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Last week I went to see Hamilton for the second of the three excursions I have planned. It was extraordinary; some of the best theatre I've ever seen in my life.
I've been waiting for this from almost the first time I listened to the recording of the Broadway show, and since then I've listen to it scores, probably hundreds, of times, so by now I could virtually recite the entire show, which probably skews my perspective. It's an incredible piece of art, drawing deeply on traditions of musical theatre and blending them with hip-hop in a way that fans of both can enjoy. It's incredibly dense with references all over the place to classics in both those art forms, history, and the wider literary cannon.
The performers were all excellent, and although some were even stronger than others there wasn't really a weak link. For me the actors who really knocked it out of the park were Jason Pennycooke (playing Lafayette/Jefferson), Rachel John (playing Angelica Schuyler), and Obioma Ugola (playing George Washington).
I think I was most impressed by Pennycooke, because I'm slightly obsessed with Daveed Diggs, who was the first to play the roles, and is on the recording and various youtube videos, so there were some very big boots to fill. And he nailed it. They're both expansive, flamboyant characters, and he was masterful at dominating the stage whenever he was singing, but without making it all about him. He demonstrated impressive virtuosity at the very difficult raps written originally on the basis that Diggs had a background as a hip-hop mc and could do them justice.
Rachel John brought extraordinary fierceness and pathos to the role of Angelica, drawing shouts and cheers as she challenges Jefferson on his sexism, and then wringing my first tears of the night with her self-sacrifice in Satisfied. Ugola's Washington simply sent shivers down my spine. His earliest big number, Right Hand Man, was one that on the recording felt the weakest - a necessary piece of storytelling, but without the intense brillance of many of the others. That completely changed seeing it performed, partly because of how the choreography pulled everything together but mostly because of Ugola's command of the stage and the company. And then later, in One Last Time, which has a significant portion of its lyrics written by the historical Washington, his voice is simply angelic; and I don't mean crisp and innocent like a King's chorister opening 'Once in Royal David's City"; I mean like the metatron declaiming with all the power of the word of God.
There were so many other amazing things - King George was riotously funny, the audience cheered during "Guns and Ships" at the immigrants line, Eliza absolutely nails Burn, Mulligan/Madison had the most incredible physicality, Jamael Westman, playing Hamilton, has a wonderful voice, and put a new edge on some of his songs, Aaron Burr was just the right mixture of creepy and relatable, and although I wasn't convinced by his rendition of The Room Where it Happens the first time I saw it, either he'd found something inside himself, or his voice had grown on me, because the second time it absolutely blew my mind. The choreography and dancing is simply stunning; the costumes, the sets - there's just not a thing which has been overlooked or half-arsed.
It wasn't flawless; Eliza doesn't seem to have quite found herself in her earlier songs; Burr's voice doesn't have the expressive range that some of the others do, and contrariwise Hamilton's acting can sometimes seem a little flat next to Burr. Also, and this seems like a silly thing to complain about, but at 6'4", Hamilton towered over most of the other actors, and was even noticably taller than Washington, which does something to the dynamic that I found a bit weird.
All however, the kind of minor niggles that give me something to talk about as I disect the show afterwards; nothing that really takes away from the amazing spectacle of the show, that gave me utter joy from start to finish, and continues to give, enhancing my enjoyment of the recording as I listen to it again with new memories to bring it alive.
I've been waiting for this from almost the first time I listened to the recording of the Broadway show, and since then I've listen to it scores, probably hundreds, of times, so by now I could virtually recite the entire show, which probably skews my perspective. It's an incredible piece of art, drawing deeply on traditions of musical theatre and blending them with hip-hop in a way that fans of both can enjoy. It's incredibly dense with references all over the place to classics in both those art forms, history, and the wider literary cannon.
The performers were all excellent, and although some were even stronger than others there wasn't really a weak link. For me the actors who really knocked it out of the park were Jason Pennycooke (playing Lafayette/Jefferson), Rachel John (playing Angelica Schuyler), and Obioma Ugola (playing George Washington).
I think I was most impressed by Pennycooke, because I'm slightly obsessed with Daveed Diggs, who was the first to play the roles, and is on the recording and various youtube videos, so there were some very big boots to fill. And he nailed it. They're both expansive, flamboyant characters, and he was masterful at dominating the stage whenever he was singing, but without making it all about him. He demonstrated impressive virtuosity at the very difficult raps written originally on the basis that Diggs had a background as a hip-hop mc and could do them justice.
Rachel John brought extraordinary fierceness and pathos to the role of Angelica, drawing shouts and cheers as she challenges Jefferson on his sexism, and then wringing my first tears of the night with her self-sacrifice in Satisfied. Ugola's Washington simply sent shivers down my spine. His earliest big number, Right Hand Man, was one that on the recording felt the weakest - a necessary piece of storytelling, but without the intense brillance of many of the others. That completely changed seeing it performed, partly because of how the choreography pulled everything together but mostly because of Ugola's command of the stage and the company. And then later, in One Last Time, which has a significant portion of its lyrics written by the historical Washington, his voice is simply angelic; and I don't mean crisp and innocent like a King's chorister opening 'Once in Royal David's City"; I mean like the metatron declaiming with all the power of the word of God.
There were so many other amazing things - King George was riotously funny, the audience cheered during "Guns and Ships" at the immigrants line, Eliza absolutely nails Burn, Mulligan/Madison had the most incredible physicality, Jamael Westman, playing Hamilton, has a wonderful voice, and put a new edge on some of his songs, Aaron Burr was just the right mixture of creepy and relatable, and although I wasn't convinced by his rendition of The Room Where it Happens the first time I saw it, either he'd found something inside himself, or his voice had grown on me, because the second time it absolutely blew my mind. The choreography and dancing is simply stunning; the costumes, the sets - there's just not a thing which has been overlooked or half-arsed.
It wasn't flawless; Eliza doesn't seem to have quite found herself in her earlier songs; Burr's voice doesn't have the expressive range that some of the others do, and contrariwise Hamilton's acting can sometimes seem a little flat next to Burr. Also, and this seems like a silly thing to complain about, but at 6'4", Hamilton towered over most of the other actors, and was even noticably taller than Washington, which does something to the dynamic that I found a bit weird.
All however, the kind of minor niggles that give me something to talk about as I disect the show afterwards; nothing that really takes away from the amazing spectacle of the show, that gave me utter joy from start to finish, and continues to give, enhancing my enjoyment of the recording as I listen to it again with new memories to bring it alive.
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Date: 2018-01-07 04:53 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2018-01-07 05:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2018-01-07 05:55 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2018-01-07 06:57 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2018-01-09 10:12 pm (UTC)From:I saw Daveed Diggs with Clipping doing Splendor & Misery at Worldcon last year, which was pretty cool.