14
Dec
Note: This Bridgerton article contains no book or series plot spoilers. Bridgerton is a unique mix of Shonda Rhimes’ dedication to Black representation on American television and the British period drama tradition. White critics may dismiss this trend as unnecessary “pandering” to Black and POC viewers, but the number of productions designed around reforming all white-casting has increased over the past 10 years—and has only added to the success of the genre. The number one reason driving demand for diverse period dramas is from Black and POC fans of the genre. The impact of seeing an actor that looks like…
17
Jul
After Alexander Hamilton, no character has a bigger entrance in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical than Thomas Jefferson. For if Hamilton’s intro begins Act One, then Jefferson opens Act Two. And for those who are discovering Hamilton for the first time on Disney+, it’s a hell of an arrival as Daveed Diggs leaps across the stage with boundless confidence and swagger. Clearly intended to be an antagonistic force, Jefferson enters stage right with an announcement that “someone must keep the American promise, you simply must meet Thomas, Thomas!” Yet even as the show depicts Jefferson as a prima donna, he is also…
13
Jul
Hamilton is a phenomenon. That word gets thrown around frequently in the media, but in regards to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s compelling reimagining of the American Revolution, it’s true. By blending rap and hip hop rhythms with jazz and Broadway melody, and the history of America’s founding with a diverse cast of marginalized demographics who for centuries were overlooked or omitted by history’s eyes, Miranda created a work that endured beyond its Tony and Pulitzer prizes. Indeed, it became a lasting part of the modern pop culture landscape—even for people who’ve never been able to afford a Broadway ticket. After all, there’s…
10
Jul
The ending of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s epic American history musical, Hamilton, is easy enough to understand. As any product of the American education system (or anyone familiar with the SNL Digital Short “Lazy Sunday”) can tell you, the story of Alexander Hamilton ends with his death in a duel against political rival Aaron Burr. And that’s exactly what happens in Hamilton where the title character (who previously never shut up about not throwing away his shot) throws away his shot at the end in an act of mercy and pays dearly for it. Simple enough! There’s one area of the Hamilton…
09
Jul
Are you ready for a Hamilton encore? If the answer is yes, then you probably have already watched Hamilton more than once on Disney+. But never being satisfied with only having the streaming event of the summer, Disney has now also revealed there will be a new behind-the-scenes look at the musical with Lin-Manuel Miranda and other key members of the cast, plus a historian, discussing the musical’s legacy five years on. The new “special conversation,” titled Hamilton: History Has Its Eyes On You, is hosted by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts and features her interviewing Miranda, who in addition…
09
Jul
We can all woop King George III style now that Hamilton is now available for the world to watch on Disney+. The long awaited recording of the global sensation is 2 hours and 40 minutes of pure magic – a beautiful retelling of the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. We presume the show is all about Alexander, as he is in nearly every scene. Although he played such an important role in the Revolution and in forming the nation’s government, the show’s namesake – Hamilton – also plays homage to his wife, Eliza Hamilton. It may take the story…
08
Jul
He’s one of the most endearing characters in Hamilton. Introduced as bashful and vaguely awkward due to his struggle with the English language, the only major character in the musical with aristocratic titles—besides the King of England, of course—is strangely modest when standing next to the likes of Alexander Hamilton or Aaron Burr. But the Marquis de Lafayette doesn’t stay that way. Soon enough good-natured modesty gives way to spitting English rhymes faster than anyone else on stage. Actor Daveed Diggs may have even secured his Tony award before playing Thomas Jefferson with Lafayette’s rapid fire verbal assault in “Guns…
07
Jul
Hamilton is having a moment. Again. After being the toast of Broadway and pop culture five years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tour de force musical is back in the spotlight and in a different context. When it premiered at the Public Theater and then on Broadway in 2015, Hamilton was heralded as a masterpiece that broke into the mainstream with its infinitely catchy and layered original soundtrack, which fused rap and hip hop rhythms with traditional Broadway melody, jazz, and other American influences. And with its color-blind and diverse casting, it also reframed the American experiment’s founding for all Americans. At…
06
Jul
It never fails to get a laugh. Whether live in the theater or at home on Disney+, the bristling energy of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton comes to a sudden halt the moment King George III makes his pompous entrance. Draped in a red, white, and gold mantle, and trapped beneath a sparkling crown, he looks like an oil painting that’s been shrunk on a postcard—and a perfect satire of British monarchy. I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing Jonathan Groff perform King George III live, but I giggled all the same at every stammering outburst in the three variations of the…
04
Jul
It was mid-October 1796 when Alexander Hamilton released the first in a string of scathing essays about political opponent Thomas Jefferson. By this point in early United States history, George Washington had announced his retirement, refusing to seek a third term as president, and the race of self-styled great men hoping to take his place was on… with none more loathsome to Hamilton than Jefferson, the loquacious, if remote, thinker on a hill in Virginia. In this first of 25 essays, Hamilton wrote under the nom de plume of Phocion about the many hypocrisies of Jefferson, depicting the supposed philosopher…
03
Jul
Hamilton will debut on Disney+ on July 3rd, the start of a long holiday weekend. The Walt Disney Company paid good money for the Broadway phenomenon, a reported $75 million for the rights to the film, which features performances by the original cast (we wrote a primer on the cast and where they are now). If you’re healthily avoiding crowds and already had your fill of fireworks, here are 10 more movies and TV shows that explore the American Revolution from different angles. 1776 (1972) Making the Founding Fathers sing was truly revolutionary when Sherman Edwards’s musical debuted on Broadway…
03
Jul
Imagine the experience of being one of the first individuals to see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s now-classic Hamilton: An American Musical live. The first thing you notice is the spartan, largely empty stage. Then as Leslie Odom Jr. takes the stage as Aaron Burr followed by Miranda’s Hamilton, you realize that this production about America’s founding fathers is made up almost exclusively of People of Color. That’s a lot to take in from the start. At a certain point, however, you’re bound to realize that the play is about 40 minutes in and The. Music. Has. Not. Stopped. In addition to its…
03
Jul
Leading up to the fateful morning of July 11, 1804, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr were incredibly secretive about the rendezvous they’d scheduled in Weekhawken, New Jersey. Only a small circle was aware that the pair, who shared the same banquet table during a Fourth of July dinner earlier that month, were planning to fire pistols in the other’s general direction only a week later. This is because the rules of code duello dictated absolute secrecy—and because dueling was illegal. Yes, even in New Jersey. Hence both parties, like many before them, wrote of this not as a duel or…
02
Jul
At long last, you’re about to be in the Room Where it Happens. Yep, whether you’re a diehard ham for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton or a newcomer who wants to see what all the fuss is about, prepare to have the best seat in the house when the Hamilton movie premieres on Disney+. The long-awaited project, which Disney paid $75 million for the rights to, will be the only bit of Broadway theater to lighten up a venue this summer since shows on the Great White Way are effectively closed for the rest of 2020. So make a night…
02
Jul
Wait For It. More than just one of the best songs in Hamilton—that Aaron Burr has soul!—those words signify how long fans around the world have waited to see Hamilton performed. Not everyone could afford a ticket at the height of the musical’s popularity or lived near a city where the touring show has visited. Yet now, in times when the lights across Broadway are out, we all can be in the room where it happens. Thanks to Disney+, and the $75 million the Walt Disney Company shelled out for the rights, a filmed performance with the original Broadway cast…
23
Jun
From the beginning, Disney has made clear that Disney+ will be a family friendly affair with nothing above a PG-13 rating appearing on the streaming service. Apparently that rule is so concrete it got even Lin-Manuel Miranda to agree to censoring his own theatrical masterpiece, Hamilton. Despite being a musical clearly meant for all ages, in addition to displaying a dense lyrical verbosity, Miranda’s book and lyrics also drops several F-bombs. Additionally, the words “bastard,” “whore,” and “damn” also appear in the musical. But it’s apparently the F-bombs, and the MPAA’s rules about how many of them you can use…
22
Jun
The lights may be out over Broadway tonight, and for the foreseeable future, but the most beloved American musical of the last decade is about to have its biggest premiere yet: inside your living room! And Disney wants you to know about it. In what amounted to a major win for Disney’s young streaming service, it was announced earlier this year that a filmed performance of Hamilton’s Original Broadway Cast would not wait until its October 2021 theatrical release date to be screened: it’d go to Disney+ in time for the Fourth of July weekend. This was a major shift…
12
May
Your July calendar has just been filled. Disney and Lin-Manuel Miranda announced today that the filmed version of the original Broadway production of Hamilton will be premiering on Disney+ on July 3rd. Yes, that is just in time for American Independence Day. And, yes, this is the only acceptable way to celebrate the holiday this year. Disney is “fast-tracking” the premiere, which was scheduled to be a theatrical release in October 2021. No doubt the “social distancing” measures brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic has changed the original plan, as it has done for so many things. It’s nice…
