In case you missed the Broadway run of "Hamilton" featuring the original cast, including Lin-Manuel Miranda as the man who made it happen, you can catch a piece of American History about American History on Disney + starting this month. Linda Jager is here with her review of the film version of Hamilton.
While I wasn’t quite lucky enough to see the original cast in "Hamilton" on Broadway, I did have an opportunity to catch a performance when the national touring production came through Salt Lake City in the spring of 2018.
The performance was every bit of amazing I expected, but I still longed to see the Uber-talented playwright/actor Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton in the play that made America’s Founding Fathers cool again.
With Broadway and movie theaters shuttered, it was an unexpected treat to watch the newly released film version of "Hamilton" over the 4th of July weekend, which is now available to stream on Disney+. Shot over three days in June 2016, the 2 1/2 hour film features members of the original cast in a performance viewers of all ages can enjoy together while we’re riding out the COVID pandemic at home.
If you’re a ""Hamilton" newbie, you may be interested to know that Miranda was inspired to write the play after he was just a few chapters in to the 2004 best selling biography Alexander Hamilton, written by
Ron Chernow.
Making it’s off-Broadway debut in January 2015, "Hamilton" made it to Broadway just six months later, and went on to win 11 Tony awards, including Best Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
"Hamilton" is notable for casting actors of color to portray the Caucasians Founding Fathers. The original cast featured in the film includes standout performances from Daveed Diggs, who plays a dual role of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson; Phillipa Soo as Hamilton's wife Eliza; Renee Elise Goldsberry as Eliza's older sister, Angelica; Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; and Jonathan Groff who steals the show with his brief, comedic portrayal of King George.
The diverse soundtrack is just as solid as the performances, with
rap, hip hop, and rhythm and blues used to bridge the story to a 21st century audience.
Directed by Thomas Kail, "Hamilton" was filmed partially in front of a live audience and partially with a camera crane, which ultimately gives at-home viewers the best seats in the house. "Hamilton" is definitely a film worth watching.
This is Linda Jager with the KPCW Friday Film review.
