Rise up! Marvelous ‘Hamilton’ still a diverse triumph
and seeing themselves, “Hamilton” becomes a bridge of acceptance leading to transformative change for generations of theatergoers.
Having been blown away by the original Broadway cast in September 2015, before the show became a cultural juggernaut ultimately winning 11 Tonys, I’m pleased the filmed presentation is equally gorgeous, riveting and exuberant. Captured over three days in June 2016 during the final weeks of the aforementioned cast in tow, the performances and the intimate, sweeping camerawork are remarkable.
The incredibly stylistic, cinematic storytelling, specifically the superb marriage of hip-hop, pop and R&B, is on dazzling display in such numbers as “My Shot,” “The Schuyler Sisters,” “Helpless,” “Satisfied,” “Yorktown,” “Non-Stop,” “Cabinet Battle,” and showstopper “The Room Where it Happens.” Musically, the show’s cross-generational appeal is evident with clever nods and shoutouts to “1776,” “The Pirates of Penzance,” “South Pacific,” and “Les Miserables” to name a few. Also, the tight harmonies of “The Schuyler Sisters” evokes Rodgers and Hart’s “The Boys from Syracuse,” an homage to Bob Fosse simmers throughout “The Room Where it Happens,” and “You’ll Be Back,” a delightful solo for King George III ( Jonathan Groff ), is a cool, jaunty throwback to the Beatles.
In addition to Miranda’s charming, dynamic titular performance, expect next year’s Emmys to reward Tony winners Daveed Diggs (a playful Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson), Renee Elise Goldsberry (a stunningly elegant, expressive and sophisticated Angelica
Schuyler), director Thomas Kail, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, and music director Alex Lacamoire.
Assessing this musical in our current climate, I was struck by Hamilton’s timely rallying cry to “rise up!” He was asking the citizenry to consider revolution in order to bring about significant reform. As interpreted with hiphop finesse, his thoughts circa 1776 sound similar to what has been heard on the streets circa 2020. “This is not a moment,” Hamilton says. “It’s the movement where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went… Are we a nation of states? What’s the state of the nation? I’m past patiently waitin,’ I’m passionately smashin’ every expectation, every action’s an act of creation! I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow, for the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow.”
Will “Hamilton” ever be everyone’s cup of tea? Absolutely not. The same can be said about “Cats” or anything written by Stephen Sondheim. The show has also come under fire for not exposing the flaws of the Founding Fathers in greater detail. “All the criticisms are valid,” Miranda said in a recent tweet. “The sheer tonnage of complexities and failings of these people I couldn’t get. Or wrestled with but cut. I took 6 years and fit as much as I could in a 2.5 hour musical. Did my best. It’s all fair game.”
Regardless, “Hamilton” firmly stands as a creative testament to the strengths of American patriotism, resilience, innovation, and most importantly, diversity.
Legacy fulfilled.