Hamilton’s here but why should we care?
There’s a reason it’s the most successful Broadway musical of the modern era. Chris Jones reports.
The one remaining use of the dreaded four-letter word passed muster. One expletive is muted; the other is ‘record-scratched’. You can sing what you like at home, or even sync up your original cast album.
The Disney+ streaming service will release a filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton today, timed for America’s Independence Day holiday weekend. Here’s what you need to know.
What is this Hamilton I keep hearing about?
It’s the most successful Broadway musical of the modern era, a blockbuster phenomenon penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda that tells the story of the founding fathers of the United States by focusing on Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury, an influential economic thinker, and a leading promoter of the US Constitution.
The score is hip-hop influenced, but varied in style. When seen live, the rapturously reviewed show commanded unprecedented ticket prices in New York and Chicago, where it closed earlier this year.
So is this the stage show, or a new movie?
This is the stage show, shrewdly filmed on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2016, mostly for documentary purposes and then hidden away for potential future use. It is directed by Thomas Kail, the director of the show (no-one else has yet directed any other production of Hamilton). There are also plans for a movie, but that is likely years away and it will be a very different animal when it arrives. Kail, a skilled director of stage and screen, was able to edit the work of multiple cameras, but the performers are doing exactly what they did every night on stage.
Does the production star Lin-Manuel Miranda?
It does. In all his 2016 glory. In fact, this filming stars the entire original cast, all of whom now are long gone from the Broadway production. Many of the actors who came later were superb – such as Miguel Cervantes and Joshua Henry – but the original crew helped devise the show and they widely are seen as the definitive interpreters.
Will I get the same experience?
If you mean, ‘‘will it be like sitting in a theatre for the most popular musical of its era?’’ then probably not. That will depend on what you can do at home. According to Miranda, this version includes the pre-show announcement and the bows and postshow applause. It does not include errant cellphones. Or the thrill of live, person-to-person interaction.
Is there an intermission?
Yes. You get a one-minute bathroom break between Act One and Act Two. But fear not the angry usher. You can hit pause.
What about my kids? Is it suitable?
Absolutely. It is American history, after all. The official New Zealand rating is M, and Miranda has said that he gave up two uses of the F-word to avoid the R rating. Apparently, the one remaining use of the dreaded four-letter word passed muster. One expletive is muted; the other is ‘‘record-scratched’’. Miranda has pointed out that you can sing what you like at home, or even sync up your original cast album.
I don’t have Disney+. How do I get it?
Go to Disneyplus.com and pay your $9.99 a month (free trials have ended). You can cancel any time you want.
I want to be the first to see it among my friends.
Hope you haven’t got any other plans for tonight. The 160-minute show is expected to drop at 7pm New Zealand time.
Will I own Hamilton then?
Well, no. You wish. That said, you will be able to watch it as many times as you want after tonight, assuming you maintain your subscription. It will live alongside other streaming content for the near future. Precisely how long it will be right there on Disney+ has not yet been announced, but you might see it disappear once the live show is back on Broadway.
Will this undermine the live show?
Great question. Remains to be seen. Perhaps it will further stoke demand to be there in person, or maybe the pandemic has blurred the previously perceived limitations of streaming and most people will be satisfied by what they see in their living room.
For a whole variety of reasons, though, it seems likely that Hamilton, when it returns live, will be available at a more affordable price.
But it will still be a lot more than $9.99.
– Chicago Tribune/TNS