HAMILTON!!!
Jun. 20th, 2021 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustFive and a half years since I first heard the cast recording. Two years since the show was announced for Australia. Nine months since I booked tickets. Three months since the show opened in Sydney. And several days of checking the news for if we were going to go into lockdown again.
Finally, finally, today.
It still doesn't feel quite real.
Generally
I must have listened to the cast recording like fifty times or something. I just know there was a period when I had it playing non-stop. But in the lead up to the show, I decided to take a break, so it would be fresh and new again.
Haha, nope, it apparently lives in my head. But it was an experience to see the performers bring the characters to life, to hear the songs fill the theatre, and to be in an audience laughing, applauding, and riveted in hushed silence.
The Australian cast is amazing, and I love their performances so much.
Here's a short clip from the opening song:
And here's another short clip of various scenes:
Songs that I was excited to see on stage
- "Alexander Hamilton" - My favourite song in a musical of awesome songs, and the one I have rewatched videos of endlessly. I still get shivers every time.
- "The Room Where It Happens" - The best Burr song, and one of the best songs overall. I love the energy. I love the table jump. Sheer perfection.
Songs that were enhanced by seeing them on stage
- "Satisfied" - I knew about the time rewind and the revolving stage, but it was very cool to see it in action. Angelica is heartbreaking.
- "The Reynolds Pamphlet" - I love the dynamic movement of all the people on stage, Jefferson gleefully tossing papers around, and even King George weighing in.
- "Burn" - It's a powerhouse song for Eliza, but watching her alone on a dark stage, burning those letters, and with such emotion on her face - she totally killed it.
Songs that were also highlights
- "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" - I dearly love a rousing ensemble number.
- "What'd I Miss" - Exuberant and fun. Jefferson is clearly having the time of his life.
Songs that made me cry
- "Dear Theodosia" - I always get teary eyed during this. Two young men singing to their young babies, full of love and hope and promises.
- "It's Quiet Uptown" - Basically weeping from start to finish.
Songs that surprised me
- "History Has Its Eyes On You" and "One Last Time" - I keep thinking that Washington has a deep commanding voice. Partly because of his authority, and partly because of his dramatic intro with "Here comes the General!" But his voice is actually a lot lighter and more melodic than I expect, and really shines in the quieter emotional songs.
Random observations
- There were occasions when the music competed with the vocals, or the vocals were so fast it was hard to make out the words. It's definitely a bonus to have been able to listen to a cast recording made in a studio.
- It was interesting to hear the audience go "Oooh" whenever someone got burned. During the cabinet battles, definitely, but also when Washington says, "Burr? Close the door on your way out."
- The revolving stage is most notable in "Satisfied", but it also worked really well in the duel scenes.
- The one scene intentionally missing from the cast recording is Hamilton receiving the letter about Laurens' death. It was quiet but moving. It also gave new context to his frenetic activity in "Non-Stop".
- There's a whole chunk of Act 2 that I usually skip, because it's just too painful to witness Hamilton's fall. But it was dramatically compelling and visually interesting, even as it was accelerating towards a tragic inevitability.
- Such a beautiful throughline of the friendship and rivalry between Burr and Hamilton, and how Burr's fatal ambition entwined with Hamilton's fatal ambition, and how they made and destroyed each other. (I remain bewildered that Hamilton/Burr is not the juggernaut. Oh fandom, I will never understand you.)
- Certain lines hit differently, or have further resonance, in 2021 than in 2015. It makes me think of Julius Caesar, which, every time I watch it, feels relevant to that moment. It makes me think of that quote about the professor who used the same final exam every year, because even though the questions never changed, the answers always did.
Finally, finally, today.
It still doesn't feel quite real.
Generally
I must have listened to the cast recording like fifty times or something. I just know there was a period when I had it playing non-stop. But in the lead up to the show, I decided to take a break, so it would be fresh and new again.
Haha, nope, it apparently lives in my head. But it was an experience to see the performers bring the characters to life, to hear the songs fill the theatre, and to be in an audience laughing, applauding, and riveted in hushed silence.
The Australian cast is amazing, and I love their performances so much.
Here's a short clip from the opening song:
And here's another short clip of various scenes:
Songs that I was excited to see on stage
- "Alexander Hamilton" - My favourite song in a musical of awesome songs, and the one I have rewatched videos of endlessly. I still get shivers every time.
- "The Room Where It Happens" - The best Burr song, and one of the best songs overall. I love the energy. I love the table jump. Sheer perfection.
Songs that were enhanced by seeing them on stage
- "Satisfied" - I knew about the time rewind and the revolving stage, but it was very cool to see it in action. Angelica is heartbreaking.
- "The Reynolds Pamphlet" - I love the dynamic movement of all the people on stage, Jefferson gleefully tossing papers around, and even King George weighing in.
- "Burn" - It's a powerhouse song for Eliza, but watching her alone on a dark stage, burning those letters, and with such emotion on her face - she totally killed it.
Songs that were also highlights
- "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" - I dearly love a rousing ensemble number.
- "What'd I Miss" - Exuberant and fun. Jefferson is clearly having the time of his life.
Songs that made me cry
- "Dear Theodosia" - I always get teary eyed during this. Two young men singing to their young babies, full of love and hope and promises.
- "It's Quiet Uptown" - Basically weeping from start to finish.
Songs that surprised me
- "History Has Its Eyes On You" and "One Last Time" - I keep thinking that Washington has a deep commanding voice. Partly because of his authority, and partly because of his dramatic intro with "Here comes the General!" But his voice is actually a lot lighter and more melodic than I expect, and really shines in the quieter emotional songs.
Random observations
- There were occasions when the music competed with the vocals, or the vocals were so fast it was hard to make out the words. It's definitely a bonus to have been able to listen to a cast recording made in a studio.
- It was interesting to hear the audience go "Oooh" whenever someone got burned. During the cabinet battles, definitely, but also when Washington says, "Burr? Close the door on your way out."
- The revolving stage is most notable in "Satisfied", but it also worked really well in the duel scenes.
- The one scene intentionally missing from the cast recording is Hamilton receiving the letter about Laurens' death. It was quiet but moving. It also gave new context to his frenetic activity in "Non-Stop".
- There's a whole chunk of Act 2 that I usually skip, because it's just too painful to witness Hamilton's fall. But it was dramatically compelling and visually interesting, even as it was accelerating towards a tragic inevitability.
- Such a beautiful throughline of the friendship and rivalry between Burr and Hamilton, and how Burr's fatal ambition entwined with Hamilton's fatal ambition, and how they made and destroyed each other. (I remain bewildered that Hamilton/Burr is not the juggernaut. Oh fandom, I will never understand you.)
- Certain lines hit differently, or have further resonance, in 2021 than in 2015. It makes me think of Julius Caesar, which, every time I watch it, feels relevant to that moment. It makes me think of that quote about the professor who used the same final exam every year, because even though the questions never changed, the answers always did.
