Who’s excited to see Hamilton on Disney+ on Friday???

[lizzywednesday]

I’m planning to see the movie as I love musicals! I saw the preview at a movie some time ago and made note of wanting to see it.

I saw the show on Broadway with most of the original cast still performing in it and it's one of my favorites. I don't usually buy cast albums at a show, but this one was a must-have.

The film announcement, with a screenplay by playwright Quiara AlegrÃ*a Hudes, was extremely exciting for me.

[PZMommy]

I saw the show on Broadway with most of the original cast still performing in it and it's one of my favorites. I don't usually by cast albums at a show, but this one was a must-have.

The film announcement, with a screenplay by playwright Quiara AlegrÃ*a Hudes, was extremely exciting for me.

I rarely get to go see the live shows. Last one I saw was Wicked and that was 11 years ago. I have a ton of cast albums for shows I will probably never get to see. I don’t know if you ever watched when Rosie O’Donnell had a talk show. She used to have casts come on and perform a number. I think I bought the CD for every show she featured. She brought Broadway theater to many people who would never have a chance to see the shows.

[lizzywednesday]

I rarely get to go see the live shows. Last one I saw was Wicked and that was 11 years ago. I have a ton of cast albums for shows I will probably never get to see. I don’t know if you ever watched when Rosie O’Donnell had a talk show. She used to have casts come on and perform a number. I think I bought the CD for every show she featured. She brought Broadway theater to many people who would never have a chance to see the shows.

The last show I saw was Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella with Laura Osnes (who is an amazing actor) and Santino Fontana (who won a 2019 Tony for his leading role in Tootsie) in the leading roles of Cinderella and the Prince in 2013. My BFF was able to bring her eldest and we all had a great day out in NYC.

In the interim, I lost my job, had to manage school stuff with DD, had to manage diagnostic appointments and therapies with DD, and keep getting distracted from job-hunting ... and my BFF had 2 more kids.

I would occasionally watch Rosie's talk show with my Nana and I loved her so much for her support of the Broadway community after she did her brief stints in the Grease revival in the early 90s and Seussical the Musical.

Between that and PBS, my ability to experience theatre, even if it's not live-and-in-person, was expanded exponentially.

[PZMommy]

I’m hoping that if Hamilton does well movie wise, it would encourage more musicals to do this! There are so many streaming platforms that they could be released on.

[lizzywednesday]

I’m hoping that if Hamilton does well movie wise, it would encourage more musicals to do this! There are so many streaming platforms that they could be released on.

Well, actually ... (sorry, sorry, not the best phrasing) there's BroadwayHD ... its selection varies. It's its own subscription service, so it isn't the same as teaming up with an existing platform, but it exists.

There's also The Shows Must Go On over on YouTube, which is free but limited access to a different show every weekend.

And I forgot about Broadway OnDemand - that's probably the kind of thing that most people could fit into their lives.

[PZMommy]

Well, actually ... (sorry, sorry, not the best phrasing) there's BroadwayHD ... its selection varies. It's its own subscription service, so it isn't the same as teaming up with an existing platform, but it exists.

There's also The Shows Must Go On over on YouTube, which is free but limited access to a different show every weekend.

I’ve watched The Show Must Go on videos. I’ll look into the other site.

[lizzywednesday]

I’ve watched The Show Must Go on videos. I’ll look into the other site.

BroadwayHD is a subscription, but Broadway OnDemand may be a better option because it's more like PayPerView than a whole 'nother service. At least BroadwayHD has a free trial!

[StantonHyde]

I agree that the ending was weak. The Mighty Girl website had some info on books about Eliza Hamilton. I didn't know how amazing she was. I know there are some books on the "founding Mothers". Those women did so much to run their husband's businesses/farms and raise families while the men were so absent. Fortunately, DD knew all the songs. It was amazing. To think that Miranda wrote all of that history and made it rhyme!!! I do think he was the weaker link--that cast was amazing!! The man who played Lafayette and Jefferson was great. Eliza's older sister was super. And I really like the George Washington actor. I think it is interesting to note that the fighting the war is really exciting while the governing and life after--not so much. Interesting to see the differences between the south and the north even at the beginning. The choreography was a lot--but it's a musical, it's supposed to be. Just the whole idea of bending all the characters while staying true to the history and rhyming it all. It is just so amazing. And no dialogue. wowza. (I thought King George was pretty funny)

I did like seeing the up close views of the actors which I wouldn't have seen on stage. Musicals aren't my favorite. I liked Sweeny Todd way more than Newsies. I found Dear Evan Hansen to be truly amazing. I don't like saccharine. I don't like too depressing. I like something in the middle. And I looooooove history. So Hamilton was awesome for me.

[StantonHyde]

My DH is super frustrated because apparently had 3 F words in it and h they took 2 out but left one in! It would have been so easy to edit all three! I don’t know what else is in the show but we don’t want our littles to watch it with that kind of language. I’m sure I’ll see it.

meh, the f word was more of a "fuhhhhhh" without any ending. For littles, it could go right over their heads. But for someone that little, I don't know that they want to sit through 3 hours of it. It really is more for tweens and up. But I bet younger kids might like the sound track.

A friend of mine sings with the Opera Chorus in Salt Lake. Her kids were in a summer opera (Pirates of Penzance??) where there was the word "dammy". Her kids had bit parts and they would listen to the sound track. They agreed they could only sing dammy in the car :-) Her daughter was in the Grapes of Wrath with them. She was small enough for the men to lift over their shoulders and she passed a baby doll over her head--it looked like a river current carrying the baby along. She kept asking, "mommy, can we do the dead baby scene again?'. show biz kids!

One of they guys I work with talks about how his mom sat him and his brothers down when they were going to school for first grade and would ask them all the swear words they knew. The would turn red faced and confess and then she would say how about these words--and she would belt them out. She let them know they were just words. Words she didn't want to hear in her home but they didn't have power. And that talk took the power away from those words. I believe all of her kids went on missions. She raised strong children. She sounds like an awesome lady!

[lizzywednesday]

I agree that the ending was weak. The Mighty Girl website had some info on books about Eliza Hamilton. I didn't know how amazing she was. I know there are some books on the "founding Mothers". Those women did so much to run their husband's businesses/farms and raise families while the men were so absent.

You may also enjoy the resources at the Eliza Project, which hooked the actors up with the (still in existence!) orphanage she founded: https://www.graham-windham.org/the-eliza-project/

... I do think he was the weaker link--that cast was amazing!! The man who played Lafayette and Jefferson was great. Eliza's older sister was super. And I really like the George Washington actor. I think it is interesting to note that the fighting the war is really exciting while the governing and life after--not so much.

Lin, while a brilliant composer-lyricist, leaves a lot to be desired as a singer. He can rap like nobody's business, though. (Search his 2009 Tony Award acceptance speech, which he freestyled.)

The actors' names you're looking for are Daveed Diggs and Christopher Jackson. I was lucky enough to see Chris Jackson as Benny in In the Heights on Broadway in 2009-ish; he's an experience.

Daveed Diggs has a recurring role on blackish on NBC and a leading role in Snowpiercer on TNT. He's also a rapper.

Chris Jackson was in the CBS series, Bull, among other TV work. You can catch him in a few episodes of the revived The Electric Company TV show. He's also the singing voice for Moana's dad, Chief Tui, in Moana.

Both men are part of the improv/comedy rap group Freestyle Love Supreme, founded by Lin, and the subject of a delayed-release Hulu documentary (I think it's due out tomorrow (7/7/2020)?)

Interesting to see the differences between the south and the north even at the beginning.

If you're inspired at all to do more reading, you'll find that support for independency and revolution was pretty low among the general population and varied a great deal from state-to-state. Some areas, like NYC, remained occupied by the British for the duration of the war - we still have remnants of those days today! Early in the War, the Continentals built forts on the Palisades and what's present-day way uptown Manhattan, named them "Fort Lee" (after our buddy, Charles Lee) and "Fort Washington," to defend the Hudson River from the seaborne attack of the British.

Fort Washington fell during Gen Washington's retreat from Manhattan, was captured by the British, and renamed "Fort Tryon" ... a name it still bears today. (It's where The Met Cloisters museum is located. Lin walks his dog, Tobillo, in the park there from time to time.)

But, yes, even in 1776 you can see the differences of support for the resolutions and the war itself among all the delegates ... and that's not even half the story!

I believe I've already recommended McCullough's 1776 in this thread as a good overview; there are more books on the subject, but I'm still jotting them down!

...It is just so amazing. And no dialogue. wowza.

They experimented with dialogue scenes in early workshops & found it interrupted the "flow" of the story too much.

(I thought King George was pretty funny)

That would be comic genius Jonathan Groff, who also appears in Netflix's Mindhunter and did a stint as Seymour in the recently-revived Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors. You can get the cast recording anywhere you buy music; look for the "2019" cast.

I did like seeing the up close views of the actors which I wouldn't have seen on stage. Musicals aren't my favorite. I liked Sweeny Todd way more than Newsies. I found Dear Evan Hansen to be truly amazing. I don't like saccharine. I don't like too depressing. I like something in the middle. And I looooooove history. So Hamilton was awesome for me.

You may also like Come from Away, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (a/k/a "Great Comet"), Hadestown, and Anastasia. (PS - Sweeney Todd is my favorite musical of all time. I first saw the Angela Lansbury/George Hearn filmed tour production on PBS when I was ... 6 or so? ... and it's been a constant for me. It's got everything - comedy! vengeance! mistaken identity! murders! romance! cannibalism! - and I love it.)