03 July 2020 - Film version of Broadway hit "Hamilton" released today
Hamilton review: The close-ups and camera movements in this version enhance the charisma of the performers
Scott Ao (The Independent, 03/07/2020)
The opening scenes of the filmed version of the Broadway musical Hamilton, which starts streaming on Disney+ from today, pull you back in time to two distinct periods. The people on stage, in their breeches and brass-buttoned coats, belong to the New York of 1776. That is when a 19-year-old, freshly arrived from the Caribbean – the “bastard, immigrant, son of a whore” who shares his name with the show – makes his move and takes his shot, joining up with a squad of anti-British revolutionaries and eventually finding his way to George Washington’s right hand and the front of the $10 bill.
Hamilton – the diverse musical with representation problems
Hannah Robbins (The Conversation, 29/06/2020)
“The world turned upside down”, proclaim the cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (2016) after an epic retelling of siege of Yorktown, which led to the British surrender and the end of the American Revolutionary War.
In this song (“Yorktown”), Miranda’s lyrics speak to huge societal change with standalone quotes such as “immigrants, we get the job done” and “we’ll never be free until we end slavery”. These catchy lines highlight the pro-migrant and anti-colonial themes in the musical. They also amplify Hamilton’s most noted selling point: new representation of people of colour in American history.
In February 2020, Disney announced that it had purchased a recording of the original Broadway cast for approximately £60m. This is believed to be the highest film acquisition cost of all time. The studio is now releasing the film, recorded across three performances, on Disney+, Disney’s streaming service, to coincide with the Independence Day holiday on July 4.
The Past Isn't Done With Us,' Says 'Hamilton' Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda
Terry Gross (NPR, 29/06/2020)
For Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the hip-hop musical Hamilton, history always informs the present. "The past isn't done with us. Ever, ever, ever," he says.
Hamilton tells the story of the nation's Founding Fathers, including Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Miranda wrote the music and lyrics and starred in the original production, which debuted on Broadway in 2015. The production garnered 11 Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize for drama and a Grammy for its original cast recording.
Miranda says he's been heartened to see the musical's lyrics — including "I'm past patiently waiting" and "History has its eyes on you" — printed on signs at Black Lives Matter protests around the country.
What Can a Filmed Version of “Hamilton” Offer Us Now?
Lauren Michele Jackson (The New Yorker, 02/07/2020)
Monuments are toppling. No, really, this time—heads, bodies, bases and all. In the United States, monuments to the Confederacy, itself a failed monument to slavery, are being hog-tied and ejected by laboring protesters, or, more quietly, slated for removal and offsite preservation by local governments with the good sense to know a bandwagon when they see one. But that’s not all. Other icons of oppression and genocide have taken a tumble as well—including Christopher Columbus, much to the ire of certain Italian-Americans who’ve celebrated his Genoan roots as part of their heritage. The targets are both major and minor—or would-be minor, if they hadn’t been memorialized in stone—from George Washington to George Preston Marshall, the founder of the Washington Redskins.