theater. You remember how good it is to be a part of the audience and feel the atmosphere and buzz around you that contributes to the enjoyment of the performances on stage. This also makes you realize what you are missing during this pandemic, live performance, but also that you are longing for it to return to once things improve.
The cast of Hamilton includes Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Schulyer, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schulyer, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Daveed Diggs as Thomas Jefferson and Jonathan Groff as King George III.
The cast are astounding, they are equally as good as each other and round out a tremendous performance. All actors are engaging and captivating, but help in telling an important part of American history, which is very important to be remembered.
Is the hype worth it?? If you are a history buff, a theater fan or someone just curious about the buzz that surrounds Hamilton then it is definitely worth it. There are some moments where you realize it would be amazing to see this live on a stage and there are other moments where seeing the performers close up, thanks to streaming, you can see the determination to give the best performance possible. Additionally the music is amazing, the Hip Hip and R&B influence works a treat to keep the story energized and powerful.
Hamilton is currently streaming on Disney +.
