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Disney + brings forward "Hamilton" premiere 1:28
Editor's Note: Holly Thomas is a London-based writer and editor. She tweets @HolstaT. The opinions expressed in this comment are solely those of the author. See more opinion articles on CNNe.com/opinion.
(CNN) - “Hamilton,” the musical that broke all Broadway records and saw tickets sold for more than $ 1,000 each, will hit Disney + on July 3.
Its streaming premiere was accelerated by a year due to the covid-19 pandemic, which means that a filmed version of the original Broadway musical, which until now was practically accessible only to those with hundreds of dollars to spare, access to theaters and patience for the many-month waiting list, it will soon be available to anyone who can afford the $ 7 monthly subscription to Disney +.
This news should not only please Broadway fans. The story of Alexander Hamilton, performed and told by the original writer and theater director of "Hamilton" Lin-Manuel Miranda, about immigration, the War of Independence, love triangles and (sexier than it seems) the foundation of the financial system From the United States, anyone who would normally consider the history of America's founding fathers would be intrigued as a dry footnote to Independence Day celebrations.
It is a testament to the fact that it doesn't matter if a country was born out of conflict or compromise, there is always the potential for greatness, and that greatness is often due to its least appreciated people. Hamilton de Miranda's ambition and tenacity, both man and show, can inspire anyone who finds the conflicts and injustices of today's social and political landscape exhausting.
From the first song, Miranda calls audiences to underrated parts of American history, in particular the role played by immigrants. In imagining America's founding fathers, the facsimile that probably comes to mind is that of clawed white men standing inside, pushing themselves to sign the Declaration of Independence, a vision not unlike today's government, less wigs (probably).
But Hamilton's immigrant roots are emphasized from the start, and in the first 45 minutes we meet his comrades in the United States War of Independence, including the Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobleman, and Hercules Mulligan, an Irish spy -American.
The show's obvious plea for tolerance and a call to remember America's diverse roots should feel especially pertinent to the public during an administration and president characterized by its hostility to immigration, especially since the emergence of the new coronavirus.
Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of 'Hamilton' perform on stage during the 70th Annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theater on June 12, 2016 in New York City.
From constant references to Hamilton's heritage, to Hamilton and Lafayette's triumphant line "immigrants, we do the job," after the American victory in the battle of Yorktown, the program emphasizes that the strength of the American experiment lies in the fact. that dedication triumphs and must bear fruit regardless of a person's origin.
In a 2015 interview with Stephen Colbert, Lin-Manuel Miranda noted that when introduced in the first act, Lafayette's English is pretty slow, but by the time he's leading the army to victory against the British, he has the fastest rap in the show - "I'm taking this horse by the reins, making the red coats turn redder with bloodstains!"
Miranda compares Lafayette's quick adaptation to the old ladies in the 1980s “Police Academy” movies, initially always shy, to the end demonstrating her skills with a “freezer!” The obvious implication in both cases is that people should never be underestimated at first impressions, an ever applicable life lesson.
Miranda was meticulous in his research for Hamilton, which stemmed from a biography of historian Ron Chernow. His reverence for the source material is evident everywhere: both Hamilton's insult by Aaron Burr and "bastard, orphan son of a prostitute and a Scotsman" and his last sentence: "The world was broad enough for Hamilton and me ”, Derived from original letters.
Every extraordinary historical event in the musical happened in real life. But where the production served, Miranda was imprecise.
While Alexander Hamilton was personally opposed to slavery, he was a less ardent abolitionist than his incarnation on stage would lead you to believe. His personal abhorrence of the slave trade never exceeded political expediency during his long career, and his wife Eliza's family, the Schuylers, were slave owners.
It's a point that would look awkward in production with such strong anti-slavery themes, the original casting of which saw Eliza's sister, Angelica, played by a black actress: Renée Elise Goldsberry. A full account of Hamilton's in-laws would also make it impossible to focus his wife Eliza and sister Angelica as heroines, as Miranda did, including a female perspective that is generally erased from history.
The merits of omitting the entire Schuylers story are still debated, but Miranda's editing, and prioritizing the colorblind cast on the show, has a critical purpose in terms of the musical's impact.
Telling Hamilton's history and the birth of the republic with a multiracial cast forces his audience (a global one, worth noting) to imagine a non-white-owned American origin, and draws awkward parallels between racial inequality to early nineteenth and twenty-first century.
The strong emphasis on slavery throughout the show forces an awkward juxtaposition between black soldiers fighting for the freedom of the United States and the enslaved. The novelty of seeing not only a multi-racial state cabinet, but also a multi-racial musical cast that has captured international fame and recognition (even from home!), Both of which are still woefully unknown places, signals the progress that still needs to be made. today.
No viewer who has paid the slightest attention to the news in recent months could fail to recall that inequality continues to dominate all aspects of American life, from the medical outcomes during the pandemic, to the failure of the justice system in the wake of The murders of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.
Perhaps Hamilton's other, more poignant theme is the humanity with which everyone is treated in the narrative. The possible electoral loss of the megalomaniac Aaron Burr in 1800 is directly attributed to his empty words and his moral fluency, while Hamilton overcomes the obstacles, even those of his own creation, by honestly explaining his position in public.
Yet despite their differences, the show asks its audience to examine the motives of its heroes and villains compassionately, with a humanity many viewers likely feel lacks too many aspects of today's real life. Hamilton's heroes are valued for the fruits of their labor and, especially in Eliza's case, for the sacrifices made along the way.
As we are now daily reminded, it is such work and sacrifice that deserves to be defended, rather than the privilege of birth. By becoming accessible to more people than ever before, in a time similarly defined by turmoil, we can expect Hamilton to again show the value of celebrating strangers.
DisneyHamiltonLil-Manuel Miranda
