Hamilton

Like a majority of the population, I've been left out of the Hamilton pop culture phenomenon that's happened over the last several years. 

Obviously I hadn't seen it in it's purest, original form on Broadway and I never saw the travelling cast when they came to Denver either. Tickets were nearly impossible to come by. 

I've not read the biography of Hamilton or listened to the music of this play. All I've known is it jump started the special career of Lin-Manuel Miranda and is one of the best musicals of all time according to people I trust to judge that a lot more than I do. 

Disney made the very savvy business move to push this "film" up an entire year, amidst a pandemic and societal unrest, to give families - or really anyone interested - the chance to watch it at home over the 4th of July weekend. Admittedly, Disney+ hasn't had very much that interests me of late aside from The Mandalorian and rewatching some Marvel flicks, so for the first time in several months I opened the Disney+ app to watch Hamilton. 

I'll start this review with stating that I'm reviewing this whole package - which includes how this translates to on-screen vs. in theater. Either way, there's truly not much lost and suffice it to say that I'm not arguing with the fact that this musical is an Instant Classic by any measure of Rath's Reviews. But part of me could not help but wonder: how cool would it have been to be in the...ahem..."room where it happened"...as opposed to my couch? More thrilling, more moving, funnier, louder...those of you that did have the pleasure of seeing something like this on Broadway - particularly with this cast - should be very thankful!

It didn't take very long into watching Hamilton with the volume turned considerably up to understand the "why" of all the praise. As I'm sure so many people have in the past I wondered dully, "How will a play about Alexander Hamilton really be all that exciting? I know Miranda is talented, but c'mon." And as so many have before me, I was proven wrong. It's a testament to a lot of things combined, but most to Manuel Miranda's talent to see an exciting, meaningful story in a somewhat-obscure American historical figure. It makes me wish he'd do several of these throughout his life in the same vein: picking someone that we as the American public knows of, but not someone who got all the spotlight. It's an exciting way to learn a lot more about our country. 

The Fancy Coats are coming! The Fancy Coats are coming!

"Can you put me in a movie someday?"

And aside from the story that's yes, mostly about Hamilton himself, but also about the establishment of a democracy and the effort that was taken into getting it "right", there's just so much to love here. The entire thing is a musical - which I can almost hear a few audible groans over - but it stays consistently exciting and upbeat. If you're inexperienced with Broadway musicals like I am, this isn't ballad after ballad of slow tunes. These are hip-hop and pop inspired songs with Broadway influence. Half come across more like spoken-word poetry than an actual song (in a good way) and you're able to follow along with the story easily because Miranda is so delightfully talented with his lyrics and rhythm. It's an absolute joy (and a big part of the magic of it all) to see how one song transitions into the next, calls back to others, or starts an entirely new beat. And damn...are the songs great. Remember, this is my first time really hearing any of them and I had a lot of fun. Throughout there's a lot of impressive rapping, singing, emotion, and humor sprinkled throughout the well-paced 3ish hours. 

If there's one thing to rival the music it's the performances and the theatrics of everyone. Well...to be honest there's a lot more, but it's all the type of stuff that Broadway critics would be able to give you more of than I would, so I'll focus here. While you watch Hamilton, it's clear each cast member knows they're part of something special. There's so much passion here - and not just from Miranda - but from everyone. Miranda obviously has the passion since this is his baby and his role is iconic, but Daveed Diggs is equally as invested in multiple roles as is Anthony Ramos, Leslie Odom Jr. is basically the co-star as Aaron Burr, Jonathan Groff gets some big laughs as King George (and a far cry from his Mindhunter character, I must say), while each lady - but particularly Phillipa Soo - does excellent too. There's not a single weak link and Miranda also lets the diversity of the cast speak for itself as almost an underlying metaphor for this country and the importance of it within a democracy. As is usually the case, watching a human do something well is one thing, but watching a human do something well and passionately, is captivating on a different level. 

Hamilton was highly enjoyable for me and I'm glad I finally got to participate in the phenomenon. It was smart of Disney to do this now as opposed to a theatrical release next year and it earns a lot of good will for taking that "hit" (though I imagine the subscriptions they'll get will quickly outweigh the dollars of the release to theaters). It's easy to see why this play is so significant in Broadway's history and it's one of those productions that makes you (despite a lot of other s**t that's going on right now) happy to be alive during this time. 

CONS

• Loses some small amount of the magic in translation to the small screen. Best suggestion? Play it loudly
• Feels long when you're watching it on your couch vs. a night out on Broadway

PROS

• The production for television doesn't try and get too fancy, but instead is most often just directly in front of the stage with some subtle camera changes at key times to add some flair
• An exquisite performance from the original cast on this night back in 2016. Not sure there was a single mistake which, for something this complex, is impressive
• A surprisingly exciting story about a more obscure American patriot. Miranda's screenplay of it all is brilliant
• Iconic and thrilling music. It's a musical for the current age - complete with rap battles and catchy tunes - that's also easy to follow along with the story because Miranda is such a talented lyricist
• Not a single weak performance in the bunch. You're able to watch a bunch of talented humans pour their passion into a 3 hour period. It's captivating

Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10