The Broadway musical that defined a decade has been delivered to our screens through Disney+, and finally fans all around the world have the chance to experience the cultural phenomenon that was previously only available for widespread consumption as a soundtrack album. What a timely release as well, coming weeks after the Black Lives Matter protests that have seen a spark of revolution and anger at the racial power structures in place not just in the USA, but throughout the world. Hamilton simmers with a boiling rage that can only lead to an explosion of anger, and its diverse casting serves to transpose onto our current times the desire to separate the disadvantaged from an oppressive hegemonic state. “Just you wait” Alexander Hamilton portends in the opening number, and the tension only grows from there.
Throughout the show, many characters directly acknowledge key events in American history, as if they are at least slightly cognisant of how they will be remembered in centuries to come. Some consider whether they would rather not be remembered at all, as once they are gone their legacy may give more weight to their shortcomings than their achievements. They are buffeted about on the swirling winds of history, visually represented by a rotating stage that seems to manipulate time itself. In “Satisfied” it moves backwards, rewinding the past few scenes as Angelica reflects on the night she met Alexander; in “Hurricane” the stage rushes around Alexander, as he plans a way he might be able to fight against the chaos of the world and take control of his own legacy; and in “The World Was Wide Enough” time stands still in the moment before his death, as he laments that he will never see this legacy take root.
It is impossible to replicate any theatrical experience through a screen, and so the live recording often leans into its more cinematic aspects, capturing bird’s-eye shots from above in moments that evoke Busby Berkeley’s elaborate dance numbers, and punctuating musical accents and cues with hard cuts. Most effective are the close-ups, instilling the show with an intimacy that the theatre can’t provide. In these shots we see the detail that the actors put into their performances, especially Jonathan Groff’s restraint in a role that could have easily crossed too far over into camp, and Phillipa Soo’s facial expressions in “Burn” that would likely go unnoticed by live audience members.
Many of the leading players of Hamilton have been launched into the spotlight even further in recent years, most notably Daveed Diggs who has featured in films such as Wonder, Blindspotting, Velvet Buzzsaw, and the upcoming Pixar movie, Soul. Here, he bursts with energy in the dual roles of Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, singing the exuberant jazz number “What’d I Miss”, and delivering a performance that feels unique to his own skillset. Leslie Odom Jr, Jonathan Groff, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Phillipa Soo also stand out so much in their roles that it feels a little odd to not count Lin Manuel Miranda himself among these top-tier singers and actors. His performance as Alexander Hamilton is moving and uplifting when the show calls for it, but he does often find himself being overshadowed by these smaller, more memorable parts.
By evoking the American Revolution and calling for a revolution of a new kind, Hamilton feels like a revolution in and of itself. It is a call to action for its audience to keep reflecting on history, and more importantly, to keep writing history, elevating those whose voices have traditionally been erased from it. In the five short years since it opened on Broadway, we have witnessed a multitude of radical cultural and social shifts, and Hamilton has kept taking on new significance through all of it. It is already evident that there is a timeless quality in this piece of reimagined history, and this new live recording effectively solidifies its immortality.
