A Love Letter to Hamilton

Early yesterday morning Hamilton became available to stream on Disney+. If this is the first time you’ve heard about it, you’ve clearly not been in the room where it happens. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit musical about the ten-dollar founding father took the world by storm in 2015. Audiences all over the world have had the opportunity to see this production. Now, five years after it debuted at the Public Theater before moving to Broadway, an original broadway cast film is available on the Disney+ platform. Don’t sweat it. You can still see the show live. What was initially meant to be seen on a massive movie theater screen in 2021 has graciously been given to us a year and a half early. (A quarantine bonus perhaps).

Not only does this show hold such an incredible place in my heart, but the original cast does as well. Some of my all-time favorite performers comprise the OBC of Hamilton. (OBC stands for original Broadway cast). Naturally, I was gutted when the original cast started to move towards other projects. I knew I’d never see them perform together…until now. It might not be live, but seeing Phillipa Soo perform makes my heart soar.

I’d like to talk about proshots for a moment. Proshots are a huge deal when it comes to the world of musical theater. For one, they are legal. Often times the theater community will debate the topic of bootlegs. It is illegal to film a Broadway show on your cell phone or personal camera however, there are still many that circulate the internet. This version of Hamilton was filmed during a live production, anytime there is a full stage shot that camera was set up in the audience. The close-up shots were all done over a series of Mondays. The cast and crew came in on their day off to film what they couldn’t during a live performance.

Thanks to editor Jonah Moran, that’s one of the things that makes the story flow so much nicer and creates more of an emotional effect on the audience. I’ve listened to this musical a countless number of times. I sang along, I laughed and I most definitely cried, but I didn’t know what the film had in store for me. Being able to see it all unfold together; the combination of music, choreography, staging, lighting, etc. is something to be marveled at. It’s something that no musical has ever done before. If you would have told someone back in the 1960s when musicals like Funny Girl, My Fair Lady, and The Music Man were being released, that a rap musical about Alexander Hamilton was going to change the way we look at theater they would have laughed straight in our faces. This show is a gateway show for people who aren’t interested in musicals. There are so many genres of music that comprise Hamilton and how Lin-Manuel Miranda managed to make it flow effortlessly is so spectacular.

Last night I was asked, “If you could see any show with the original cast what would it be?” Without hesitation, I said, Hamilton. I saw my first musical when I was five years old. I’ve seen original casts, I’ve seen touring casts and I’ve seen proshots, but there is something about this OBC that is unlike any other. In order to keep the audience invested in the characters, he chose a number of actors to play a specific character in Act I and a separate character in Act II. I cried when John Laurens died, but then Anthony Ramos came back in Act II as Philip Hamilton. The same goes for Daveed Diggs and his portrayal of Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson. It’s jaw-dropping to hear him rap “Guns and Ships” in Act I and one of my favorite songs in Act II is “What’d I Miss” so it’s a win-win.

I hope that while you watch Hamilton you’re enthralled and immersed into this world that Lin has created. I also hope you take a few moments to reflect on the diversity of the cast and think about our future as a country. As John Laurens sings, “we’ll never be truly free until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me.”

This turned out to be so much longer than I expected. I could go on for pages, but at the same time, I’m completely speechless. Go watch it! I’m biased because two of my favorite things in the world are musicals and revolutionary history, but there’s something in it for everyone. Most people have already watched Hamilton and some people (me) are watching it for the second and third time. I want to hear your thoughts on the musical as a whole or your feelings on proshots. Do you love them? Do you want more musicals to release their proshots? Tell me everything over at @TheCinemaSpot. You can also read my thread on my personal twitter that I’ll probably update more today.