Like most of the planet, I watched Hamilton last weekend! The “Room Where It Happens” is now, well, whichever room you happen to be in. Hamilton is the seventh highest-grossing Broadway musical of all time. It is also in the elusive billion dollar club of Broadway musicals that have generated at least a billion dollars in ticket sales. So, all of this is to say, it doesn’t come as any shock that it was the hottest at-home ticket on July 3rd, 2020. (A massive thank you to Disney for putting it up early so that we can all enjoy it in quarantine!) So, I’m going to share my thoughts on the most popular historical musical, and give you my Hamilton review!
I did mention Hamilton in my Top 5 Historical Musicals post- it didn’t make my top 5, but I appreciate that it has brought countless people to both history and musicals. I went into my Hamilton viewings with that in mind. After seeing it would it crack my top 5? Would I enjoy it more than I thought?
My Thoughts on Hamilton
I’m not a hermit, I had bought and listened to the Hamilton soundtrack. While there are several songs that I really enjoy, I did somewhat struggle always placing who was singing when. (And as a result, the story was rather muddled.) Seeing it made a massive difference for me, because I could visually see who was singing and follow along with the story line. It is obviously a record breaking album, but I think it is a lot stronger once you have seen it!
I’ve got to say, I’m totally on #TeamSchuyler. If I could make it happen, I would have Eliza and Angelica at the heart of the musical and have Hamilton as the secondary character. Both of the sisters are fascinating, and their lives didn’t revolve around him- more Schuyler time! That may be the historian in me speaking- men in politics tend to get the spotlight in history, we need more variety. (I know that he was discussed less than the other Founding Fathers, but we aren’t exactly short on male, political history…) Both Phillipa Soo and Renee Elise Goldsberry were incredible, and kept my attention entirely everytime they were on the stage.
Unsurprisingly, Daveed Diggs was the other standout performer for me. As a historical figure, I cannot say that I’m a fan of Thomas Jefferson, but in the context of Hamilton, I thought that Diggs as Jefferson was one of the best performances I’ve seen. Lyrically, I find Jefferson the most interesting and entertaining to watch. (That purple velvet coat- fantastic costuming choice!) And I have to say, Jefferson and Madison gave me a different perspective on the South- from a modern perspective, it seems bizarre why they would stand for what they did, but I have a bit better idea of where they were coming from.
Have you watched Hamilton yet?
Cheers,
The Historian
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Watching it at the moment, in snippets!