“Hamilton” moved up, coming to Disney+ July 3rd 2020

[blackcauldron85]

Some info on the language/edits to get the PG-13:
Lin-Manuel Miranda Explained Why He Let Disney Censor The Upcoming "Hamilton" Movie https://buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/lin ... rs-twitter

[Sotiris]

Character posters.

https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1 ... 4262730752
https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1 ... 5885979648
https://twitter.com/disneyplus/status/1 ... 7429512192

[Farerb]

I'm listening to some of the songs and I really like Satisfied. I can relate.

[Sotiris]

Clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrGwCJQoeVo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQjGGrKRL8oo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asfLNbrSPv4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMD14n4UOVQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBd8MyNe2pw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CurgvjZ7hcM

TV spots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EI40a-Fc1kk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g7InLT0mW0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2kysfBKm7EE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SeXt9ow52II

Featurette:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLWlRPiwtfw

[UmbrellaFish]

I watched the filmed production this morning! Overall, it’s your standard filmed recording of a stage production, but I’m happy we have an HD recording of the original cast of one of the most important and game-changing musicals in musical theatre history. I enjoyed seeing Hamilton for the first time and I know for me, this production will have a lot of replay value— the show is very, very dense and I imagine it rewards with subsequent viewings. So DVD/Blu-ray/4K please!!!

I don’t think it’s possible to convert most here to becoming fans of LMM’s music and lyrics, so I’m not going to talk about that. The other thing which makes Hamilton remarkable is its cast. Watching the recording, I became convinced that Hamilton assembled the most talented ensemble cast ever on Broadway. Renee Elise Goldsberry won the Tony for her performance as Hamilton’s love sick sister in law, but Phillipa Soo had me in tears with her performance as a much grieved wife and mother. Christopher Jackson plays George Washington with a remarkable degree of humanity but also brings the necessary gravitas to America’s most exalted Founding Father. Of the actors with dual parts, Daveed Diggs shines equally brilliantly as Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson and he gives maybe my favorite performance in the cast. Anthony Ramos as John Laurents/Philip Hamilton benefits from the filmed performance, his voice is not as distinct as Oak Onaodowan or the aforementioned Diggs so he is overshadowed on the album, but his acting performance leaves a much more memorable impression now on Disney+.

Jonathan Groff is used sparingly as King George III, but man, when he is used it’s perfect. Groff gives such an excellent comic performance here. Leslie Odom Jr Aaron Burr has the best songs of the entire cast, although I don’t feel the character became especially dramatically interesting until the very final parts of the story. Lin Manuel Miranda is not the finest actor in the world, and vocally he is outclassed by every other person on stage. But he manages to make the character of Alexander Hamilton, who is usually being an asshole, likable and someone to root for— this is because LMM has charisma in spades, as his online popularity attests. Although whether someone’s charisma is effective is subjective, as the response to LMM on this forum also attests. If you don’t like Miranda, you won’t like Hamilton... but I think most people already know that.

The streaming production opens with the classic Disney castle logo with a new hip hop accompaniment. Even though Miranda and Disney have become thick as thieves, I never thought his so-far magnum opus would join the brand— I mean, no fuck, right? But now it has and I wonder if this isn’t the beginning of Disney’s slow Star Wars-style encroachment on the property— will they produce the eventual movie adaptation, for instance? Myself, I’m beginning to warm up to the idea of Hamilton taking the place of the Hall of Presidents at Disney World— say as a 30 minute, family friendly stage experience. Yeah, Hamilton is just as much revisionist history as, well, any Disney product which tries to tackle history, but at least this revisionist history refocuses the narrative with its non-traditional musical style and cast of people of color, reminding us that Black people, immigrants, and women are just as much an essential element of American history as Founding Father Hamilton himself.

[Farerb]

You're talking about Leslie Odom Jr. Lamar Odom is a basketball player.

I liked him, Renée, Phillipa and Daveed the most.

[UmbrellaFish]

Ah, thank you for the correction! Lol he’s the one who was married to a Kardashian, wasn’t he?

[Farerb]

Yes. Khloé Kardashian.

[Sotiris]

But now it has and I wonder if this isn’t the beginning of Disney’s slow Star Wars-style encroachment on the franchise— will they produce the eventual movie adaptation, for instance?

Of course, they will. That's a certainty at this point. It's only a matter of time.

Yeah, Hamilton is just as much revisionist history as, well, any Disney product which tries to tackle history, but at least this revisionist history refocuses the narrative with its non-traditional musical style and cast of people of color, reminding us that Black people, immigrants, and women are just as much an essential element of American history as Founding Father Hamilton himself.

I've read some criticism regarding that online. That even though the characters are race-bent, the story is still centered around white historical figures and their perspective. There was also some animosity and resentment towards it because the musical Alliegence that went to Broadway around the same time as Hamilton and focused on the experiences of people of color and their position in American history wasn't given attention and support by the community.

[Farerb]

Miranda said that a film is not necessary at this point. I also don't think it can work as a film tbh.

[UmbrellaFish]

Miranda said that a film is not necessary at this point. I also don't think it can work as a film tbh.

Miranda will take the money for the movie version and run. No way there isn’t a movie adaptation of Hamilton eventually. Just probably not for 5-10 years at least.

I tried to picture a movie version in my mind as I watched the show. I know most of the songs are presentational in style, or describing action which isn’t very filmic. I’m not sure it could make a very good movie as is— maybe a visionary director with a collaborative LMM could whip something decent up.

I've read some criticism regarding that online. That even though the characters are race-bent, the story is still centered around white historical figures and their perspective. There was also some animosity and resentment towards it because the musical Alliegence that went to Broadway around the same time as Hamilton and focused on the experiences of people of color and their position in American history wasn't given attention and support by the community.

I’ve seen the criticism, too. I think because Hamilton was such a flash point in musical theatre and pop culture, and because of its bold approach to racial politics, it will get a lot of flack in the future, assuming media continues to trend with a more progressive lens. Whether that criticism will be received as valid and Hamilton will become a “problematic” musical like Porgy and Bess, The King and I, and so many others— I do not know. As for Allegiance, that show didn’t have very good reviews. I think if audiences had liked it, it would have had legs— certainly Lea Salonga and George Takei were big enough names to draw focus to the show, whereas in Hamilton’s case, the show itself created “names” of its cast.

[blackcauldron85]

Myself, I’m beginning to warm up to the idea of Hamilton taking the place of the Hall of Presidents at Disney World— say as a 30 minute, family friendly stage experience.

I think that's an excellent idea!!!

even though the characters are race-bent, the story is still centered around white historical figures and their perspective.

I mean, the show's-- not tagline, but it's said that “This is a story about America then, told by America now,"...

https://www.businessinsider.com/lin-man ... broadway-5

He "saw Hamilton's relentlessness, brilliance, linguistic dexterity, and self-destructive stubbornness through his own idiosyncratic lens," wrote The New Yorker in 2015. "It was, he thought, a hip-hop story, an immigrant's story."

Miranda has said that Hamilton reminded him of rapper Tupac Shakur, which is how he came up with the idea for a diverse hip-hop musical about Hamilton's life.

*edit* This is a really good article about the show; it provides some good points to think about (like how to view the show in regards to 2020):

https://www.polygon.com/platform/amp/di ... -hamilfilm

I still haven't seen it- hopefully this weekend.

[rodrigo_ca]

Miranda said that a film is not necessary at this point. I also don't think it can work as a film tbh.

And yet, the screenplay has been written already

[Disney Duster]

UmbrellaFish, you wrote a really good post about this show!

I don't have Disney+, but I listened to the soundtrack and didn't like it that much. Let's just say, if someone wants to show me Hamilton, I will watch it, but if I never see it, that's ok too.

Miranda said that a film is not necessary at this point. I also don't think it can work as a film tbh.

And yet, the screenplay has been written already

What?! How do you know that?

[Farerb]

Did you know that Anika Noni Rose played Angelica Schuyler in the first workshop? I tried to search her version of Satisfied but I couldn't find it.

[JeanGreyForever]

That reminds me that I read a hate post about her on Fanpop the other day from a Black woman who felt that Anika gives Black women a bad image as she is the embodiment of the angry Black woman trope. This was followed by another user talking about how Ming-Na Wen is problematic and should be boycotted. I still haven't figured out what is wrong with Ming-Na but I guess there's something out there about her.

[UmbrellaFish]

Did you know that Anika Noni Rose played Angelica Schuyler in the first workshop? I tried to search her version of Satisfied but I couldn't find it.

I just learned that yesterday. I would love to hear her take on the character.

[JeanGreyForever]

So there's a lot of LMM hate around here and quite frankly I don't understand most of it. Especially since most of those haters are white and frankly have no reason to dislike him besides a "feeling" or "vibe" that they claim is off-putting about him. I give a lot more credence to LMM's critics who are Hispanic in origin like thedisneyspirit. They've known LMM for years way before woke whites suddenly discovered him so they also know how true of an ally he may or may not have been to the Hispanic community. I found this Twitter thread about why Puerto Ricans have grievances with LMM so I thought I'd post it here.
https://twitter.com/lxzdanelly/status/1 ... 5365549056

[blackcauldron85]

I just finished watching it. So, so good. I liked getting the glimpses into the characters' personal lives. The performances were exceptional. And it got me Wikipediaing some history. There were no F-bombs actually said on my Disney+ that I noticed, but I did notice the muted ones. So weird having the "S" word said a lot (Marvel does??). Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan had such a great energy (and he had some funny moments as Madison), and Daveed Diggs as Jefferson was a big highlight as well (and I'm very impressed with his LaFayette performance and accent!). Phillipa Soo and Renée Elise Goldsberry were amazing- such incredible voices- the Sisters were my favorites. And Leslie Odom, Jr lit up every scene he was in- he's such a presence. Christopher Jackson (George Washington) has the most incredible voice! Anthony Ramos had a nice energy, too. Lin (I think he's immensely talented- I like all he's done with Disney so far, I like In The Heights) has the weakest voice of the cast, but he still sounds good, and he played Hamilton with such earnestness and emotion.

*edit* Wow, I forgot Jonathan Groff as the King! He was really good- some really funny moments!!!

[blackcauldron85]

I found this Twitter thread about why Puerto Ricans have grievances with LMM so I thought I'd post it here.
https://twitter.com/lxzdanelly/status/1 ... 5365549056

I read that Twitter thread the day you posted it, but my conclusion was that the different posters had different opinions...I'm going through my probably 60 windows left open in Google Chrome, and the Wikipedia on Hamilton was still open; it says about the Puerto Rico run:

The sold-out three-week engagement raised about $15 million for Miranda's Flamboyán Arts Fund, which benefits arts in Puerto Rico; the first beneficiary having been the restoration of the Teatro UPR, where the three-week engagement would have originally taken place.

So even with the controversy, at least this $15M was super-helpful.

*edit*

And yet, the screenplay has been written already

What?! How do you know that?

Wikipedia says:

On February 10, 2017, Miranda revealed that In the Heights book writer Quiara Alegría Hudes wrote a script for a film adaptation of Hamilton, but reassured that, while a film would be made someday, it would not be made "for years, so that people have ample time to see the stage version first."