Thomas Kail
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Connections, in both directions
Two of Miranda's more brazen nods to show-tune geekiness are to "South Pacific" --"I'm with you but the situation is fraught/ You've got to be carefully taught," Burr sings in a number set in a pre-revolutionary tavern) -- and Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance," when George Washington (Chris Jackson) introduces himself as "the model of a modern major general/ the venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all/ Lining up, to put me on a pedestal."
Clearly Kail was trying to find a visual equivalent to the energy that one might experience from seeing it live and it is obviously preferable to simply plunking one or two static cameras in front of the stage for the duration (as anyone who saw the woeful filmed version of the Kevin Kline-Linda Ronstadt revival of “The Pirates of Penzance” can attest) but a little more restraint in this area might have made it a little more effective in the long run.
It reminded me of such expert concert films as Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense and Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.
Compared to previous over-cinematic reinterpretations from 1978’s Grease to 2019’s ill-fated Cats, how can this not be the preferred template for bringing any post-theatrical Broadway experience to the masses?
Thomas Kail, who directed both the Broadway musical and the film, uses techniques pioneered by Jonathan Demme in Stop Making Sense, cutting together footage captured over three nights of shows at the Richard Rogers Theatre in June 2016.
It reminded me of such expert concert films as Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense and Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz.
You’ll definitely notice the vibes of King Herod from Jesus Christ Superstar more with the close-ups on Jonathan Groff’s face.
Leslie Odom Jr. (“Harriet”) turns Burr into a reluctant antagonist like Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” admitting that he’s “the damn fool that shot him,” while Miranda (“Mary Poppins Returns”) charts the title character’s inspiring rise and tragic fall, plummeting into scandal and fatal hubris.
The powdered-wig historical figures are played by black, Latino and Asian actors; the stuffy oboes and clarinets of “1776” are swapped for pulsing hip-hop and R&B.
[“Hamilton” vs. “1776,” an unfair fight?]
Without going into spoilers, Hamilton is an interesting companion piece to 1972’s previous revolutionary music-theater classic 1776 , which focused on the Continental Congress pulling together the Declaration of Independence.
It’s an interesting POV contrast with Hamilton in the same way Gary Oldman’s Darkest Hour mirrors the scope and events opposite Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
Using a combination of modern talk and aesthetics coupled with lively songs and period costuming — think Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet with new language in an old setting instead of old language in a new setting — but when history has its eyes on you, is the film version truly like being in the room where it happened?
In the best Shakespearean tradition (with the most famous example being the prologue of Romeo & Juliet ) Hamilton opens with a song that tells you exactly what is going to happen and we’re introduced to our narrator – Aaron Burr, Sir.
It’s an interesting POV contrast with Hamilton in the same way Gary Oldman’s Darkest Hour mirrors the scope and events opposite Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
Wisely eschewing a cinematic reimagining (a la My Fair Lady), Miranda and director Thomas Kail also avoid a minimalist presentation that would do little more than ape the full theatrical experience.
Theater fans who mourn that so many Broadway shows are retreads of the oldies; “South Pacific,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Music Man,” will cheer that “Hamilton” is thoroughly original.
Two of Miranda's more brazen nods to show-tune geekiness are to "South Pacific" --"I'm with you but the situation is fraught/ You've got to be carefully taught," Burr sings in a number set in a pre-revolutionary tavern) -- and Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance," when George Washington (Chris Jackson) introduces himself as "the model of a modern major general/ the venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all/ Lining up, to put me on a pedestal."
Theater fans who mourn that so many Broadway shows are retreads of the oldies; “South Pacific,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Music Man,” will cheer that “Hamilton” is thoroughly original.
Manuel's effervescent songs recall his "Hamilton" work, especially a finale that sounds like a sequel to "Satisfied," and they're almost as satisfying.
It’s only appropriate that “Encanto” — fueled by eight original songs by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda — turns into that most special thing of all: A triumph in every category: art, songs and heart.
Meanwhile, the bilingual songs by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda aren’t especially memorable, although they showcase a stellar voice cast and provide lyrical heft for some extravagant production numbers.
The "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote and produced eight original songs for "Encanto," with a score from Germaine Franco.
From a big-screen adaptation of his Tony Award-winning musical In The Heights in June to his directorial debut with the stellar triumph Tick, Tick… Boom! in November (plus an Emmy win in September for the Disney+ live recording of Hamilton ), Miranda wraps up 2021 by collaborating with Walt Disney Animation Studios and the Oscar-winning directorial duo behind Zootopia .
The first song, for instance, introduces every single member of the Madrigal family and their powers, personalities, and what Mirabel thinks of them, with an infectiously catchy Latin pop beat and fast-paced lyrics that set the stage much like the opening song of Hamilton .
Theater fans who mourn that so many Broadway shows are retreads of the oldies; “South Pacific,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Music Man,” will cheer that “Hamilton” is thoroughly original.
It should be stressed right at the start that the film version of the extraordinarily successful Broadway musical “Hamilton” that is premiering this weekend amidst enormous hype is not a traditional, fully realized screen adaptation along the lines of “West Side Story” or, God help us, “Cats.”
Kail, who is slated to direct a new version of Fiddler on the Roof , harnesses the energy and life that pours out of the performers, moving his cameras through the onstage characters and angling things to best capture the beat and flow of the music and drama.
Theater fans who mourn that so many Broadway shows are retreads of the oldies; “South Pacific,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “West Side Story,” “My Fair Lady,” “The Music Man,” will cheer that “Hamilton” is thoroughly original.
It’s easy to craft inspirational songs about revolutionary fervor — just look at Les Misérables.
We’ve seen some excellent film translations of acclaimed plays from the 2012 Les Misérables to the not so great — did anyone actually see last year’s Cats?
Like "Les Miserables" before it, pretty much all of the "dialogue" is delivered via various styles of singing (some standard Broadway-style such as "Aaron Burr, Sir" that sounds straight out of "Rent," others with more of a rap and hip-hop style) and the songs are nothing short of great, from the title tune to "My Shot," "Helpless," "What'd I Miss" and more.
A diferencia de otras puestas en escena llevadas al cine en años recientes, Hamilton no es una adaptación cinematográfica como lo fueron Les Misérables en el 2012 o Cats en el 2019.
When Les Miserables headed to the screen, it used fairly extensive location shots.
Christopher Jackson (“Moana”) is commanding as George Washington, Anthony Ramos (“She’s Gotta Have It”) is charming as John Laurens, Jonathan Groff (“Glee”) provides hilarious comic relief as King George III, and Daveed Diggs (“Blindspotting”) steals the show as both a suave Marquis de Lafayette and a cocky, strutting Thomas Jefferson.
Wanna know why Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting) is so hip, Leslie Odom Jr. (Harriet) is smooth, Renée Elise Goldsberry (Waves) is graceful and Anthony Ramos (A Star Is Born) so cool?
More than ten years ago, longtime best friends Daveed Diggs (“black-ish,” “Wonder,” Tony-winner for “Hamilton”) and spoken word poet/academic Rafael Casal began working on “Blindspotting,” inspired by their experience growing up in the uneasily gentrifying Oakland, California area long before either became successful.
It took the pair about 10 years to turn their ideas into a movie, and in the intervening years between Blindspotting ’s conception and its Sundance debut this past January, Diggs — who electrified audiences and gained a huge following when he originated the roles of Thomas Jefferson and the Marquis de Lafayette in the hit musical Hamilton — became a star.
His character, Collin, freestyle raps at times during the film in a way that reminds one of the Hamilton soundtrack–interestingly enough, Diggs originally played the role of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the hit musical.
Hamilton alum Daveed Diggs and his writing partner Rafael Casal manage to do this flawlessly, hitting the audience squarely in the gut with the intense and moving Blindspotting .
The debut feature from Carlos López Estrada, Blindspotting is written by its two stars – cinematic newcomer Rafael Casal (a veteran performer and founder of the #BARS project at New York’s Public Theater) and theater/TV star Daveed Diggs ( Hamilton ) –and set in Oakland, California, from which both men hail.
In the intervening years, fictional characters who quote Hamilton approvingly have been deployed as shorthand for clueless and complacent white liberalism, as in 2017’s Get Out or 2019’s Knives Out .
This filmed-played has a few close-ups, and while the acting is good and the singing generally grand (As “Mary Poppins” proved, that isn’t Miranda’s strong suit.)…
The song also cleverly introduces all of the other characters we’re about to see during the course of the show, a cool trick from “Citizen Kane”: “We fought with him.