g5000
Diamond Member
- Nov 26, 2011
- 132,628
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This is a film of the live original show in NYC, and it is amazing.
I've seen a few shows on Broadway, but I'm really not into plays. I'm just not, even though my wife is an actress in the local theater.
I especially hate musicals. With the single exception of the original West Side Story.
For a long time I could not understand how some black actors could rap about Hamilton in any sensible way, but boy was I wrong.
First, it's not really rap, and it's not an entirely black cast.
I am a big fan of Alexander Hamilton. I know his life from his first breath to his last, and that finally made it irresistible to check out this play.
I can honestly tell you they were amazingly accurate and managed to cover a tremendous amount of ground in this show.
Just as a children's animated movie will be sprinkled with jokes for the parents, Hamilton is strewn with morsels for people who love history.
They do cover Hamilton's entire life except for one oversight which must have been deliberate.
Perhaps because this is a hagiography may be why they leapfrogged over Hamilton's bizarre behavior during the XYZ affair. The man truly lost his mind.
This a 2 hour and 40 minute production. As a result, the period covered between Philip's death and Hamilton's felt rushed, as if they feared the audience would be weary by this point. Considering Hamilton's death by duel is what most people know about him, it's sad they rushed it.
If you don't know the complicated chain of events which led to Vice President Burr and Hamilton's duel, you may miss the subtleties, which is really unfortunate.
Also, the play depicts Hamilton not firing his pistol during the duel. This is inaccurate. Hamilton aimed high and hit a tree branch above Burr's head. Years later, in his old age, Burr admitted he knew Hamilton had deliberately missed him, as was common practice in duels of honor, and shot the man anyway.
I know. I'm being picayune.
The play does not portray Burr's indictment and his going into hiding and living a disgraced life to the end.
Alexander Hamilton is probably our most influential Founding Father. It is because of him we went from a backwater agricultural nation to the greatest economic power in the world in less than a century.
If you would like to read the very best biography of Hamilton, I highly recommend Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.
Don't let the 800+ pages scare you off.
I've seen a few shows on Broadway, but I'm really not into plays. I'm just not, even though my wife is an actress in the local theater.
I especially hate musicals. With the single exception of the original West Side Story.
For a long time I could not understand how some black actors could rap about Hamilton in any sensible way, but boy was I wrong.
First, it's not really rap, and it's not an entirely black cast.
I am a big fan of Alexander Hamilton. I know his life from his first breath to his last, and that finally made it irresistible to check out this play.
I can honestly tell you they were amazingly accurate and managed to cover a tremendous amount of ground in this show.
Just as a children's animated movie will be sprinkled with jokes for the parents, Hamilton is strewn with morsels for people who love history.
They do cover Hamilton's entire life except for one oversight which must have been deliberate.
Perhaps because this is a hagiography may be why they leapfrogged over Hamilton's bizarre behavior during the XYZ affair. The man truly lost his mind.
This a 2 hour and 40 minute production. As a result, the period covered between Philip's death and Hamilton's felt rushed, as if they feared the audience would be weary by this point. Considering Hamilton's death by duel is what most people know about him, it's sad they rushed it.
If you don't know the complicated chain of events which led to Vice President Burr and Hamilton's duel, you may miss the subtleties, which is really unfortunate.
Also, the play depicts Hamilton not firing his pistol during the duel. This is inaccurate. Hamilton aimed high and hit a tree branch above Burr's head. Years later, in his old age, Burr admitted he knew Hamilton had deliberately missed him, as was common practice in duels of honor, and shot the man anyway.
I know. I'm being picayune.
The play does not portray Burr's indictment and his going into hiding and living a disgraced life to the end.
Alexander Hamilton is probably our most influential Founding Father. It is because of him we went from a backwater agricultural nation to the greatest economic power in the world in less than a century.
If you would like to read the very best biography of Hamilton, I highly recommend Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.
Don't let the 800+ pages scare you off.
