#THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED HAMILTON WAS SO MUCH LIKE LIN

[hall0wedwyrm]

just came home from seeing Hamilton.

feeling very very normal (it was so amazing oh my god and the ACTORS WERE SO GOOD AND THE ENSEMBLE WAS SO TALENTED AND-)

[i-am-a-plant-witch]

In Hamilton, many actors in the original cast play two characters- one in the first act, and one in the second act. Lafayette/Jefferson, Lawrence/Phillip, etc.

I would like to argue that Lin Manuel Miranda also plays two characters (however, not in separate acts)- he plays Alexander Hamilton, But he also plays himself (Lin Manuel Miranda).

There are two moments in particular that I like to image we are not looking at the character of Alexander Hamilton for a moment, but rather at Lin as a “character” in the story.

First, in A Winter’s Ball, while narrating, Burr claims that Martha Washington named her cat after Alexander Hamilton, and the character of Alexander leans over and confirms, “That’s true!”. I think it’s kinda fun to think this isn’t “Alexander” saying this, but rather Lin himself making a statement about facts he wrote into the musical. But ultimately, whether you chose to believe this or not has no impact to the story or really that moment at all. So let’s move on to the better example.

At the end of Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, Phillip Soo and Lin Manuel Miranda walk down the stage, and she finally sees the audience that has gathered for the show: all the people who came to hear the stories that she made sure to record for us to remember. It’s a very impactful moment, no matter how you look at it.

Viewing this moment as if Lin is playing Hamilton, it implies that Eliza is finally being reunited with her husband, and when he leads her to see the audience, they both get to see the impact that she was able to make with the time she was given, and he wasn’t. It’s lovely, again such a great moment 10/10

Viewing this moment as if Lin is playing “himself” changes the implication slightly. Lin Manuel Miranda was ultimately inspired to and was able to write this musical due to the work that Eliza Hamilton did during her life of recording the stories of the people around her. In this moment, perhaps he as the author is showing her how much she has impacted him, and in turn how he would like to continue her legacy by inspiring new people. I think this interpretation gives it a cool twist that makes me think more about storytelling as a whole, how inspiration travels from generation to generation, and perhaps gives some power to the audience.

Something that I hear in that ending moment of Hamilton is, “I have decided to tell this story. What story will you tell?”

[pardonmydelays]

Hi so i only recently got into hamilton and really liked lmm in it but ive been seeing a lot of pjo fans talking about not wanting him as hermes and you are a lmm expert so i wondered if you knew why people are hating on him for being casted in pjo?

first of all, i am actually flattered that you called me an expert (i am literally not but i do know a lot, i observe, i go through lmm tag every day, i get mad when i see people talk shit about him, basically i'm super loud about my love for this guy so there's that some call it dedication, i call it obsession lol).

there are a lot of reasons actually but all of them are just so silly to me. for example, some people say he is a bad actor (if hamilton is not enough for you, please go watch his dark materials, he is excellent and i will fight). others say he can't sing (he can, he may not have the most incredible vocals ever, not like most broadway stars and i know a lot of people compare him with the best singers out there, but it doesn't mean he can't sing, also, he is much better now than he used to be years ago, for example i'd recommend listening to vivo soundtrack, especially keep the beat or one more song, i mean EXCUSE ME BUT MY MAN CAN SING). another reason: some people say he is annoying because he puts raps everywhere. ok, and? he is a great rapper, i'll say more: he is also a freestyle rapper, very talented indeed (i recommend checking literally any freestyle love supreme video on youtube or you can just go through my fls tag here. making up rhymes on the spot? pretty insane if you ask me). there is also a group of people who think he is cringe, his rhymes are cringe, some of his songs are not good, etc etc (i bet those people can write better songs). i think he is one of the greatest composers of our generation and i will, of course, fight (haters, please shut the fuck up about the scuttlebutt, this song was supposed to be annoying, you just don't get it apparently? same with my own drum actually. can we just stop pretending that he is talentless because of those songs you guys literally have no taste and you hate fun and also shut tf up). oh, and also, people these days very often say he is everywhere and it's annoying (this is literally his job but whatever). and my all-time favourite: some people are mad that he was playing hamilton because they think he didn't deserve it (he literally wrote the whole thing but ok). one more thing: i have never read pjo, i literally just started reading it only because of lin, so i know nothing about hermes, but personally i really hope he will sing/rap, just because i want to see them all suffer.

there were also other controversial stuff (with in the heights, hamilton and puerto rico) but we are not going to discuss it on my blog, sorry (mostly because i have my own opinion about it and i know i will get a lot of hate for speaking my mind). one thing i can say is that nobody's perfect, we all make mistakes sometimes and i will always fight for him, no matter what.

[weareyour4]

Experience Disney’s The Lion King - ElmQuill1617

Currently, over at the Lyceum Theatre in London’s West End, you will find Disney’s The Lion King. This musical has been there since 1999 and is one of the longest-running West End shows. Somehow, despite me being an avid theatregoer, The Lion King had passed me by, so I decided to go along and see what I’d been missing.

To be completely honest, despite it being a popular long-running show, I was sceptical about how much I would enjoy The Lion King. In the past, I have seen other Disney West End productions, which I haven’t connected to. I felt that, in some ways, they were making a show which pleased the audience, rather than choosing to take the essence of the film and take it above and beyond for the stage adaptation. This is one of the things I loved about The Lion King – it seemed to really utilise the art of live theatre and make not just a show to watch, but, rather, a show to experience.

The ambience is set as soon as you enter the auditorium, with the sounds of animals subtly in the background. The actors can be seen both on-stage and in the auditorium at points during the show, which makes for an immersive and exciting atmosphere and even as I sat up in the Grand Circle, I felt fully involved in the action. The cast was phenomenal, with every performer contributing equally as an ensemble, though I have to give a special mention to Gary Jordan, who plays the role of Zazu. The combination of the brilliant blue and white costume to represent the sky, the incredible Zazu puppet and Gary’s performance, bringing the character to life, really left a big impression on me. I hadn’t anticipated leaving the theatre feeling so fond of such a sarcastic African red-billed hornbill, but here we are!

One of the reasons that I hadn’t liked previous Disney West End productions was due to audience behaviour. In particular, I had gone to see Aladdin a few years back with my mum as a birthday present and the tickets were not cheap. Neither of us were really into the show as a whole and we found that there were problems with the sound, which meant that we often couldn’t hear the lyrics certain actors were singing. Aside from that, though, the two of us were almost surrounded by a large group of school children. They, and many other audience members, spent much of the performance singing along, chatting, leaving the auditorium, coming back in, leaving again and coming back in again. The teachers had decided to sit next to each other, rather than spreading out to watch the children and the fact that they were singing along and chatting, too, suggests that they would have done nothing about it, even if they had been sat apart. Thankfully, at The Lion King, I didn’t have any problems at all.

It’s great for people to visit the theatre, especially when they’ve never been before - it opens up a whole new world and can inspire people in many, many positive ways. The more people who go to the theatre, the more audience members are buying tickets, merchandise, drinks from the bar and ultimately, keeping shows running and theatres open. The trouble, is that when people haven’t been to the theatre before, they may not be familiar with theatre etiquette, which is ultimately to be respectful of everyone else in the theatre. When theatre-goers have paid around £50 of their hard-earned money to go and support the arts, they don’t expect to be sitting next to someone screaming song lyrics in their ear or lighting up the room, as they check their phone every three minutes (the latter of which happened to me at both Hamilton and In the Heights – sorry, Lin-Manuel Miranda).

Of course, many people would love to go to the West End, but they might be thinking that tickets are out of their price range. Have no fear, there are many ways that you can get tickets at a reasonable price and here’s how:

Ticket lotteries are available for shows such as Hamilton, which are free to enter and if you win, you get one or two heavily discounted tickets, depending on how many you requested.

If you are interested in seeing The Book of Mormon, they have a ticket lottery in-person at The Prince of Wales Theatre, London. If successful, you win either one or two tickets for the best seats in the stalls section, paying only £20 each.

A limited number of tickets for same-day theatre performances are available, mostly from the TodayTix app. Those will come at a discounted price, but sell out fast, so get in there quick!

Also on TodayTix, there is the option to search for theatre tickets which cost £20 or less.

Seat Plan is a website where members of the public can leave reviews of the theatre seat which they sat in, stating what the view was like from the seat, along with an accompanying photo. When you have reached a certain number of seat reviews, you get rewarded with either a Seat Plan gift card, to get theatre tickets from their website, or a Theatre Tokens gift card.

I would recommend considering buying theatre tickets which say that they are “restricted view.” If you search for those seats on Seat Plan, you will be able to see a photo of what the view is like and read what people thought about sitting there. In my experience, restricted view seats often aren’t that restricted at all and are worth paying the £25 less than the person who will be sitting in the seat next to you!

Treat yourself to a trip to the theatre and have a great day!

[biggestwilliamfinnfan]

Hamilton Review!!!

so i just saw hamilton in boston and thought i’d give a review!

first off, i really enjoyed it!!! the cast was AMAZING (i wanna say better than the original but i feel i’ll make someone mad, so i’ll keep that to myself). there was tons of potential and it was met!!! beyond expectations!!! i cant just lump everyone together so i wanna give reviews on each character 

before i start that i just wanna say THE CAST WAS SO ATTRACTIVE? LIKE I USUALLY DONT NOTICE STUFF LIKE THAT BUT EVEN MY GRANDMA WAS LIKE “i feel like this cast was so much better looking than the original, especially aaron burr” AND. I HAVE TO AGREE WITH HER. but moving on…

Hamilton: Pierre Jean Gonzalez

yes. i loved him. at first i wasn’t a HUGE fan bc he was different compared to lin, BUT THEN IT GOT PROMISING. he was HANDSOME AS HELL and he had a strong voice. it was very husky which i wasn’t a huge fan of, but then again, it got promising as the show went on. 

Eliza: Nikisha Williams

she was beautiful, she had a very easy voice to listen to… but i WILL say that it didn’t carry the emotion and control i wish it did. her voice was relatively… flat (i’m sorry i feel so bad) and her voice was almost too strong on some occasions. but i really liked her. i do wish that toward the end she could’ve been more heart-shattering, but maybe i’m just used to phillipa being an ICON in act two. 

Burr: Jared Dixon

OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. first, HANDSOME. LIKE REALLY HANDSOME. AND TALL?! but honestly, i fucking loved this guy. his voice was relatively more higher compared to leslie, but it wasn’t annoying like i’d thought it would be. he was AMAZING at vocal control, but he didn’t have to strongest voice (not a negative thing tbh). he had a very soft voice and loud one when needed and i loved it. especially in “the room where it happens”. he wasn’t as energetic as leslie but near the end (apparently, i didn’t notice) he and the ensemble did choreo related to magic mike? but anyway I LOVED HIM.

Angelica: Ta’rea Campbell

i love this girl. just as a person. but as angelica… i wasn’t completely thrown away or swept off my feet. she has a nice strong voice and is a great actor, but it wasn’t tremendous (GOD I FEEL LIKE A BITCH)

Washington: Marcus Choi

i. was. fucking. blown. away. this guy was amazing. and again, HANDSOME AS HELL. GOD I WAS MELTING IN MY SEAT. he was just stunning. and his skills did not disappoint. no matter what, whether singing solo or in a group, you can hear this man. his voice just stands out. his acting was relatively great, but i wasn’t focusing on that tbh. but i truly loved him as washington. my grandma thought it was hilarious that they casted an asian man as washington. (i mean the majority, if not ALL of the cast were pocs)

Lafayette/Jefferson: Jared Howelton

don’t get me fucking started. my favorite fucking character regardless of who plays it, but this guy made it all the better. i needed to take a breather at intermission bc of how excited i was getting to see him as jefferson. he was just so ICONIC as lafayette. he was definitely meant to be the comedic relief, and it was amazing to compare his to daveed’s portrayal. he was more funny, and like even the way he walked (as jefferson he had this “i’m great and everyone loves me and i’m swagger” walk going on. i fucking adored it.) and talked was on point and HILARIOUS. he had a very deep and tantalizing voice (is that the right word?) and he was also very handsome. do i prefer his over the original? maaaybe. they were both iconic in their own ways. so i’m not sure. but like I LOVE THIS GUY. 

Mulligan/Madison: Desmond Sean Ellington

didn’t really stand out. i honestly don’t think he was as iconic as the original portrayal. but he was relatively great.

Laurens/Philip: Elijah Malcomb 

he was SO DIFFERENT compared to anthony’s portrayal. it’s so hard to put it into words. more energy, but less homoeroticism (unfortunately). his voice was naturally really high so when he came in as philip i was like “??? is there a child onstage?” but i think he added to the effect on purpose. his death was HEARTBREAKING. i loved him tho.

Peggy/Maria: Jen Sese 

now this is gonna sound bitchy, but i was not impressed. maybe jasmine was just so iconic that she outshines everyone, but i’m not sure. it’s not like i didn’t like her, she’s just fine, but her portrayal was just kinda… boring. she just lacked something (zazz? idk man). her portrayal as maria lacked the confidence and sexual tension. her vocals were okay, same with the acting. (please don’t take this personally 😭) 

King George: Neil Haskell

i loved him. like a lot. compared to jon, his king was more… energetic and… god it’s hard to find words. but jon’s king was very poised and on point and stiff, but neil’s king wasn’t. (i’m not hating on either, i loved both portrayal sm) but this king was also a lot funnier and the way he moved and carried himself was great. but he sounded congested??? the entire show??? like idk he just sounded funky but it made it funnier. his accent was kinda horrible but it was great. and the way he said “jOHN aDAMS” was great. amazing king 

Charles Lee: Tristan Hill

i wasn’t gonna include this character but i just wanted to say, he was probably the most attractive person in the cast. and his voice matched. sorry for being a bastard, i’ll go now.

Ensemble

I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVE THE CHOREO IN THIS. obvi it wasn’t the exact same IT WAS EVEN BETTer. like everyone was just perfect and on point. and everyone was hot as hell. and muscly. really amazing honestly.

just wanted to say i loved this show a lot. the stage looked really good and they did a lot more with lights and i love it. very pleasing to watch. also, THERE WERE ASL INTERPRETERS THERE. IT WAS SO AMAZING. I WAS SO HAPPY THEY DID THAT (i don’t need an interpreter in any way, but i just loved them being there) it was very fun to see how they interpreted the show. and there were only FOUR OF THEM? and they did great??? very often during the show i would compare there acting to the actors on stage. it was great

sorry this is so long, but i just needed to do this. 

[drew-mga2022mi6011]

Conceptualisation | Initial Ideas

Charlie Chaplin

When thinking of the silent medium, there is one thing that particularly strikes a chord within the minds of the general public; silent film. Roundhay Garden Scene (1888) is wildly believed to be the first silent film, with a total runtime of a humble two seconds. Incidentally, the man who would go on to pioneer this era of film and popularise it was born a year layer; Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, commonly known as the world renowned Charlie Chaplin. Due to the nature of his work, Sir Chaplin was considered more than just a comedian or an actor, but a pantomime. Thus, giving me direction to where I could take my research first; mimes.

The art of conveying emotion and a narrative without saying a single word is within the job description of a mime. The ultimate form of silent communication. To pay homage to this idea, I plan to create the final Silent Book using a grayscale palette.

Hamilton (2015) - Lin Manuel Miranda

One can further deconstruct the idea of a mind and boil it down to its fundamental form to gain more avenues to learn from. For example, the study of acting in general would be important, particularly from musical theatre. The word "theatrics" quite literally stems from the exaggerated actions of those participating in plays, dramas and other forms of theatre. However, musical theatre is quite literally the antithesis of the idea of a silent film. The audio, lyricism and sound experience drives the narrative just as much as, if not even more than the acting itself. In order to truly study acting in theatre, one must not look at the speaker themselves, but the actions and reactions of those around them, who do not utter a single word. These actions are meant to supplement the main scene, and without them the play would ring hollow.

Finally, we look to a medium that is limited both by sound, and action. Not quite as old as theatre, but older by far than film; photography. How does one tell a story in one single frame, without any words? Here are some examples.

"Prepare to Meet Thy God" (1970) - An Army Photographer

A bomb disposal officer walks to defuse a potentially explosive substance in Northern Ireland. What works about this picture is the composition of a lonely man walking to what looks to be his last mission (luckily, he survived this encounter). This is further accentuated by the sign, "Prepare to meet thy God", a comforting Bible verse to someone, but an omen of death to men like this officer. Unfortunately, this almost cheats in the fact that it does use text to enhance the tone of this picture. However, it could be argued that this photo works regardless of the sign.

The Priest and the Dying Soldier (1962) - Héctor Rondón Lovera

This photo is self explanatory, just like its title. I admire the fact that it needs very little to tell its story; a man on his knees, a priest desperately searching for sanctuary, the weapon cast aside. One could try to dig into the finer details, of the soldier clutching the priest's robes, the soldier kneeling, as if one final prayer to God, the composure of the priest himself. This is truly a beautiful photo, which uses so little to speak volumes.

The Last Atlas Lion (1925) - Marcelin Flandrin

This is a photo taken of a Barbary Lion, presumably the last of its kind. Allegedly, Flandrin shot this photo from a plane. The angle makes the lion look small and insignificant in comparison to the cliffs. The black silhouette against the white sand accentuates its loneliness. Does it know it is the last of its species? Is it walking to its final resting place? No one but the lion himself will know.

This idea of a Silent Book is like a combination of photography - a frozen moment in time - and theatre - action and motion. To capture motion and emotion, using just a few panels (14 pages to be precise) is what I am going to aim to do in this story of mine.

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 18X01

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I was really excited for the Premiere and I have never been so disappointed in my life. It took me a few days to write this review because I’m just so unimpressed. I feel like the only interesting parts of the Season 18 Premiere were the Meredith and Hayes FaceTime call, Levi in that outfit and Jo with that hair, and the interviews. That's it. I mean Teddy and Owen’s two weddings were interesting if you’re a Teddy and Owen shipper, but I never have been so that didn’t really do anything for me.

The pacing of the episode was super slow and it was just altogether boring. There were also just so many inconsistencies. For example, Teddy and Owen originally planned to get married at the park with just Megan, Farouk, Evelyn, Leo, and Allison which doesn’t make sense because prior to their break up they were talking about planning their dream wedding. Now they finally get married and Richard didn’t even know about it? They asked Megan to fly in, but they didn’t tell their friends at the hospital after they just all attended Maggie and Winston’s wedding two weeks earlier?

It’s also not clear if Meredith knows that they got married which is weird because she’s the main character of the show and was an integral part of Owen’s previous two weddings one of which was held at her house. Also, Amelia and Link weren’t there and it’s not clear if they even knew about the wedding which is weird because Meredith, Amelia, and Link were all present when Owen proposed to Teddy at Christmas at Meredith’s house and they are all co-parenting Leo together.

While I appreciated the shift to a lighter tone and that they chose to have this season exist in a post-COVID alternative universe where we can see the actors faces again without the PPE and return to escapism the Premiere didn't pack the punch I was expecting. The premieres are usually super shocking and action packed and this one just wasn't. It was just boring and all of the most interesting stuff happened off camera during the two weeks between the Season 17 Finale and the Season 18 Premiere which is just stupid.

I saw the priest getting hit by one of the cyclists coming a few minutes before it happened based on the promo and the context of the scene and there wasn't a big shocking event like there usually is. The pace of the Premiere really felt off to me. My friend Amy who I watch with every week described it as the pacing you usually associate with a nice stroll through a moonlit garden. Fine for episode two or three or a connecting episode but not the Premiere. I feel like they really misjudged what fans were looking for and I’m hoping that they do the work and course correct now that the Premiere has aired and the completely dismal fan reaction as come out.

One of the few bright spots for me was the introduction of Peter Gallagher as Dr. David Hamilton. I love him as an actor! He's great! His recent roles in Grace and Frankie and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist were fantastic! I was super excited when I heard he was coming to Grey's. I like Dr. Hamilton so far and I'm interested to see how his relationship with Ellis and Meredith having dreams about her mother following her battle with COVID will play into the story this season. While it would be interesting to see Meredith work in Minnesota temporarily like Cristina did back in Season 9, I don't want her there permanently. Seattle is as much a character in the show as any of the main characters we've come to love, and something would be missing for me if she moved.

To be perfectly honest, it doesn't make much sense to me for Meredith to move to Minnesota permanently when she only knows a few people there. Who would watch her kids? If she's going to move to me, it makes more sense for her to move to Kansas where Alex is or Switzerland where Cristina is. Her kids have already lost their father and so many other caregivers and Meredith has stuck it out in Seattle for so long after everything that's happened that her moving to Minnesota for me would be bonkers.

Also, where were her kids in the Premiere? All of the interviews that came out prior to the Premiere talked about how Meredith’s focus at the beginning of the season would be on her work and her kids, but they were nowhere to be found in the Premiere and it’s not clear whose watching them while Meredith is in Minnesota. The interviews also made it seem like Meredith and Hayes would still be circling each other at the start of the season with quotes about how timing hadn’t been on their side, that they still needed to have an official drink and go out on a date, and that while Meredith wasn’t looking for a relationship one might find her.

That had literally nothing to do with the Premiere we saw whatsoever! The kids were MIA and it turned out that Meredith and Hayes started dating off screen following Maggie and Winston’s wedding and we didn’t get to see ANY of the firsts they talked about so much over the last two seasons. So stupid. The Premiere was a total rip off. I hate that Nick Marsh is back and I’ve never gone from liking a character and an actor to hating them in such a short period of time ever. My God. I’m so pissed off about this. What the hell were they thinking? Why did they think we would want this at all?

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Nick Marsh as a character and Scott Speedman's portrayal of him when he first showed up in Season 14. I was all ready for him to be Meredith's next great love and I was on board. But then he disappeared and was never heard from again and it was reported that Speedman wanted to take a break from TV for a while so I mourned the loss of what could have been and moved on. I sat through the out of character nonsense that was the DeLuca storyline in the belief that eventually that storyline would end, and Meredith would get a real proper love interest that made sense and would be her post-Derek endgame.

So, I was really excited when they introduced Hayes and I have really come to love his character and his budding relationship with Meredith. I feel like I've been waiting forever to finally see them go on a date and I am super pissed off that we didn't get to see it. I would have loved this storyline with Nick if they had introduced it at any previous point in time, but now after they've spent so much time setting up Meredith and Hayes it's just infuriating. I feel immense rage over how they handled Meredith and Hayes and Meredith and Nick’s storylines in the Premiere. I'm so angry. The whole thing just made no sense. That Premiere should never have aired. It never should have gotten past the draft stage. It was that bad. The first date and all of the firsts that come with a new relationship are the most exciting parts of a romantic storyline for me and I love seeing all of that on screen. They hyped Meredith and Hayes’ relationship up so much and even had the two of them talk about 'firsts' and dating after death so for their first date to happen off screen along with Austin's panic attacks and bad reaction to his Dad starting to date again is just such a rip off.

I have stuck with this show through thick and thin and for them to reward that loyalty by having the most interesting parts of that storyline happen off screen while showing a bunch of stuff on screen with other characters that they could have just told us about? So ridiculous. I was so excited for this season and now I'm just angry. I'm hoping that they are building to a big mid-season finale where Meredith is going to return to Seattle and by that time Bailey will have helped Hayes out with Austin and the two of them will finally get together on screen but I'm starting to feel like every time I get invested in one of the Meredith's new love interests, they pull the rug out from under me and I'm getting really fed up.

In other news, I'm not too surprised that Megan and Riggs broke up off screen only because Virgin River, which I love, just got picked up for two more seasons and I imagine Martin Henderson is busy filming that and it looks like Megan is going to be around for a while and they had to explain it somehow. I loved Meredith and Riggs together and I hated how they ended that storyline so I'm not sad about them breaking up off screen.

The Premiere also broke my heart over Amelia and Link’s storyline. It’s just so stupid. It’s drama for drama’s sake that’s all it is and it’s tired. When did marriage become so important to Link? In the span of a few months, he went from being totally fine with not getting married and checking in with Amelia every few weeks on how she felt to convincing himself that Amelia wanted him to propose so he did so at her sister's wedding and used her dead brother's children to do it. Amelia's right the whole thing was super messed up and manipulative and she was right to say no.

Link decided marriage was important to him and that fostering Luna would be totally fine without ever talking to Amelia. Yes, Amelia should have shared her thoughts with him too, but he also should have paid attention. Now their otherwise healthy relationship is over because she doesn't want to participate in an archaic ritual that involves signing a contract and exchanging vows? That's just stupid. I hope they find a way to work it out and get back together because I really like them as a couple.

I like Dr. Michelle Lin the new Head of Plastic of Surgery that Bailey and Richard are looking to hire. I thought for sure after that photo of the other guy made the rounds on social media that he was going to be the new Head of Plastics, but then he said that he doesn't do "free" and I knew he was out. I'm excited for there to be another female surgeon of colour on the show as the gender and racial balance on the show has been more white and male as of late and I think Grey's is at its best when you have a roughly equal number of women and men and as many different races being represented as possible.

I think it makes the storylines more interesting and authentic and personally gives me more characters that I can identify with. This new doctor seems driven, determined, and could have a potentially interesting dynamic with Richard and Bailey. She’s also giving me some Cristina Yang vibes and I’m all for that. I love Cristina. Always have. Always will. That being said, I'm a bit confused as to where they are going with Jo's storyline as I thought for sure the new Head of Plastics would be a guy and her new love interest. But Bailey did say they still needed to hire a new general surgeon and a new neurosurgeon so maybe one of them will be for her?

I can't really say that there was anything I loved about the Premiere which is disappointing. Jo's parenting hair dye mishap was funny, Levi's outfit cracked me up, and I liked that Bailey agreed to help Hayes out, but that's about it. The thing I was most excited for coming into this season was Meredith finally being back on her feet and seeing the romantic storyline between her and Hayes finally come to fruition.

Finding out that she's going to be in Minnesota for the foreseeable future, she and Hayes started dating off screen but had to call it quits because seeing his Dad date someone new caused Austin to have panic attacks, and finding out that Nick Marsh is back? I hated it. I don't understand how the same person who wrote the Season 16 masterpiece “Snowblind” with that amazing snow scene between Meredith and Hayes wrote the Premiere. I just don't understand. I really hope they're not going to do a love triangle with Meredith, Hayes, and Nick because that would just be so stupid.

She's a forty something award-winning surgeon who's a widowed single mother of three. Love triangles made sense when she was young intern, but at this point it's just dumb. I also didn't feel the chemistry this time around between Meredith and Nick like I did the first time. It felt forced and flat. I like Maggie and Winston together, but I didn't find their storyline in the Premiere particularly engaging. I'm glad that Amelia stayed true to herself, but I hate that Link has decided marriage is the only way forward and that they're still fighting.

The only moment that really made me laugh out of the hour was when Jo opened the door and Levi was in that ridiculous outfit. I loved the FaceTime call between Meredith and Hayes, but I hated the context. Honestly, I'm not really excited about any upcoming storyline this season which makes me really sad. I'm usually super positive and hopeful when it comes to this show, but this episode just stomped all over my dreams. All I can hope for now is that they pull a twist and everything I was hoping for happens in the mid-season finale otherwise I don't think I'm going to like this season very much.

Until next time!

[azalea-in-wonderland]

Daniela/Carla Interview Quotes

This is a compendium/compilation of interview quotes from both the writers and the actors about the Daniela/Carla relationship. Some of them are just so beautiful, I hadn’t read all these before I started hunting them down. Favorite part might be Stephanie talking about how it wasn’t hard to pretend to be in love with Daniela bc she had such a huge crush on Daphne already, lol. I’m also gonna add this to that massive “little details” post, just to have everything in the same place for easy reference. And I went back and edited in a few more things to that list that people mentioned in the replies, and some random little things I forgot before. As always, please tell me if I missed anything important!

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With Camila, I just wanted to be able to focus on Nina's story a little bit more. So if she was in conflict with her dad [Kevin, played by Jimmy Smits], it helped focus that story. When we lost Camila, I therefore had to balance it out and really do work to elevate Abuela Claudia [Olga Merediz] and Daniela [Daphne Rubin-Vega] to even more powerful matriarchal positions on the block.

Speaking of Daniela, was her and Carla's coupling always meant to be more of a wink, or was there more initially intended for them as queer representation in the film?

It may sound counterintuitive, but actually it's like marriage representation because when I cut the character of Camila, I just didn't want any critic anywhere to be able to say they all come from broken homes. So I was like, I need a married couple because I don't want anyone to try to spin that on me. And so I was like, oh, Daniela and Carla. They're the married business owners, and they've invested their relationship and their marriage in building this business together. And so that just felt very easy.

https://ew.com/movies/in-the-heights-writer-quiara-alegria-hudes/

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From In the Heights: Finding Home (book)

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LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA OPENED UP ABOUT HIS NEWEST PROJECT, IN THE HEIGHTS.

Gayety editor Caitlynn McDaniel sat down with the cast and creators to discuss filming in New York City, authentic representation, and a few new queer characters.

“Really it’s nothing more dramatic than Daniela and Carla, the women who co-own the salon, we just send them home together at the end of the night.”

In the original stage production, Daniela and Carla do not have a romantic relationship. But after Camila Rosario was taken out of the film adaptation, the creators wanted to make sure there was a healthy family dynamic still in the show. Miranda credits the change to the screenplay writer, Quiara Alegría Hudes, who chose to make Daniela and Carla a couple.

“It was a relationship that was already strong and already wonderful in the stage version of the show and we just kind of canonized that relationship and made them life partners in addition to business partners.”

https://gayety.co/lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights-cast-talk-queer-characters

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The two characters were portrayed as close friends in the original musical, though the sexuality of the two characters was not explored.

Daphne Rubin-Vega, who plays Daniela, told Broadway.com of the additions:  “Carla and I are girlfriends; we’re partners…. we cohabitate, it’s safe to say.”

Jon M Chu, who is directing the adaptation, confirmed to the outlet: “We’re doubling and tripling down on that [storyline]!”

Referencing a song from the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted: “Tell ‘em something they don’t know…?‍‍?‍?”.

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/13/hamilton-creator-lin-manuel-miranda-lesbian-twist-in-the-heights-film/

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MW: In the Heights has so much to say and show about community as a family, the family that you’re born to as well as your chosen family. What is the message that you take away from the film about the families that we make and love?

BEATRIZ: Well, you actually said it best, the families that we make and love, because some of us are lucky enough to be born into families that accept and love us as who we are, and some of us have to find our way to those families. But I think for those of us lucky enough to experience unconditional love from, whether it be blood relatives or friends or people that you’ve invited into your life that love you unconditionally, having that community, that family, that chosen family, really buoys you up as a human being.

The thing we all recognized after the last year and a half of struggling globally through this really difficult time was how much we really rely on human connection and other human beings. And so this film, it’s so strange, the timing of it, but I guess it’s a universal and timeless theme, this idea of family, connection, humanity, and how much we need and rely on each other. I’m so excited for audiences to see this film at this moment in time.

MW: Carla and Daniela obviously are a family unto themselves. Something I appreciate about their part in this story is that they’re fixtures in the community. They’re not in need of refuge, they provide refuge, they provide comfort to people.

BEATRIZ: Many times in media we are presented stories that are about queer characters that automatically connect with dramatic events or sometimes traumatic events, and just one way of seeing people is not all that they are. For example, as someone who is bisexual and grew up with not that much varied bisexual representation in film and television and media, what I thought of as bisexual was, “Oh, no.” I had this idea that, “I can’t possibly be this, because this is over-sexualized, hyper-sexualized, villainous, duplicitous. I’m none of those things, and yet I feel that I am and identify as bisexual, and yet the characters that are presented to me in the media that I’m consuming reflects back to me that I’m bad. That somehow, at my core, there’s something wrong with me.”

What’s really cool about [In the Heights] is that in this very subtle way, you see these characters that are this functioning, happy, loving pair that are pillars in their community, and, in each other’s company, they are the best version of themselves, and other people actually flock to them because they make other people the best version of themselves. How lovely and thrilling to have that be gently sewn into the fabric of this entire community. Abuela Claudia accepts and loves them, Usnavi accepts and loves them, all of the characters take them for who they are. There’s no judgment, there’s no questioning, there’s no, “Eew, I don’t know.”

There’s none of that, which is so refreshing to see that on film, because that’s what my life is mostly like. Most of my friends accept and love me just the way that I am, there’s no questioning or weirdness. Maybe there’s some curiosity, but there’s never any drama or trauma around it for me in my chosen family. In its subtlety, it’s so special.

MW: It seems subtle to me because I wake up with a man, but it won’t be so subtle to everyone that we meet Carla and Daniela waking up together, which is really great.

BEATRIZ: Waking up together, yeah. It’s so lovely to see. It’s so, “Oh,” it establishes it so perfectly, so beautifully, so quickly, and so clearly.

MW: The film diverges from the stage musical in several ways that we won’t spoil here, but one way is that Carla and Daniela were not presented as a couple in the stage show. So, especially as somebody who identifies as queer, how important was that change in the film for you? Would you have been as interested if Carla and Daniela were cousins or best buddies?

BEATRIZ: I didn’t know that that decision was made until I was already cast, so it was something that I was really excited about once I heard that Quiara Alegría Hudes, the writer [of both versions], was thinking about this idea that, “Well, they’re already partners at work, what about if they were life partners as well? They’re such a unit.” It made sense to her in this new iteration of the story to make them a couple. And, like I said, I was already cast. I wanted to be a part of this film really badly because it is such an incredible piece of art, and it was like a dream to think, “I could work with Jon M. Chu.” I just think he’s such a special, incredible filmmaker. I saw Crazy Rich Asians too many times in the theater. I just think what he does is so special, and only he does it that way. He’s got such a magical lens through which he views the world. And so when I found out that Quiara was thinking about making this change, I was so excited and so supportive, and just fucking pumped that there was a possibility that they might be a gay couple, and the fact that they ran with it, it speaks volumes to the filmmakers, the producers, everyone at Warner Bros. that trusted that [the] storyline fit in this world.

MW: How much did it help that for a lot of the work you were doing, you’re in partnership with a master of musical theater in Daphne Rubin-Vega?

BEATRIZ: I found out that she was cast the same day that I found out that I was cast. My agents told me on the phone, “Daphne Rubin-Vega is going to be playing Daniela,” and I lost my shit. I mean I absolutely lost it. I had pictures of her all over the back of my bedroom door when I was a teenager. Rent was one of the first times that I really understood that there was a possibility that I, too, could be an actor, that I could do this as a profession and succeed, because she was so phenomenal in that role, and it was this worldwide moment where her talent — the talent of everyone in that show — but her talent and what she brought to the role by being herself, everyone saw it. Everyone acknowledged that that was a seminal moment in American theater and in American theater history, and it just made me feel like it was possible for me, too. She was an idol of mine.

I was a fucking mess the first day of rehearsal. I was just like, “Oh, no,” because I was so — I don’t want to say intimidated, because she’s not an intimidating person, but I was just so nervous to meet her. It was meeting one of my idols. And then to work with her was so amazing, awe-inspiring, eye-opening. She has a very different process than I do, but I learned a ton by watching her. She’s incredibly professional, and her voice sounds just amazing in this film.

I’m so excited for her to have this moment on film because she is so good, and she’s so good in this role. It’s really amazing. It’s like watching a priestess or something at work. You’re just watching something that you’re like, “I don’t understand how you’re doing this, but I can’t take my eyes off of you.”

MW: The word that came to me as you were describing that was “undeniable.”

BEATRIZ: Undeniable, yes. She’s an undeniable talent, presence, human being. She’s incredible.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/06/stephanie-beatriz-brings-queer-representation-to-in-the-heights-and-bids-farewell-to-brooklyn-nine-nine/

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Stephanie Beatriz is intimately familiar with the power of media representation. Growing up, she was inspired to become an actor by Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was the first Latina on Broadway she connected with. Now, because the universe has a wonderful sense of humor, she’s starring as Rubin-Vega’s partner in what’s sure to be the movie of the summer, Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights, based on Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’s Tony Award-winning musical about a Latinx community in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

“The soundtrack of Rent [in which Rubin-Vega played Mimi] really provided me a doorway in to see the musical,” Beatriz remembers. “My family didn’t have money to go take a trip to New York so I could see a Broadway show, but I could get the soundtrack at the library and listen to it over and over.”

Unlike in the stage version of In the Heights, in the film, Beatriz’s character Carla is in a lesbian relationship with Daniela (Rubin-Vega), the owner of the salon she works at. For Beatriz, it was a full-circle moment.

“I grew up with a poster of [RubinVega] on my wall,” the bisexual actress confesses. “I had the cover of Newsweek that she was on with Adam Pascal taped to the back of my door in high school. And to me, she’s really legendary. So to make the jump as an actor to being in love with her was not hard for me at all, because she’s charming, very distinct, specific, beautiful.”

Beatriz adds, “I layered that in as much as I could, especially if Daniela is talking.” So it wasn’t difficult for Beatriz to portray her character Carla as “enraptured, glued, like it’s a master class, just watching it all unfold, watching Daniela’s personality take over the space of a room and the ambiance.”

She continues, “Any time Daniela might have a doubt, it’s Carla who steps up to the plate and tells her, whether it’s in her ear or out loud to everyone in the room, ‘You got this.’ I just loved that very much because I think that’s a real characteristic of a healthy relationship — one in which your partner sees the possibilities in you, sometimes when you don’t even see them yourself, believes that you are incredible, amazing, talented, the Lady Gaga list.”

Beatriz is especially excited to play a queer character in a movie where there’s no homophobia. When you see scenes with Carla and Daniela together, especially in the salon, you see, “lots of different shades of people, lots of different shapes of people, and different sexualities, and different expressions of self. That’s a safe space,” she says. “I think in many communities, the beauty parlor is a safe space, especially in Latino communities.”

It’s refreshing for the film to invite viewers into the life Daniela and Carla have created where everyone around them is accepting, “whether or not we know about their extended families is not the point of this,” Beatriz says.

“It’s really the family that they’ve created, the home that they’ve created in Washington Heights, is an accepting, loving place where they thrive.”

https://www.out.com/print/2021/6/09/stephanie-beatriz-helping-queer-latina-visibility-reach-new-heights

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But Chu and screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes have also crafted another new, inclusive element with two beloved characters.

Beauty salon owner Daniela and hairdresser Carla, while portrayed as coworkers and gossip buddies in Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hudes’ stage musical, will also be romantic partners on the big screen. Rent Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz play the two, respectively, in the movie.

Chu and Rubin-Vega had previously confirmed the evolution of the characters’ dynamic. At a recent press event celebrating the release of the latest two trailers, Beatriz discussed the significance of the decision. “What was so gratifying to me as a person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part of the fabric of the community,” Beatriz says, “and to be normal, and be happy and functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created.”

She continues: “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home.”

https://www.playbill.com/article/in-the-heights-stephanie-beatriz-on-introducing-queer-element-to-the-movie-with-2-fan-favorite-characters

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Rubin-Vega said she had no interest in playing any trope of what one might think a lesbian Latina might look or act like, noting that the queer experience isn’t monolithic, while expressing that the role offered her a newfound freedom, especially with regard to being present in the role and in her everyday life.

“Spoiler alert! I felt like not wearing a bra was going to free me. Did I get it right? Am I saying that gay women don’t wear bras? No, it was just a way for me to be in my body and feel my breasts. To feel my femaleness and celebrate it in a more unapologetic way,” she said, laughing. “To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing a lesbian Latina. It’s something that I hadn’t really explored before. Latinos [can be] very homophobic as a culture, and I wanted to play someone who didn’t care about homophobia; I was gonna live my best life. That’s a bigger thing. It’s also like, maybe I’m bisexual. Who knows? Who cares? If you see that in the film, that’s cool too, you know?”

https://encoremonthly.com/hitting-new-heights/

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Let’s talk about your characters, Daniela and Carla. In the original Broadway production they ran the beauty salon together but their relationships has changed a bit for the movie hasn’t it, what do they mean to each other?

Stephanie: “They live together, they’re partners at work, they’re life partners, they love each other. To put a real clear stamp on it, they’re gay as all get-out! They’re gay, they’re queer, and they love each other and they’re this functioning, happy couple that work together, live together and have made a home with each other, for each other, and in each other. I personally love that it’s layered so subtly into the film because I think many times when we see queer characters, gay characters, we’re focusing on the stuff in their lives that’s hard for them and in this film, I think we’re focusing on the fact that, there’s hard stuff in the community for everyone, but there’s also joy and the ability to celebrate life, even though that hard stuff is going on around you.”

Daphne, as Stephanie mentioned it is quite subtle and I like that about it too. As their relationship isn’t explicitly addressed in the dialogue how did you express their love for one another and that intimacy through things like the body language and the dance as well?

Daphne: “Like Stephanie said, we were just a couple who care about each other so I think that that reflects in the body language. It was really wonderful to be able to have the freedom and ability to portray a character that loves who she loves without all of the sort of social stuff around it. They had to deal with adversity and challenges but being gay is not one of them.”

“Their gayness is also is not an issue for Abuela Claudia or Usnavi, or anyone else in the community. These are women who are loved and trusted, and respected; they’re protectors of their community, and kids are allowed in the salon, as are trans folks, whoever you are, if you want to get a weave, you can get a weave or nails, and who you sleep with, it’s so not about that.”

https://thequeerreview.com/2021/06/08/exclusive-interview-daphne-rubin-vega-stephanie-beatriz-on-their-queer-in-the-heights-characters-lgbtq/

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Daphne Rubin-Vega is Daniela, the pint-sized ruler (with a massive-sized voice) of In the Height’s Washington Heights block. Perched from the top of her five-inch tacones as she delivers hot gossip and a loving touch in equal measure. In the original stage production, Carla (Beatriz) is Daniela’s comedic sidekick, working alongside Cuca (Orange is the New Black’s Dascha Polanco) in Daniela’s beauty salon. In the film, Cuca and Carla’s antics remain, but Carla is also re-developed as Daniela’s romantic partner with quiet, lived-in moments across the week of one block’s summer heatwave.

So the three of us got together as the sun was setting on the East Coast to talk about the history of Latinas and lesbians in musical theatre, welcoming the ancestors into our space, and finding love in the small moments of the everyday. (We talked over each other a bunch, but if you’ve ever sat across from a table of your tías and primas on a Saturday night in the summer, you already know the vibes.)

Carmen Phillips:  First of all, I just wanted to say before we got officially started, I mean, I’m just beyond myself to be able to meet both of you! It means just the most to me. Daphne — I saw you in Rent when I was 12 years old and it was something that changed my life, which I’m sure you hear all the time and it’s not unique anymore, but it did.

Daphne Rubin-Vega: [brings hands together] Thank you. It’s a pleasure.

Carmen: Hi. Okay. We can start!

Daphne: Hi!

Stephanie Beatriz: Carmen. I’ve literally done the same thing to her. I feel I might’ve done it on the first day I met her. I was just…  [is at a loss for words]

Carmen: I feel probably lots of people tell you that, but I will never get a chance to tell you.

Daphne: No, you’ve gotta tell me! Yeah.

Carmen: Thank you.

And obviously, Stephanie. I mean, you’re a huge… Autostraddle is just a very big fan, all the time, so you already know that. Thank you both.

I wanted to start this interview at sort of the beginning of the process. I’ve been trying to read what you have said thus far about playing Daniela and Carla but I haven’t seen anyone ask this.

Obviously both characters are presumed straight in the original stage production of In the Heights. When you auditioned or otherwise introduced to the roles, were you already aware that they were being re-imagined as queer women? Or was that something you found out after? What was that process like?

Stephanie: I found out after!

I found out that it was even on the table — it was, “This might happen” — And I was so excited! And I voiced how excited I was IMMEDIATELY! I was like, “I think this is a great idea. I absolutely support it 100%. If you try to do that, I’m 100% in support.”

Daphne: Yeah. Yeah. For me, I had already gotten the role and so Daniela’s sexuality didn’t factor into a performance at all. Her humanity certainly did.

So after I got the role… Quiara [Alegría Hudes] called me and said, “How would you feel if Daniela… Instead of Carla just being her business partner, she’s her life partner as well.” And I remember being jolted by the change and thinking, “Yeah, fuck yeah. Of course.”

Quiara never ceases to amaze me with her elevation of the storytelling and humanity in its different incarnations.

Carmen: I think this really brings me into this next question. Daphne what you were just saying — for you, it was about elevating this humanity. And in one of the interviews I’d been reading, Stephanie had the chance to talk about [the relationship between Daniela and Carla], and she said “So much of the film is about where home is. And for Carla, Daniela is home.”

Stephanie: Yes.

Carmen: That got me thinking about what a moment this is that you’re both of entering into.

I did some research in our database and from what we can tell, in all of film history, there’ve only been 18 movie musicals that have had lesbian or bisexual characters. Period. Not even 20!! And of course, when you start thinking about…

Daphne: I was in three of them.

Carmen: Oh You sure were.

Daphne: Oh, whoa.

Stephanie: That’s… I just…

Carmen: And there’s nothing like In the Heights, when we shift our focus to think about the history Latinx film. And I’m sure you all know, the entire community’s buzzing, right? My mom is going, it’s the first movie she’s going to see in a movie theater in 18 months.

People are just dying for it, and I think going back to the conversation about what home is… I’m wondering what it feels like, for both of you, to be kind of sitting in this historic intersection, right?

This is going to be a film that really is going to exist on a planet of its own. And we’re going to see queer Latinas represented in that moment. I wondered if that’s something you’ve thought about? Or if it’s not even a thing that’s on your plate at all.

Stephanie: I’ve thought about it a lot!

I’ve thought about how this moment means something — but it will be so much more meaningful in 5, 10, 15, 20 years, when even more titles are in that database. Even more of these films have been made, even more of these stories have been told. Even more of these characters have been represented on screen, in television, in film, in all types of media.

It’s very exciting to think that we could possibly be a part of… a moment of someone looking at these performances or this film and going, “Oh, of course. Oh yes, yes. Of course. Why not? What was I thinking? Of course that exists in the planet.”

That’s a really thrilling thing to have the privilege of being a part of.

Daphne: Yeah. I fully agree. I mean, as an actress, it’s what we do. It’s my calling to embody characters that are not like me, to represent the humanity of who they are. And I think, that’s a really loaded thing for me, in my culture [Rubin-Vega is Panamanian]. Not my culture, in Latino culture, in particular.

In my country of origin, I find it’s struggled very much with homophobia and racism. Colonization, it changed the entire country, right? That’s our history. So without putting judgment on it, I think it’s really incredible, what we’re able to do here.

And Stephanie said it before, how queer stories, or stories of people who were marginalized, are made to be othered in certain ways. The stories of those who aren’t centered are then either shown as dramatic or traumatic, she said.

And in this instance, it’s neither dramatic nor traumatic! It’s so regular, it’s so basic, it just is. It’s just… “Yeah.” Yes, and it’s really not that deep and so we’re not playing queer characters, we’re playing human.

Stephanie: Also queer.

Daphne and Carmen in unison: Yeah!

Stephanie: There are people who miss it, honestly! I’ve definitely had the experience where I’m perhaps reading a review or I’m listening to someone’s experience about watching the film and they’re not even… They’re not even… [gestures like a plane flying overhead]… “Whoop.” It just flew by their face.

Whereas, for those of us who were paying attention because we’re trying to find ourselves on film, we see it immediately.

Carmen: I mean, this interview will run the day movie comes out, so I don’t want to reach too far into spoilers. But there’s a scene! It’s before the opening number, right? It’s before “In the Heights” begins. It’s intimate, playful. And I zeroed in right away, I was like, “Oh, we’re really here.”

And I think… so much of the movie is moving in ways you don’t expect, because it is so the everyday. But we never get to see OUR every day on screen. You know what I mean?

Daphne: Yes.

Carmen: And Stephanie, the question I wanted to ask you is, obviously you are very aware of how, again revered — which is why I say these last two questions for last! — you are in queer women’s communities. There’s the iconic Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And I think one of the things that everyone, at least everyone I know, is really excited about is to get to see you play a queer Latina again.

I was personally excited because it’s just a different way to use your comic timing. Carla’s very different from Rosa. I was very curious about what that felt like for you to create these two really distinct queer Latina characters.

Stephanie: That’s really kind, first of all. So thank you for saying that.

I think, one of the things that’s been really fun for me about the process of shooting In the Heights — and creating my iteration of that character — was that it brought me back to the feeling that I used to have in Repertory Company, when I did a lot of theater. And I’d have a season where I was playing a bunch of small roles in a funny, new comedy by Culture Clash. And then I also was playing Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Carmen: wow.

Stephanie: And then maybe the next season I was Isabella in Measure for Measure and also playing another… I mean, Rep Company really teaches you… It can teach you how to use yourself in all of these different kinds of ways. And it’s one of my favorite things about being an actor is kind of using different facets of myself to help create these characters and bring them to life. And turning up the volume on certain parts of my personality and turning it way down on other parts, right?

I’m really excited for audiences to see me in a different way, I guess, it’s cool.

And I’m pumped at the confusion factor that comes along with that, right. Because I think people get confused when they meet me in real life sometimes because they expect Rosa Diaz.

Carmen: Right.

Stephanie: And I’m excited for the confusion factor that will come with, “Wait, that can’t be the same person that plays that character, right?” I love that, I live for that. I live for the confusion of, “Wait a minute, what?”

Carmen: I knew you were going to kill it. When I heard you got cast as Carla, I was, “Oh, that’s perfect.” Because, I mean, I really think your gift for comedic timing, it’s unparalleled.

Stephanie: [mumbles to self] Thank you very much.

Carmen: And Carla’s a small part that, I mean, is already memorable. It’s a small part with a big bang. You know what I mean? Like that is… [Carmen and Stephanie crosstalk, there’s never enough crosstalk].

Stephanie:  I’m lucky, I’m very lucky.

https://www.autostraddle.com/daphne-rubin-vega-stephanie-beatriz-in-the-heights-interview-daniela-carla/

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Beatriz’s career is soaring to even greater heights this June, as she’s stepping into Carla’s shoes in In The Heights, which sets itself apart from the musical with a few key changes such as the decision to have Carla and salon owner Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega) be in a committed relationship. Beatriz considers it a “brilliant shift” to the original storyline. “To have Carla and Daniela be gay and layered into that community and be totally accepted, not struggling to be heard, or fighting because they’re out, or not being accepted by the people they love, but just part of the family, I just love that,” Beatriz explains.

It’s through LGBTQ+ representation in TV and film that Beatriz believes art can usher in positive change. It’s a discussion she is trailblazing with her refreshingly honest and nuanced portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters, like Rosa and Carla. “Art is the way to move humanity forward,” she says. “When you create art, there’s a possibility for creating empathy in other people. That’s really what it’s all about. You can’t start to see someone as your equal, or as a fellow human being that deserves all the same rights as you do, if you don’t see them in the first place. If you don’t see them anywhere around you, how will you know that they’re just the same as you? ... We really want all the same things in life: to feel happy, to be seen, to feel safe, to feel love. And we all deserve them.”

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/stephanie-beatriz-pride-advice-pregnant-brooklyn-99-in-the-heights

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Rubin-Vega says that incorporating the queer story, emphasizing the plight of Dreamers, and focusing on brown and Black communities is “decolonizing cinema" and she's here for it.

“What other way are we going to address the structural oppression that has been perpetuated? How are we going to move it?” Rubin-Vega says of storytelling as a tool. “It’s an honor to play a character that has a lot of life,” she says of Daniela. “As you know, when I was just starting in theater, these roles didn't exist.”

“To play a woman that loves another woman is an honor to me. The symbolism of the salon. It's like the spiritual liberal hub. It's also like the gossip hub,” she says.

“We're just finding the language with how they would dress. You know, having to stop the stereotyping right [of queer women and queer Latinx people]? Musical theater is so extra. What a wonderful way to have extra-ness. And you know, and not be offended by tropes that use tropes as a way in,” she adds.

“We [Daniela and Carla] love each other … [it’s] ordinary, not extraordinary. It's just normal that these women get to be fully unapologetically in a community that we know has baggage around all the phobias, baggage around all the cultural trauma.”

Miranda’s story has always been about the beauty of a community and home — Rubin-Vega likens his rhymes to the impact of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter.

In an interview with Broadway World, Beatriz says, “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home.”

Rubin-Vega concurs. “I could not put it more beautifully than Stephanie. We didn't talk about our relationship. We just had the relationship,” she says. “Not only am I a fan of her work, but I'm a fan of hers. After knowing Stephanie, it's just like, Yeah, that's my girl. That's my boo. I feel that relationship ownership. I do have that I can honestly [say].”

A theater and film veteran who’s starred in Rent, Jack Goes Boating, Anna in the Tropics, and so much more, Rubin-Vega discusses the role of LGBTQ+ allyship.

“People in my life are [the] gay people in my life, like, a lot of people. I also have a bit of a hard time with the word ally because it is a verb, it's not a static noun. And [being an ally] is a constant behavior. It is a way of being in the world that is like breathing. And it's a consciousness for some of us more than others who have had been in so much privilege and living in supremacy.”

Daniela is presented as an integral piece of the Washington Heights community in Miranda’s story and Chu’s film. But the implications of that representation run deep. And Rubin-Vega has thought long and hard about it.

“Playing a lesbian — I can honestly think [about] my family legacy and just wonder how many unhappy ancestors I had,” who perhaps couldn’t live their authentic lives because of stigma, she says. “It's not something to get depressed about. It’s something to live toward when we represent our fullness.”

https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/2021/6/10/heightss-daphne-rubin-vega-ushering-queer-characters

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In “In the Heights,” Rubin-Vega plays Daniela, co-owner of a neighborhood hair salon with her life partner Carla (Stephanie Beatriz). The two were made queer for the film after being portrayed as straight co-workers in the stage show. Screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes called to tell Rubin-Vega about the updated relationship. “She’s like, ‘How do you feel about that?’” Rubin-Vega recalls. “I’m like, ‘I’m loving it.’

“Daniela is a high priestess of bad-assery,” she continues. “She’s a part of the person that I aspire to be, which is fully herself, making no apologies for who she is. She probably has earned her right to claim her fullness — self-empowered, self-employed, she has her own business. She touches other people’s heads, which is kind of a sacred thing in our culture, that we let people touch our heads.”

https://variety.com/2021/film/columns/in-the-heights-daphne-rubin-vega-1234991860/

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“Yes. Carla’s my life partner. There’s not a plot line about us being partners, but it’s very evident. Like, we’re just human beings that have chosen each other. So that there’s a representation."

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/new-york-live/dishing-with-daphne-rubin-vega/3063551/ 

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Beatriz is also playing salon worker Carla in the new film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning musical, In the Heights. Beatriz, who is openly bisexual, is excited that her character is in a same-sex relationship with fellow salon worker Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), in the film -- a change from the Broadway show.

"In the original production, Carla and Daniela were simply work partners, but in this iteration, [screenplay writer] Quiara [Alegria Hudes] and [director] John [M. Chu] and [original playwright] Lin-[Manuel Miranda] all felt really strongly that they should be life partners are well," Beatriz shared. "What's really great for me as someone who is queer, as a member of the queer community, who is bisexual, is to see that rep in a film where it's just layered into the community, sort of in the background. And they're this really functional, fun, happy, funny couple that just happen to be gay."

https://www.kmov.com/stephanie-beatriz-teases-what-brooklyn-nine-nine-fans-can-expect-in-shows-final-season-exclusive/article_208dd9b5-dde4-5814-9c17-2b5e3e8defac.html

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What do you find most interesting about Daniela?

Every shred of me was excited about playing this role. I'd worked with Quiara in Miss You Like Hell, and because of my history with Quiara and Lin, I knew about In the Heights and saw it. Daniela is such a powerful character. She's diminutive, but you can feel her presence whenever she walks into a room. It was interesting to further explore her relationship with Carla, her life partner and business partner, and her dynamic with Cuca and the rendition of the salon in a filmic way. There were no restrictions with Quiara, Lin, and Jon.

Women often have an ambivalent relationship with ambition, so it's interesting to think about it within the context of the movie. Was that something you thought of when you were shaping your take on Daniela?

I don't know if ambitious people call themselves ambitious. I consider myself ambitious, but what's the ambition? The ambition is to live a full life. The ambition is to live a complete, free, unapologetic life where I can love who I want to love and live where I want to live, do what I love to do, wear what I want to wear, and have friends I want. If that's ambition, isn't that the American way, the pursuit of happiness? I think that Daniela, because of her appearance, her attitude is amplified, but if she looked different, she'd be a regular strong chick. Her choices wouldn't be questioned; she'd be pragmatic. She's priced out of the barrio that she loves. She'll be present in some ways, but her business will be gone.

https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/interview-daphne-rubin-vega-on-portraying-daniela_92380.html

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MW: Yeah, Carla is not Rosa at all. I would also say that your characters tend to sound distinctly different. How do you find a voice for a character?

BEATRIZ: I think that’s part of the fun. I spent a long time, as a kid, with lots of time on my hands. My parents worked a lot, and my sister and I would often come home and watch ourselves, and one of the things that we did at home was we had this Fisher-Price recorder. It was a little tape deck, and I don’t know where we got it, but you could put a tape in and record yourself. We had a few blank tapes, but we also taped over a lot of my mom and dad’s music — sorry, Mom and Dad — but we would record ourselves doing shows, like radio shows, where we would do different voices, we would interview ourselves, we would interview each other, we just screwed around.

But, in doing that, it was us finding funny and weird voices and stuff. That was the beginning of me acting, I think, playing around with that tape recorder by myself. And I think it’s just a really fun thing for me to do voiceovers and voices, and find my way into a character through sound. It’s one of the things that was so fun about being in In the Heights, was the music and finding my way into the character musically, and basing character choices on what Lin had already written in the music. I think that’s so fun. And the musicality of language is something that I’ve always been drawn to and interested in.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/06/stephanie-beatriz-brings-queer-representation-to-in-the-heights-and-bids-farewell-to-brooklyn-nine-nine/

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The beauty of upper Manhattan is on glorious display at a hair and nail salon featured in the movie musical “In the Heights.”

Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco help capture the culture and values of a Latino neighborhood in Washington Heights through the women who run the popular salon.

“They provide an example of how people in your community can become part of your family, really your chosen family, and that those people are deeply invested in not only seeing you succeed, but really seeing you thrive as a person,” Beatriz, 40, told the Daily News.

“They also provide this incredibly safe, loving space, particularly for the women in this story, but really for all of the characters. ... It’s this incredible place of celebrating beauty of all kinds.”

The salon serves as a central hub of the film premiering Wednesday at the Tribeca Film Festival before arriving Thursday in theaters and on HBO Max.

Adapted from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, “In the Heights” brings back the fan-favorite salon ladies Daniela, played by Rubin-Vega, and Carla, portrayed by Beatriz, while introducing Polanca’s Cuca as a new character.

The stars agree the salon represents much more than a place to get a makeover.

“It symbolizes dreams,” Polanco, 38, told The News. “Small-business owners. What we like to call iconic figures within our community. They’re like hood celebrities, legends, what can I tell you? They’re there, and they have everybody’s back.”

“In the Heights” takes viewers inside the colorful salon during the lively song “No Me Diga.” But the women are also depicted outside the salon as significant figures within a neighborhood where every resident strives toward big goals.

Daniela, Carla and Cuca kick off the standout song-and-dance number “Carnaval del Barrio,” during which characters sing with reverence about their homelands.

“It’s a celebration of life in the face of all kinds of adversity,” Rubin-Vega, 51, told The News. “This determination to be joyous, and how powerful that in itself is. Yeah, it is beautiful to see flags flying and everybody going, ‘Oh, there I am!’ But more than that, it’s just that feeling of belonging.”

The “In the Heights” stage musical introduces Daniela and Carla as work partners, and the movie updates their relationship to be life partners as well.

“It’s just part of the background of the film, and that’s really vital, I think, for [LGBTQ] audiences to see themselves be part of the fabric of the film, and not necessarily have their stories always be coming-out stories or always be tragic stories or always be stories that are fraught with drama,” Beatriz said.

The actors felt personal connections to their characters. Beatriz, who was born in Argentina, remembers her mother befriending fellow customers and staffers at the salon she went to after moving to the U.S.

Polanco recalls her visits to a local salon when she was young, and loves how “In the Heights” covers that aspect of the community.

“It’s what instills confidence. It’s what instills trust, and amongst these three ladies, that’s what they give back to everyone else,” Polanco said. “In this community of Washington Heights, this is where they go to release, to motivate, to express, to get advice, to make harsh decisions, to console. It’s a revolving door of what I [call] noncertified therapy.”

https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/movies/in-the-heights-stars-share-what-the-movie-s-salon-ladies-represent/article_e2f853ed-978a-562d-8aaa-fc48b73b709f.html

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(Not specifically about the romantic relationship, but a great article about Daniela, Carla, and Cuca.)

Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, and Daphne Rubin-Vega Are the Holy Trinity of In the Heights“

We were the witches with a cauldron, stirring the pot,” says Rubin-Vega of the trio, who reunited to chat about dance numbers, bodega orders, and the best kind of gossip.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/06/in-the-heights-stephanie-beatriz-dascha-polanco-daphne-rubin-vega

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I love that your character is a part of this trio of neighborhood divas that are just so much fun. What was your relationship like with Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco and how much fun did you guys have together?

RUBIN-VEGA: Oh my goodness! Doing nothing with them was fun. Ad-libbing was fun. I don’t think anyone’s funnier than Stephanie and Dascha, and when they’re together, it’s just nonstop. There’s also a realness. We all come from places and spaces where we had to outlast the negativity to get where we got, so that creates a certain energy in a human being that is irresistible because we’re really happy to be here.

https://collider.com/daphne-rubin-vega-in-the-heights-interview/

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Salon Squad

“I could do those costumes for the rest of my life and still find new things to do with them,” Travers said about designing for Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), Carla (Stephanie Beatriz), and Cuca (Dascha Polanco). This adaptation has added a romantic dynamic between Daniela and Carla, which Travers incorporated in costumes he envisioned Carla had borrowed from Daniela’s closet — “maybe it was a windbreaker she had from 20 years ago; now it’s vintage to  Carla.” One reference point for the salon owner, he says, is Sex and the City designer Patricia Field. “Pat is such a fearless risk-taker when it comes to her own personal style and also her body of work is quite fearless,” Travers explains. “We took a light inspiration from Pat herself, just in terms of that risk-taking and the combinations of high and low.” Daniela’s powerhouse status includes a nod to Rosie the Riveter for her biggest musical number and Travers also points out that while this character’s wide-leg leopard print pants felt like a risky move at the time, “of course, now, fashion is all about the big pant.”

Meanwhile, Carla has “much more of an Instagram sensibility” with a Nikita Dragun influence. The streetwear-inspired sneakers, bike shorts, and crop top athletic spirit go further than “dress for likes” on social media, “there is heart in it.” Rounding out the trio is Cuca who wears a “head-to-toe [look] Monday through Sunday.” Describing this character as “unbelievably fun to dress,” he explains that if she is wearing a printed dress then her fanny pack, socks, and scrunchie will match. Travers’ favorite salon squad costume moment was creating a weekend nightclub look that resulted in a strong unifying motif: “Three women in jumpsuits — no dresses — just jumpsuits going out. I had such fun as a costume designer getting to express a similar idea through three very different sets of eyes.”

https://www.vulture.com/article/in-the-heights-costume-designer-interview.html

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Who was your first celebrity crush?

First celebrity crush was actually Daphne Rubin-Vega, from Rent. That was a cool, NOT AWKWARD moment when I met her for the first time ever, in real life. I was sweating, I was like AHH YOU’RE SO AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL I USED TO HAVE A PICTURE OF YOU ON MY WALL, I’M SO SORRY THIS IS WEIRD. But it was also awesome. Of course I mentioned to Daphne that she was my crush. And I did it in the most awkward way possible, which is just, you know, right up my alley. I was like DAPHNE I LOVE YOU, right in her face. Which was awesome, and made for a really, really NOT AWKWARD rehearsal environment, at all. She likes me now, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK7YLaUULG8&ab_channel=BuzzFeedCeleb

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[lacrimosathedark]

Hamilton Inaccuracies/Corrections (because why not?)

Okay so, I saw a post on reddit that was like, “what’s some inaccuracies in Hamilton off the top of your head?” and I got a whole bunch...and then I had to double check to make sure if I was right...and I’m pretty long-winded...and  now I have this 5,000ish word monstrosity. And apparently you can only post 1000 characters at a time on reddit. Laaaaame. So here’s some Hamilton facts I’ve gathered in my brain. Since it was kinda off the top of my head despite being so long, it’s kinda vague in some places, so if anyone wants to expand on anything (or correct me if I oopsed somewhere) please do! Though nicely please.

Also I am also awful at citing things, but I know I learned some of this from @john-laurens and @ciceroprofacto so thank you.

LET’S BEGIN!

Act 1

Rachel Faucette was not a prostitute, but she was a “whore” in the sense that she did what she fucking wanted with her body. During her first marriage she may or may not have been sleeping around, but she refused to stay with John Lavien, her husband, anymore. So he had her arrested. And he could do that. Because patriarchy and theocracy. And she was essentially put in solitary confinement. You can see why she tried to leave, right? She tried to get their marriage annulled or get a divorce. I forget what the issue was but she couldn’t and eventually she just moved to another island where she met James Hamilton.

The intro song makes it seem like Alexander was an only child. He actually had an older brother, James Jr., but he kinda fucked off after their mother died, working and taking care of himself. They also had an older half-brother Peter Lavien, but I don’t think they really knew him other than as the son of their mother’s abusive ex who took everything from them when she died. John Lavien was able to do that because when Rachel was with James Hamilton, she had not been able to get legally divorced from him so she wasn’t really married to James Hamilton, so James Jr. and Alexander were illegitimate ie bastards. He was an asshole. I don't think Peter had anything against the Hamiltons, but I think he grew up to be a Loyalist so. He actually made some trouble in South Carolina for Henry Laurens, John's dad! But I think I read somewhere he also left money for Alex and James Jr. In his will, which is sweet.

This is more visual since it’s not specified in the song, but in the show, Hamilton’s cousin mimes hanging himself. Peter Lytton’s cause of death if I recall was inconclusive, but he was in his bed and there was a lot of blood. So, yeah, he didn’t hang himself.

Alexander did not punch the bursar. However he did return to Princeton later during the war and blew a canon through the school and apparently decapitated a painting of King George lololol. He was under orders, but yknow. Probably felt pretty good after he was rejected for accelerated courses. He wasn’t the only bastard rejected, though! Ben Franklin’s bastard son was too. The guy in charge of admissions, Witherspoon, hated bastards as a concept and Princeton was a very religious school at the time I believe.

It may have been the plan by Aaron and Esther Burr for Aaron Jr to graduate Princeton, but like, he couldn’t really be sure of that? He was like 2 years old when they died, and his older sister Sally was 4 I believe, maybe 5.

Hercules Mulligan met Alex in 1772. His older brother Hugh knew Alex’s old employer in St. Croix and helped him get to mainland America. Alex and Hercules lived together for a long while, and Hercules is actually who got him interested in the revolution.

John Laurens was in England in 1776. He wouldn’t meet Hamilton and Lafayette until he accepted his post as Washington’s aide-de-camp upon his return in August of 1777.

Lafayette couldn’t have met Hamilton before August 1777 because that’s when he met Washington, and he was appointed as a volunteer to the Continental Army only a week prior, and before that he had been in France. But Lafayette later declared their relationship to be like that of brothers, Alexander his closest connection in the states besides Washington.

Lafayette admired and absolutely adored Laurens and they were besties, but neither of them knew Mulligan. They may have met in passing, or heard about him from Hamilton, but nothing more.

“Lafayette” was actually a nickname based on his title of “Marquis de la Fayette”. In his autobiography, he wrote: “It’s not my fault I was baptized like a Spaniard, with the name of every conceivable saint who might offer me more protection in battle.” I’m glad he thought it was funny at least. His name is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de la Fayette.

Hercules Mulligan is not known to fuck horses.

The Revolution had already sorta started. Actually, Hercules and Alexander had been part of local militias before 1776.

This is more of a miscommunication since the actors are close in age, though the lyrics try to get it across. There’s a reason Mulligan says he’s got the others “in loco parentis”. In 1776 Hamilton and Lafayette would have been 19, Laurens would have been 22, and Mulligan would have been 36.

I think we all know “Laurens, I like you a lot” does not cover the scope of their relationship but that’s rather self explanatory so unless someone asks I’ll leave it at that. And for other clarifications. But at the very least I’ll share this: Anyone who saw them knew they were like attached at the hip (without knowing how attached *winkwonk*) and you could almost always contact one through the other. Laurens was notoriously bad at answering letters, to Hamilton too (and Alex did bitch about it because he is insecure and needs love), but it became quickly known he got back to Hamilton fastest so people would be like “Tell Laurens I said hi!” or “Hey, I need to get these to Laurens, you send them to him.” Which is hilarious. I just imagine Alexander going, “Why me?”

While all of them are Revolutionaries, Laurens is the only one you could solidly call an abolitionist, and Mulligan’s even shaky on the manumission part. He was supposedly part of the Manumission Society Hamilton helped start, but Mulligan also personally owned slaves and was never known to have freed them (One helped him with spy shit. His name was Cato!). In fairness, Hamilton and Lafayette wholeheartedly agreed with Laurens, and Hamilton was the biggest supporter of his battalion plan, and both of them did try to continue working towards equality after the war, but it was never the top priority for either of them and their lives kinda went to hell, so it fell to the wayside. Lafayette actually did some nifty stuff worth looking at, and Hamilton might have tried to keep one of John Lauren’s freed men from Henry Laurens! But as slavery stuck around for a while, it clearly wasn’t anything significant.

Angelica would meet and befriend Thomas Jefferson in Europe, but she would never manage to convince him to put women in a sequel because he’s a huge misogynist and told her in multiple letters that politics isn’t for women and I think he deserves a shoe up his southern backside. Side note, it always bothered me that Lin played up the misogyny in the musical. I mean, yeah, all of them would be misogynists compared to us, but for their time, Hamilton wasn’t so bad. If there was anyone to play up misogyny with, it was Jefferson, because he would tell Angelica for years and years that politics could never make women happy, and that the women in France were foolish for trying etc.. Hamilton would actually discuss politics with Angelica frequently and openly. And there’s a proto-feminist in the cast that was never recognized—Aaron Burr! He respected Theodosia Sr. as an equal and she was his most valuable political ally, and he made sure Theodosia Jr. got the same education any boy of her time would have. He actually respected women to a decent degree. Not to say he wasn't as much of a ho as Hamilton cuz yeah that's accurate (but they were both disaster bisexuals more on Burr's sexuality later)

Farmer Refuted was an essay Hamilton wrote arguing against Samuel Seabury's posts. They weren't shouting in the public square(but Lin got the sass right. I love his face when Hamilton and Seabury are fighting over the podium). Seabury was also really really old, not young and cute like Thayne, hence the line about "mange". Blech.

General Montgomery didn’t take a bullet in the neck, it was a grapeshot from a canon in his head (and his thighs), but close enough I guess. Side note: Burr actually served a short interim on Washington’s staff, but only for like 10 days because they hated each other lolol.

Alexander didn’t bring Laurens, Mulligan, or Lafayette to Washington. Lafayette joined up with the Continental Army in 1777 and quickly convinced them he wasn’t like the other French nobles; he was a glory-seeking kid with a boner for America (for some reason???). Laurens was requested by Washington to join his military family and he arrived also in August 1777 just after Lafayette. Like previously stated, Mulligan was doing shit even before Hamilton did.

Alexander would not have been in charge of spy shit (though may have been somewhat involved). Washington had people like Mulligan for that, who actually saved Washington a few times. But also, the "King’s men who might let some things slide" was the tactic Mulligan used. He was actually very charming, and his wife was very high in British society and he was a skilled tailor, so they were thought of well among the redcoats, and he got a lot of information through chatting with his customers. He also could usually smooth-talk his way out of trouble. Actually, Mulligan blended in so well, when the war was over, people in the city wanted him out cuz they thought he was a Loyalist. So George fucking Washington paid him a visit and commissioned I think a coat from him, and that cleared that up. He got a LOT of business after that.

Alexander would not be Washington’s right hand man, or at least, not his only one if Lin was using that to mean aide-de-camp. In that case, Laurens would also be Washington’s right hand man, along with many men not named in the musical.

John Laurens may have been reliable with the ladies (comes with the territory of being hot, rich, and a perfect gentleman), but he most certainly didn’t want to be. His father noted, rather proudly at the time, that as a young teenager he expressed no interest in girls. John was also married by 1780, and at least Alexander knew. (he told John he'd found out in the well-known April 1779 letter. You know... “Cold in my professions...find me a wife...the length of my nose...” That one.) Because John apparently didn't tell people he was married. Laurens. Sweetheart. Get. Your. Shit. Together.

John also would not be at this ball. February 1779 to March 1780 he is fighting down south, and this ball was early 1780.

The tomcat thing may be half true. Martha Washington did supposedly name a cat Hamilton, but it was an affectionate thing. The slang tomcat meaning ho wasn’t a thing at that time, so it couldn’t be named to tease Alex for his promiscuity. I believe this was one of the many things John Adams made up to slander Hamilton.

Hamilton and Eliza had met before 1780. They had met once two years prior at a dinner her father had hosted. Also, Hamilton had been courting her friend Kitty Livingston, and his friend and fellow aide Tench Tilghman had been attempting to court Eliza, and they’d actually done at least one sort-of double date (which is adorable). So this shouldn’t have been the first time they’d seen each other. Could still be when they fell in love, though, since they started courting after this. Which is cute to think about.

Speaking of Tench and Eliza! I don't remember when this took place but Tilghman journaled it, he went out on something of a hike with a few ladies and they got to a cliff. Of course, he had to help the girls climb up. Except Eliza who started climbing by herself like a natural to the bewilderment and likely horror of the other ladies. Elizabeth Schuyler was a bamf okay?

Of course everyone knows by now, Angelica was married before Eliza. During the Winter’s Ball, she’d already eloped with Jack Carter aka John Barker Church and run away to Boston.

Their courtship was not that fast. Not like, weeks. More like months. Fun fact, Eliza is the only of the five (yes FIVE) Schuyler sisters who didn’t elope and actually got her parents permission! But here’s a heartbreaking fun fact: while Alex was courting Eliza, Laurens was taken prisoner and then on probation. He wasn’t allowed to leave the state of Pennsylvania. He was mentally in a very dark place. Alex kind of procrastinated telling Laurens about Eliza, didn’t say he was courting anyone until they were already engaged.

I can't leave this alone if I'm sad you have to be too. Alex was hella depressed during this time too. Of course he was a soldier so he couldn't see Eliza as much as he'd have liked. On top of that, he kept pushing for an exchange for John and kept getting rejected because they couldn't show preference for him. And then Laurens was sending him very few letters, of course, and the ones he did send were very depressed, even suicidal sounding. He had to work while dealing with that. He had to keep begging Eliza to write to him to be reassured that she still liked him.

No one could show up for Hamilton for the wedding. Some sources say fellow aide James McHenry showed up, but he’s the only one. Alexander even invited his deadbeat dad, offered to pay all his travel expenses and everything, guess how that turned out. So Eliza’s side of the hall was packed and his was empty. God, can you imagine how sad that is?

Another heartbreaking fun fact! John Laurens was out of probation and could have made it to the wedding, was invited (Hamilton, I kid you not, jokingly invited him to a threesome with his new wife in a letter: “I wish you were at liberty to transgress the bounds of Pensylvania. I would invite you after the fall to Albany to be witness to the final consummation.” (emphasis is original to Hamilton. As is the misspelling of Pennsylvania. Yes, seriously.)) and John did not go. Instead he went back to work trying to talk his way out of getting sent as an envoy to France and suggesting Alexander to take his place. You know. His boyfriend who just got married. Sure, he was right that Hamilton was better equipped for the job, but yknow. Another fun fact, one of the guys who voted for John to be the one to go to France was John’s ex-boyfriend Francis Kinloch. Who was a turncoat, and had been a royalist when he and Laurens split. How’s that for some twisty bullshit.

Sorry, this one isn’t about the musical, it’s a tangent, I just got excited about that quote. Both that style of innuendo and the misspelling of Pennsylvania are consistent in Hamilton’s writing. Listening to john-lauren’s podcast about the April 1779 letter can really help you understand how Hammy uses innuendo but also I just love listening to it it’s insightful and hilarious and I love John Laurens but y u do this and my heart hurts for Hamilton but he is also a ho but aNYWAY. As for Pensylvania...well, he kinda made that mistake on an important document. ...It’s The Constitution. He misspelled Pennsylvania on The Constitution. No big deal. Not like something that could haunt his legacy forever. Oh my god I’m so sorry.

Philip Schuyler did have sons. Five in fact. Two of them died pretty young though I think, considering there are three kids in a row named John Bradstreet Schuyler. The other two were named Philip Jeremiah and Rensselaer.

Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan were all married before Hamilton. Hercules Mulligan married Elizabeth Sanders in 1773. Lafayette married his beloved Adrienne in 1774. John Laurens was regretfully obliged to marry Martha Manning in 1776.

Sigh. Again with the misogyny. Anyway, I wanted to comment on the marriage as a loss of freedom. From what I can tell, Elizabeth helped Hercules with his spy work at home. John was literally fighting a war across the ocean from his wife, and probably having an illegal affair with Alexander (though to be fair to him, he was kind of running away from Martha because he didn't marry her for love, gosh, there are no winners here). Lafayette absolutely adored his wife but still was also fighting a war an ocean away, and had multiple affairs, at least one with his wife’s blessing. So yeah, losing your freedom with marriage? Bullshit.

Despite where it is in the musical and Eliza singing the beginning, Stay Alive is roughly about Valley Forge, which would be December of 1777 through June of 78. So before the ball and wedding. (Fun fact! A lot of people theorize Valley Forge as when Hamilton and Laurens’ relationship may have escalated into romantic and/or sexual territory. They may have had more privacy, as small temporary buildings were being made to better withstand the cold, and Hamilton was sick a lot during that time and did need tending a lot. West Indian boi did not like Northern winter.) But yeah, Congress being stupid and the army resorting to eating their horses sometimes and not being able to buy food and equipment? All true. It was a real bad winter.

Mulligan wouldn’t have to go back to New York, he never would have left. He remained there as a tailor and a spy throughout the war. He wouldn’t have been traveling with Washington.

Hamilton and Laurens didn't write essays so much as start working out John's battalion plan and writing letters trying to push for it.

This duel happened in 1778, so like. This timeline is so fucky.

Stay Alive makes it seem like Hamilton was the one who wanted to duel Lee, but it was 100% Laurens from the start. The off-Broadway version demonstrates it a bit better. Hamilton was Lauren's second to save his ass. Hamilton had a rough relationship with Washington, but Laurens admired him greatly and would have willingly defended his commander’s honor. John was a Good Boy who always bowed his head to his asshole father, even at first for his battalion plan, but John wouldn’t let even his father talk shit about Washington. Fun fact about this duel, Alex and John were late to the duel because they “got lost in the woods”. Oooookay. Suuuuuuure. And Baron von Steuben was straight. (Fact: Steuben was very gay and pretty much pushed out of Europe for it. And he actually also had challenged Lee! They talked things out before this.)

Aaron Burr was not Charles Lee’s second. His second was a Major Evan Edwards. Lin wanted a parallel with the final duel. To be fair, that was a really cool way to do it and I like it better that way.

Alexander Hamilton could NOT agree that duels are dumb and immature. He was in 10 duel challenges as a participant in his lifetime, 9 of which he was the challenger. One time he challenged two people at once. One time he challenged an entire politcal party apparently. No, I am not kidding. He had a bad day. And I think you know the one time he wasn’t the challenger.

Lee did not yield on the first shot, nor was Laurens satisfied. Lee was pretty much like, “It’s just a flesh wound!” and wanted to go another round and Laurens agreed, but Hamilton and Edwards managed to talk them down. Yes he was shot in the side. But that wasn’t all because Laurens absolutely roasted Lee at his court martial. 

Lee: Were you ever in an action before?

Laurens: I have been in several actions; I did not call that an action, as there was no action previous to the retreat. 

I love this man. So much. The sass of this man.

We don’t know if Washington was angry about the duel with Lee. We do know that Laurens, and probably Hamilton, had Christmas dinner with him two days later. When Hamilton left, it was because Washington had snapped over a misunderstanding (caused by Lafayette actually, and he really tried to make it better because Lafayette is a sweetheart), and then continued to deny Hamilton the command he requested, and he resigned. It was entirely unrelated to the duel and Laurens. However, the daddy issues are real.

I don’t know if Lafayette went to France for more funds and came back with more guns, but Laurens certainly did! Ben Franklin told him to chill, but he actually got super impatient and ended up supposedly disrespecting and maybe kinda threatening the court, demanding what he needed, and walking out. They were were kind of shocked and impressed into giving more than had been requested. Any existing deities bless John Laurens. I love him.

Lafayette actually nominated his own aide to lead the charge and Hamilton appealed for himself and Washington finally gave in to Hamilton.

Laurens was not in South Carolina. When he finally got back from France, he was sent to Yorktown. He actually was commanding the group Alexander led. (Power couple lol) He also helped with negotiations after the battle. Also, supposedly making the British play ‘The World Turned Upside Down’ on their way out was Laurens’ idea because boy is made of sass and spite.

Henry Laurens would not have sent a letter to Hamilton about John’s death. Even if he would have, he couldn’t. At that time, he’d been locked up in the Tower of London as a prisoner. We have no idea when or how Alexander found out, or who might have told him. We know he wrote to Nathanael Greene on October 25 and Lafayette on November 3 (literally 2 months after Laurens' death), and the mentions of Laurens were very short. It’s thought that he really couldn’t talk about Laurens. People have compared it to the stories of how Benjamin Tallmadge apparently couldn’t hear Nathan Hale’s name without crying.

After Yorktown Alexander resigned and John went down south to flush British troops out of the southern states. His group was ambushed at Combahee River and he decided to charge instead of wait for backup and he died. Many people think it was a combination of his usual recklessness, suicidality, and glory-seeking mixed with a desperation with the war coming to an end. It was such a small skirmish. He deserved better. He left his daughter, Frances, whom he had never met, orphaned, as her mother had died months earlier from sickness. She was adopted by John’s oldest younger sister, also coincidentally Martha Laurens (though married was Martha Laurens Ramsay).

The Levi Weeks case was years later than that, in 1800, though it was alongside Burr. Hamilton actually lost his first trial as a defense lawyer and was not with Burr.

The whole conversation where Hamilton proposes Burr help him write the Federalist Papers is fake. Lin made that up entirely.

John Church’s wealth kinda...varies. He was a gambler. At first, he was actually in quite a bit of debt. He did make it big eventually and he and Angelica moved to Europe. He really didn’t seem to be a lot of fun to most people, but Angelica eloped with him. She chose him against her father’s wishes. I don’t get why Lin kept writing lines saying she didn’t love him, at least at first. He also does this in the cut song Congratulations where she says “I languished in a loveless marriage” bish you eloped wat She also lived as a socialite and was adored by anyone who met her apparently, so like???? da fuq Lin. Didja really do Laurens dirty for these lies or at the very least uncertanties? Could you not prop up that romance without making her say she hates her husband?

Act 2

More of a personality miscommunication. Irl Thomas Jefferson was shy, quiet, and hypersensitive, nothing like how Daveed plays him. If you knew a guy like the real Jefferson in real life you might be endeared to him out of pity or because he seems sweet, but in the short time of a musical that would immediately be read as cold and unlikable. So the best way to portray “this guy is a likable asshole” is to make him loud and made of sass which is what Daveed does magnificently. So, not at all accurate to real Jefferson, but gets the concept of him across.

Thomas was not off getting high with the French. Probably. He was making negotiations for the Revolution. And abusing Sally Hemings (his, at the time, 14 year old slave, who was also his sister-in-law, and 30 years his junior, and was brought along to entertain his daughter). And actually probably chatting up with Angelica!

By the time Philip was 9, he had two sisters, Angelica (7) and his foster/adopted sister Frances Antill (6), but he also had two brothers already, Alexander Jr. (5) and James Alexander (3), with maybe another one on the way since William Stephen would be born next year.

The whole comma thing is backwards. It was Angelica who made the initial mistake. Hamilton pointedly and flirtatiously teased her about it before closing it with “Adieu ma chere, soeur” French for “Goodbye my dear, sister”. So it’s more playful and less lovey dovey in context, so the tone is all wrong. It’s not romantic, it’s teasing and snarky.

Say No To This feels like it’s over quick. The affair lasted a year, not just the summer Eliza was away.

Clermont Street wasn’t renamed until many years later.

I don’t know that Alex has always considered Burr a friend. Irl they weren’t as close, and Hamilton was keenly aware of how slimy Burr could be.

Lafayette was NOT fine. He was imprisoned a lot during the French Revolution, the poor man, and many members of his wife’s family were killed. HOWEVER! Hamilton was not just sitting by. Angelica and her husband did make an attempt to rescue Lafayette, and the Hamiltons fostered Lafayette’s son Georges Washington Lafayette (yes that was his actual name). So Hamilton also did not forget Lafayette.

Not all his defendants got acquitted, obviously. Stop being cocky, Ham.

People comment on how Jefferson whines about Hamilton’s fashion sense while literally dressed in violet velvet. The original plan was to have him in browns, but Daveed is just such a friggin star that they just had to give him something brighter and decided to go with a Prince-inspired look. Originally the browns were going to be representative of his supposed representation of farmers. Though note here: Jefferson’s agricultural representation is much the same as modern Republicans’ rural representation. More for show.

Actually, let's get political for a sec. I've done some research in my hyperfixation and in searches for Hamilton shiz I've ended up stumbling into far-right nonsense and I know how to recognize the degrees of nonsense from years of actually paying attention to it now because this is what I do apparently. Which is weird, right? Lin kinda portrays him like a lefty. Well, here's the thing. Any proud historically educated Republican will tell you that their roots are in the Federalist Party. Which is technically true. What they will neglect to mention is the flip between parties that happened when the Republicans decided to use southerners racism to their advantage in elections. Being subtly racist can get the racists and the non-racists on your side! Yeah, it's gross. Federalists are more like Democrats. The corporatists. They clearly care more about companies and Wall Street, but they put actual action into social progress on rare occasion. Democratic-Republicans are like Republicans, conservatives who don't want social change and rail against it and pretend they aren't for corporate interests while being just as bad as the other guys. But Republicans have a tendency to rewrite history to paint themselves as the good guys, or reclaim things that aren't theirs as their own. Just look at the Civil War! Or...literally just...America I guess. Yikes. But yeah, here's your warning. Don't just go looking at and trusting things labelled Federalist. It likely won't be friendly.

John Adams didn’t fire Hamilton, Hamilton left. Eventually. And this is not the only time this kind of verbal confrontation happens, and not the one that destroys the Federalist Party. That actually happens after the Reynolds Pamphlet. But John Adams hates Alexander Hamilton with the burning passion of a thousand suns and really kinda earns this.

I’m not sure if he specifically called Alex a Creole bastard but I wouldn’t be surprised, there were other similar racist and bastard-related insults. You know the tomcat thing mentioned above. He started the rumor of the affair with Angelica. He accused him of being a rake (male version of whore at the time). He also may have behind closed doors accused him of being a sodomite. His (probably gay) son Charles helped with that one, bringing back rumors from a dinner he had with Hamilton (who he was working for) and John Church because Church joked about Alex being fond of a guy. Adams probably thought working for Hamilton was what made his son gay and alcoholic (Charles was an alcoholic and may have died in part because of that; Hamilton was not an alcoholic, but he supposedly could not hold his drink. He was smol).

Jefferson, Madison, and Burr didn’t accuse Hamilton of speculation. It was James Monroe, Abraham Venable, and Frederick Muhlenberg. Lin wanted to keep consistent representation of the Democratic-Republican party. But anyway, the whole thing went to hell because Monroe sent the letters to Jefferson (or I’ve also heard Monroe gave them to Madison who sent them to Jefferson) who, the spiteful gangly fucker, started spreading rumors because fuck Hamilton, amirite? Hamilton challenged Monroe to a duel over that. And who stopped this duel? Aaron Burr. He gets to be the good guy now and then.

It wasn’t just total strangers that got Alex off the island. He was sponsored by his cousin Ann Lytton and his teacher Reverend Hugh Knox. Also, he was kind of expected to get an education and come back and help out the island...guess what he never did. Oops.

This one I may be wrong, but I’m pretty sure. I think Eliza was upstate with her family when the Reynolds Pamphlet was released, away from Alex. I also know she had recently given birth to their son, William Stephen. A lot of people think Alexander had been keeping that in mind. Eliza had had a miscarriage once before, when she was under a lot of stress and alone and with the kids and he had to be away (Whiskey Rebellion), so some people think he made sure she was surrounded by her family and waited until the child was born to drop this on her, and gave her distance from him if she needed it. At least he knew he fucked up, and he really did love her.

Those weren’t Alexander’s guns. They belonged to John Church.

It was quite some time between Philip’s challenge and the actual duel.

Another age miscommunication; Eacker was 27ish and Philip was 19 when the duel happened. There was a whole 8 years between them! 

Eacker didn’t shoot early. Actually, both of them stood staring at each other for a really long time doing nothing. But Philip went to make a move and Eacker shot him.

Alex and Eliza had made up from the Reynolds Pamphlet bullshit before Philip died. When he passed, Eliza was already pregnant with the son they would also name Philip in honor of his older brother.

Hamilton wasn’t really the deciding factor in the election of 1800. But he did say that about Burr and it did help swing the vote somewhat. But also, this was before Philip died. Philip died in 1801.

If a vote is that close, you can’t win in a landslide??? That’s not how words work???? Mister Miranda????? You are a writer??????? Sir???????

Burr actually held a term as Jefferson’s Vice President.

The Burr vs Hamilton Duel was in 1804 and was actually about another election and other things Hamilton was saying about him. Burr was running to be governor of New York and lost but heard about Alexander telling people the things he listed Alexander saying in Your Obedient Servant.

Thayne should not have played Alexander’s doctor. Sydney should have played Alexander’s doctor. Do you know why? Philip and Alexander had the same doctor when they died. Alexander took that doctor with him to the duel. His name was David Hosack.

While there’s evidence to suggest Burr experienced immediate regret (he stepped forward as if wanting to see if Hamilton was okay and supposedly asked after him and wished him well before Alexander passed) in the years that followed, until he was on his death bed, he expressed nothing but neutrality or even pride for having shot Hamilton. The ‘the world was wide enough’ comment could plausibly be entirely made up, and even if it were true, it was supposedly said toward the end of Burr’s life. Burr's life was quite a ride after Alex. He tried to make like his own empire out of Texas, and then of course was tried for treason, but he got out of that, but then everyone hated him for that ON TOP OF already hating him for killing Hamilton, so he had some crazy journey around Europe for a while. He kept a journal, writing entries like letters to Theo. The most notable things I think he writes he'd "been amused for an hour with a very handsome young Dane. Don't smile. It is a male!" which implies maybe Theodosia knew her dad was bi and was at least amused by it? And he spent a while living with Jeremy Bentham, who is generally accepted to have been gay (if you want more Burr gayness look into Jonathan Bellamy and Robert Troup. Troup knew Hamilton too!). Unrelated to his sexuality but I find it important, Burr spent, in modern cash, $40 on a coconut, in his own words, "like an ass." He returned to America eventually. I dont remember if it was before or after his foreign adventures, but his beloved grandson (also named Aaron Burr) died, and then not long after, Theodosia was lost at sea on her way to visit her dad. No one knows what happened to her. It's so sad. Anyway he married a wealthy widow named Eliza, spent all her money on charity, and died the day their divorce was finalized. And Eliza Jumel's divorce lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr..

Poor Eliza couldn’t go through all of her husband’s papers. Her son, John Church Hamilton, finished the work for her when she no longer could and put together the biography that inspired Chernow’s that inspired Lin’s musical. (He named a son Alexander and a daughter Elizabeth. He even named one of his sons Laurens! Aw.) And we have come full circle.

The End :33

There’s probably more but that’s what I’ve got. Thanks for reading!

[beautifulsnake2162020]

Ikevamp headcanons after watching Hamilton

Quick disclaimer: Yes I know this is a show about people who had owned slaves and slavery is bad. Having said that there's a reason why we suspend disbelief for a couple of hours and just allow ourselves to be swept into the story. I also love Phantom of the Opera but I also am aware that this is a story that involves an abusive and toxic relationship. The point is that I am aware that there are problems that needs to be discussed, but I still love the music, the story and the shows okay. This is just fan content not meant to be taken seriously and is just for fun. Okay? Now let's proceed.

I'll be doing Will and Arthur first since I'm currently doing Shakespeare's route and was inspired to do this after MC watches Romeo and Juliet with Vincent and I was wondering how Will would react to watching Hamilton. And Arthur is here because he is my husband/main lover. I might do Mozart and Napoleon next.

SPOILER ALERT: For anyone who hasn't seen the Disney Plus version of Hamilton, there might be some spoilers here (unless you already saw the show or know the story that is).

General Scenario:

You don't know how but Le Comte was able to get the filmed version of Hamilton, a musical which you've told Sebastian that you've been dying to see but was never able to because tickets were always sold out and entering the lottery was going to be a little too expensive for someone who lives in Japan and who doesn't exactly have the money or the time to simply fly to New York if in case she won. You were also excited because apparently Le Comte was able to modify the 21st century tech room that you use for your online classes and was able to get a wide screen and high quality surround sound which made you appreciate his efforts. A part of you was also curious as to how the other residents would react. You were scared that some of them might take offense, especially Napoleon who knew one of the characters in the show in real life. Would they react weirdly for seeing people different from them portray people that they knew? You were also wondering if they might even appreciate some of the 21st century slang that you and Sebastian would sometimes slip back into whenever it was just the two of you alone. After talking it out with everyone and explaining a few more things (like how its probably going to be different since it is a series of captured pictures-or at least that's your closest analogy- being played super fast with the synchronized sound of the actors- or what you were almost tempted to call "Techno Magic") during a dinner in which Shakespeare had decided to be present in, they were actually interested in what this show is about. Napoleon convinced you that he's fine and actually someone else playing Lafayette might even help with the suspension of disbelief since its been awhile since he has last met him anyway. Will even mentioned that while he has read and heard about stories from America, this is probably going to be the first story or production he's going to see from it. The only one who showed any hesitation - to no one's surprise - was Mozart, since he is attached to the kind of music he is familiar with (aren't we all?). But after prodding from both Jean, Le Comte and you giving him the puppy eyes, he finally relents. The day comes when everyone was once again free and for practicality everyone decided to have a meal first so that they won't be hungry during the show and also for you, Le Comte, and Sebastian to explain a few things everyone else may need to know to truly appreciate the show (like how the Presidential system and elections worked during the setting, what the word "Rewind" means, what is beatboxing, etc). So finally everyone gathered into the tech room after the meal, the lights were dimmed and once everyone was settled, you hit play. And as self-predicted of you, you find yourself crying in the end.

William Shakespeare (I'm still doing his route so please don't hate me if I get him wrong. Also no spoilers please).

- He was a bit shocked at first by how exactly up close you could see the facial expressions of the actors as well as the various ways it would cut to another person. He could now understand why you struggled with trying to explain how its played in a theatre but not exactly like the theatrical experience. But as you saw in your periphery, by the time Philippa Soo sings her first line, Will had already adjusted and allowed himself to be an audience and shut off his director and actor mindset (for the most part at least).

- While he didn't specialize in musicals, he found himself paying attention to the story of "the ten dollar founding father without a father." He knows how music could help both the actors and the audience in succumbing to their emotions in a scene and to suspend disbelief from reality. In his productions the words are not overwhelmed by any score but rather complemented to bring out the emotion he wants to evoke and for actors to show. Since many parts of the show has been influenced by the spoken word style without completely removing it from being sung, he has become enlightened with how powerful a show can be when it is done right.

- He not only enjoyed the story (especially the flow of it) and the production (especially some of the more technical details that the other residents hadn't noticed as far as a stage production is concerned), he loved that even the ensemble members had good acting and some of the onstage humor. One of the meta things he enjoyed was the obvious reference to his most superstitious work.

- Once you've seen how he loves analyzing the technical details of the production, you excitedly tell him about a special member of the ensemble who is known as "The bullet" among fans of the show. You could see him being enlightened as he watches the show with you again (this time with just the two of you) and he now sees "the bullet" and the way she interacts with the characters in a whole different light. He was so impressed with this idea that he may have adapted it into one of his new original plays (its not a copy paste of Hamilton's "bullet" but he definitely adapted assigning a member of the ensemble to have a special role that may not be significant at first, but he heavily notes that this member would have to be unique in interacting with any of the other characters).

- He didn't know what to expect from a 21st Century production but he found himself impressed with the prose and writing of various raps and songs. His favorite from Act 1 in terms of rhyme schemes was "Right Hand Man" and from Act 2 it was Jefferson's rap in "Washington by your side". And after settling down a bit his favorite emotional parts were "History has its eyes on you", "Hurricane", and "It's quiet uptown".

- He was impressed with how the double roles was given and how it actually is true for both of their roles in both acts. Ambiguity is one of his favorite things to have in a work, and he gives props to Lin for all the ambiguity he later realizes was in several parts of the show. If he and Arthur had been a little bit more closer, they probably would have bonded over the ambiguity Hamilton's comma in his letter to Angelica (see kids, grammar matters).

- A part of his brain wonders how the real life Hamilton would react to this and if him and Burr would still be enemies. But after some thinking he decides its not worth his efforts of asking anyone to bring them back since a wonderful production of their life has already been made even if it may not necessarily reflect who they truly are. He of all people knew what it's like to be inspired by great figures, it was fortunate that Lin Manuel Miranda decided to make a show about them before he had the chance to.

- You explain that in America Hamilton is one of the lesser known founding fathers of their nation and how it may be because his political opponents later on became Presidents and therefore was able to form the narrative. He becomes inspired by it and begins to search out people or stories who are hidden gems who may not be historically famous but had much more interesting stories than some of the ones he has heard of.

- Afterwards once you are sure that he has gotten comfortable enough with the genre you show him various videos of people rapping to his works and his reactions range from impressed to amused to "that's not what I mean when I wrote that" and you had to calm him down and explain that they can't hear him anyway after he started giving serious critiques on what the text means.

Arthur Conan Doyle

- While he was knowledgeable about many things, America's founding fathers was not one of them. He along with the other residents have gotten used to any rumors or exaggerated accounts of their lives and you and Sebastian have already warned that this is just a fictionalized production of the real person. As a writer of some historical fiction books he argued that he of all people was aware that any work based on history will speak more about the creators rather than the actual people they are writing about most of the time. He was nevertheless interested as to why you have become fascinated with the treasury secretary (and maybe it was with a twinge of jealousy that you began to expressly show admiration to another man even if he wasn't among the residents in the mansion). After all unlike many other residents of the mansion, on the surface it seemed that Hamilton was similar to Theo who mainly played a supporting but crucial role to his brother. He was thankful that you didn't hold it against him and was comforted that you were in a similar place. You even told him that the only thing you really knew about Hamilton before listening to the soundtrack and watching "Animatics" was that he was in the ten dollar American bill.

- And as someone who has delved into writing historical fictions, this was probably one of the most entertaining productions about a historical figure he has seen. He's going to be honest with you in that at first he was wondering if revealing Burr shot Hamilton in the opening was going to hinder him from enjoying the show; but he was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case at all. As a matter of fact it now made him want to find out who the real Hamilton was (although a part of him doubts if the real Hamilton had any regrets at all). According to him, this is why as a fictionalized historical work, the show is a success because it makes you want to find out more about the events and figures of the story (even if it means looking at darker realities that they did). And while the real Hamilton may be a lot different from what was shown, with all the things he went through and all the things he has done (for better or worse), he now wonders why exactly Le Comte hadn't approached him since he seems to be no better or worse than the average resident ("He and Newt could probably discuss mathematics all day."). You then explained that his political rivals (Jefferson and Madison from the show, and Monroe who wasn't shown in the musical) had later on become Presidents and was able to shape the narrative away from Hamilton. "Ron Chernow made Hamilton's biography because he was the lesser known founding father who was fading into obscurity among Americans and Lin read the book and recognized the story of someone who has risen through his writings. And to Lin that was also the story of hiphop." While he wasn't involved in politics as much as Hamilton was, Arthur had enough experience to know what it feels like to have those kinds of people in power. He also knows just how powerful it is to be in "the room where it happened" and how sometimes the real decisions weren't being made in an office but rather in either a private party or the right bar when people in power had their guard down and were more susceptible to being influenced.

- He could relate a lot with Hamilton on many things that he's only comfortable allowing either you or Theo to see. From being just so much more aware of death's inevitability coming for every living thing to survivor's guilt even though a part of him knows its irrational (but sometimes the emotional nonsense just overtakes our perspectives and actions). It's why he could understand Hamilton's need to write as much as he can before he dies. It's why for a time in his human life he had deviated from writing about Holmes and ventured into other genres. He could also relate to the need to prove what type of person he was, and how to go beyond his tragedies to serve people in their own ways. Hamilton did it as a soldier and the creator of America's financial system. And he is doing it as an informally practicing doctor and as a writer. It's a need that he's trying to mitigate since you've repeatedly told him that he doesn't need to prove anything to you or to anyone and to write whatever he pleases. But he also can't deny that it's still somewhere lodged in the back of his head.

- Just like William Shakespeare, in terms of the wordplay found in rap and the ambiguity present in the show and how those things were executed made him amazed and momentarily speechless. He was especially fanboying about "The comma after dearest" and how this essentially shows how important grammar was. It went to the extent that afterwards whenever he would write to you he would address you either as "My dearest, Y/N" or "My darling, Y/N" with special emphasis on the comma (sometimes you could see how there's more ink in the comma than some of the actual words. That's how much he wants to emphasize that you hold the title of dearest or darling). And you excitedly share with him some of the trivia knowledge of the show (like how in real life it was Angelica who originally made the comma mistake by writing to Hamilton as "My dear, sir" in one of her letters and it was Hamilton who was asking her what the comma means and even replied with "Ma chere, soeur") and how Angelica really did reference the Icarus metaphor in one of her letters to Eliza. And even though he wasn't a major musical nerd (he sang for fun), he would now join you in watching Howard Ho's Hamilton videos musically analyzing Hamilton (and would probably try to find a way to use this knowledge to annoy Mozart in some way).

- Speaking of music: Maybe it's because he's biased in his love for you but aside from Sebastian he's probably the one who has no qualms about the hiphop genre and was immediately into the various wordplays that rapping allowed. And because of this his favorite characters in terms of rapping are the ones played by Daveed Diggs (probably more than Hamilton himself even though you've explained that Lin is the one who wrote the whole thing). He even adapts to how Daveed as Jefferson would say Isaac's third law and incorporated it into his "let's tease Newton" kit. That's when you know he really loves Daveed Diggs ("Every action has an equal opposite -" "WILL YOU PLEASE STOP SAYING IT THAT WAY?! I didn't mind the first few times but this is ridiculous Arthur" "It must be nice, it must be nice to have a Newton on your side"). And his favorite character emotionally was Angelica (her raps in Schuyler Sisters and Satisfied may have helped).

- Speaking of the Schuyler Sisters, after watching it with you another time (this time with just the two of you) one of his favorite things to say is that you've got the best of all three sisters within you (Angelica's wittiness and intelligence, Eliza's cares for the more important things in life, and Peggy's humor) with the sexiness of Maria Reynolds. But because he sees all 4 of them in you he has the benefit of not needing to choose among them. Having said that there will be a period wherein he teases you if he makes you "Helpless" or "Satisfied" (and you respond either by kissing him or singing "That would be enough").

- Whenever you would sing as one of the Schuyler sisters he will join you as any of the male characters the moment he masters the soundtrack and could even sing it without the music. His favorite rap songs are "Guns and Ships", "Washington on your side", and of course "Satisfied". He also really loves "Non-stop", "the 10 duel commandments", and "The room where it happened". But his favorite sequence is from "the Winter's Ball" all the way to "Wait for it". Since it has romance, a shocking revelation, and gives insight to the perspective of the antagonist. He's also one of the first people to attempt to learn the choreography whenever he's in one of his mental blocks in writing. Of course he makes sure not to injure himself.

- He posts song lyrics to keep himself motivated in his times of mental block "There's a million things I haven't done. But just you wait" and "I'm not throwing away my shot" frequently appear around his desk.

-And whenever he's feeling low or insecure, just like Eliza you remind him to "Look around, Look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now."

[anthonybrxdgerton]

Litle moments in Hamilton I’ve noticed that make me love this musical even more, in no particular order

(I am going to use actors names if they do something not affecting the plot, otherwise I’m using characters’ names)

when Alexander says “If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it” in Satisfied, the dancers are raising their hands and Anthony and Jasmine bow down and go under them together as a couple (which they are irl)

in Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, when Eliza says “I speak out against slavery”, you can see Washington being confused and shocked because he was a slave owner, and then he bows to her

in Alexander Hamilton and WLWDWTYS everyone from main cast is dressed like ensemble except for Burr (who lives), Alexander (who dies) and Eliza (who tells your story)

king George in Adams Administration & Reynolds Pamphlet

in My Shot until Alexander calls Burr out, Lafayette, Laurens and Mulligan are singing acapella and it’s only Okieriete who is beatboxing for everyone and when it’s his time to sing, Anthony does it for him

in My Shot when Laurens tells Hamilton about his dream, you can see Daveed mimicing Okierete’s moves and later, in The Story of Tonight (reprise) he does the same

Lin winking at the audience while singing “Hey” at the very beginning of Helpless

Peggy’s dance in Helpless and Satisfied when she’s holding the letters

the repeated choreography in Winter’s Ball, Helpless and Satisfied told/showed from first Hamilton & crew, then Eliza and finally Angelica’s pov

and the repeated choreography in The Room Where it Happens told/showed from first Burr, then Jefferson and then Madison’s pov

the way Daveed runs to deliver the letter in Guns and Ships

Burr gave Hamilton the coat in Right-Hand Man, aka the first time Hamilton bested Burr in something

the little smile Jasmine gave Anthony at the beginning of Saitisfied

when Washington tries to catch a dancer jumping away from him in Right-Hand Man when he sings “BOOM we just the lost the southern tip” like he wanted to save it by himself (because the people he keeps leading keep retreating)

the girl who tells king George about John Adams being the next US president, how she mocks him until she realizes that George is not laughing with her (also, everything about her, she is astonishinng)

the light on Eliza looking at Alexander when she prays for him to Stay Alive

the camera panning around Washington during History Has Its Eyes On You

everything about Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

everything about Jonathan Groff’s portrayal of king George

Burr praying for his daughter in Dear Theodosia

Hamilton seeing Lauren’s ghost in Tomorrow They’ll be More of Us and realizing he will never see him again - which makes him work non-stop like he’s running out of time himself

act 1 ends with Hamilton and Washington (on his side) standing on top of the stairs; act 2 begins with Burr introducing Thomas Jefferson in the very same spot, with Burr and Jefferson later becoming Hamilton’s enemies

David Diggs’ facial expressions in literally everything

Philippa and Anthony by the piano in Take a Break when focus shifts on Alexander and Angelica writing letters; I just love how they interact together and Pippa’s playing with his hair and they talk like they’re real mother and son

The Bullet. She celebrates with Laurens in Yorktown after they kill a redcoat, only to be revealed later that somebody shot Laurens to death. She tells Philip where to find George, the man who’s going to kill him. She gave Burr the quill to write the letterswhich will eventually lead to Hamilton’s death. 

Philip watching from the balcony when Hamilton tells Jefferson, Burr and Madison about his affair in We Know

the choroeography in Hurracine, it really looks like Hamilton is in the eye of hurricane

Jefferson’s reaction in Reynolds Pamphlet

Anthony portraining Philip’s death in slow-mo in Stay Alive (reprise)

Philip’s heartbeat in Stay Alive (reprise) as the music beat?????? how????? i love it so much???

Alexander’s face when Eliza takes his hand in It’s Quiet Uptown

how that one girl delivers Burr a letter from Hamilton in Your Obediant Servant

[hamiltonimagines]

Red Handed

Pairing: Phillipa x Reader

Request: “Hey its me again! 😂 I know you're doing a bunch of other requests but when you have a time, can you do a Pippa one where theyre secretly dating and whenever they do ham4ham they always have these cute moments so the fans would catch on? Then at the end Pippa and Y/N would like come out to all the fans? Something like that, I hope that makes sense😭😂 Thank you for taking alot of your time writing a bunch of requests, its very appreciated!!☺” - @multifandomwriterx

Word Count: 1.4k

“Pippa I think they know” I said walking into our shared bedroom. Pippa was sitting on our bed, reading a book. I sat down next to her and showed her my phone. The top trending hashtag on Twitter was #Y/NandPippa.

She grabbed my phone and was looking through some of the tweets. “Well no one seems mad, they all seem really supportive” Pippa said. “Well that’s good” I said, smiling. I looked over at my phone and saw there was a video everyone was tweeting about. “What’s the video they’re all talking about?” I asked her.

She kept scrolling and found the video and pressed the link. It opened up on YouTube. It showed a compilation video of me and Pippa and it was entitled “Y/N and Pippa: proof they’re dating”.

I giggled at the title and Pippa pressed play. It started with the first Ham4Ham show Pippa and I did together.

Pippa and I walked out to do the Ham4Ham show and we were both so nervous since it was the first Ham4Ham we’d performed in. Lin walked up to both of us and whispered “You’re both going to do great” in our ears. Pippa gave my hand a quick squeeze to calm my nerves. If we had been in private, she would of wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed kisses to my temple.

But none of the fans knew about our secret relationship so she kept it to a quick squeeze of my hand.

Pippa started the song off and was belting like a goddess. She sounded so good, I couldn’t help, but stare with the biggest smile on my face. Then I took over and started singing my part and I could see that same smile on Pippa’s face.

Eventually, we got to the part where we were harmonizing and Pippa walked behind and on the next step of the stairs. She hugged me from behind as we sang the rest of the song in harmony.

Then the video went to a clip from an awards show.

They were about to announce who won the award, Pippa had been nominated. We had our fingers interlaced and on our other hands we had our fingers crossed. We were so nervous to hear the results.

Then Pippa’s name got called out, and we both looked at each other with shocked expressions. We both jumped out of our seats along with the rest of the Hamilton actors sitting around us.

I pulled Pippa into the biggest hug. “I am so proud of you, darling” I whispered in her ears. I wiped the tears off her face and then she turned to hug Renée and Jasmine.

Then, she walked up on stage to give her acceptance speech. “I want to thank everyone who helped this dream of mine come true. Also a shoutout to Y/N, my biggest fan and my best friend. I wouldn’t be here without your constant support” she said, emotionally.

I blew a kiss to her and wiped a few tears away from my own eyes. Then I saw Lin behind me, he leaned toward me and whispered “Your girl did it, you must be so proud” in my ear.

Then the video transitioned to a clip from Lin’s wedding. I was confused as to why this was in the compilation. The video showed Leslie singing a love, slow song while Lin and Vanessa danced. Then everyone joined them on the dance floor and the video zoomed past everyone and showed Pippa and I.

“You look really pretty today” I complimented Pippa as we danced. “I have nothing on you, you look absolutely stunning Y/N” she said, as she brushed my hair behind my ear.

We continued to dance and we leaned our foreheads together, just enjoying the moment. She grabbed one of my hands and kissed the back of it.

“One day, maybe Leslie will sing at our wedding” Pippa told me. My eyes lit up and I smiled. “That sounds magical” I replied and kissed her cheek.

Then the video transitioned to a different Ham4Ham show.

I was currently singing Defying Gravity for the Ham4Ham show today. Pippa had been away for a week, visiting her family. I had been really bummed since she had been away and the rest of the cast had really caught on.

They had told me to sing at the Ham4Ham to cheer me up, but I still missed her a lot. I was singing and was hyper-focused on the notes, trying not to mess up one of my favorite Broadway songs.

Then I happened to turn around for a second, hearing some commotion. I saw Pippa a few feet away and I completely stopped singing.

I ran over to her and pulled her into the biggest hug. “I’ve missed you so much” I whispered in her ear. I couldn’t believe she was home so early.

I pulled away from her and heard the crowd saying “aww”. “I’m sorry, I’ll start over, but Pippa is back early from seeing her family and I’ve missed her” I explained.

I finished the song, feeling much more confident because Pippa was there as my number one support system. “Everyone give it up for Y/N” Pippa said, pulling me into a hug. The whole crowd erupted into applause.

The next video that played was one I recognized as a video Lin took and later posted on social media.

I was sitting in Pippa’s lap and we were in Renée’s dressing room. Renée was telling us about some article that she had read about the link between your diet and how well you sleep. Pippa and I were only half-listening. I leaned closer to her and kissed her temple. She smiled back at me.

She had her hand resting on my knee and was drawing circles with her finger. I grabbed her other hand and interlaced our fingers. She leaned in close to me. “I love you” she whispered, quiet enough so no one heard it. I just looked back at her and smiled.

“Would you look at the lovebirds” Lin said. That was when we finally got distracted from each other and looked over at Lin. “Nooo, Lin put away your camera” I whined. Lin laughed and then put away his phone.

The video ended with a montage of a bunch of pictures of me and Pippa over the years. Then the screen faded to black.

I looked over at Pippa. “Woah, I guess they really noticed all the little details” I said, in awe. “Yeah, and now they know” she said, shocked. “Is it so bad? No one has said anything rude and they all seem so supportive” I told her. “No, I guess it’s not that bad. The only difference is now I can kiss you in public” Pippa said, smiling and leaning in to peck my lips.

“Oh wait, we should do an Instagram live. We can confirm the rumors” I said, smirking. I opened Instagram and went live, putting me and Pippa in the shot.

Quickly, the viewers started to pour in. All the comments were about the rumor. “Hey guys, so we are live today because of a little video that has been circling around Twitter and YouTube” I said, smirking. Just about every comment was asking if it was true.

I turned towards Pippa to let her to the honors. “We can both confirm that the rumors are true. We are madly in love” she said as she kissed my cheek. Pippa and I both had the biggest smiles on our faces.

Everyone in the comments was celebrating and congratulating us. “Lin said he is excited that he can finally post the pictures he has of us being cute” I said, reading out the comment.

“Thank you guys for all being so supportive” Pippa said. Then Pippa’s phone buzzed and we both looked over and saw texts from Jasmine and Renée. Once we read them, we both laughed out loud.

“Renée and Jasmine would like to a recreation of Satisfied and also Story of Tonight Reprise at our wedding, so we have that to look forward to” Pippa said and we both giggled. We wrapped up the livestream and thanked everyone for being so nice.

As I put down my phone, I looked towards Pippa with a smile. “What?” She asked, confused. “We’ve been caught red handed, but I’m just really happy they know” I said, kissing her cheek.

taglist: @someinsanefangirl @laurens-interlude @geekycatlover @fanfic-addict-98 @romanoffs-heart @multifandomwriterx @andreasworlsboring101 @criminallyhamilton @imatyoursurrvicesurr

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist for all of my imagines!

[adamwatchesmovies]

Hamilton (2020)

I know Hamilton already has fans but until I saw this live recording of the 2015 musical, I wasn’t among them. Now, I see what the big deal is. While no film can quite capture the energy of a live performance, this presentation gives you a view and an experience no box-office seat could match. Packed with terrific songs, excellent performances, and impressive visuals, you’ll want to watch it over and over.

In 1776, 19-year-old Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) arrives in New York City. There, he quickly makes a name for himself despite his empty pockets and lowly status as an orphaned immigrant from the Caribbean. His wit and unquenchable desire for more leads him to greatness and setup his downfall. The film - divided into two acts - follows his career as the aide-de-camp to General George Washington (Christopher Jackson), the first Secretary of the Treasury, his marriage to Eliza Schuyler (Phillipa Soo), personal tragedies, and his eventual death.

At 160 minutes, Hamilton can seem intimidating but don't worry. It includes a handy-dandy intermission during which you can stretch your legs. Theoretically, you could also stop it there and resume play at a later time. I doubt you'll want to. Once Hamilton gets going, you don’t want it to stop. This movie is no ordinary history lesson. Packed with wall-to-wall songs inspired by modern genres like hip hop, R&B, pop, and soul, the plot moves quickly through eras and events you’re familiar with (even if all you have is a rudimentary knowledge of American history) while revealing "new" events. Many of the lyrics come in so fast you’ll struggle to keep up but the performances fill in the gaps. You can always tell who’s who, what’s going on, and most importantly, what it means to Alexander Hamilton. He’s the focus of the story, a complicated person we’ve not had the chance to meet until now.

Another modern aspect is the cast. Normally I’d raise an eyebrow at the willy-nilly swapping of real-life people’s races - it'd be doubly uncomfortable considering we see extremely racist real-life people morphed into something they weren't… that rule doesn’t apply here. This is a movie and a play too, and plays exist in a different kind of reality. A staircase from which King George III (Jonathan Groff) descends is a symbol of much more. A couple of chairs transports us from a port to a bar. An actor playing double roles is just an opportunity to see them again. You won’t have to use your imagination as much as you’re used to, however. This is a first-rate production brilliantly directed by Thomas Kail. There are many interesting and novel choices made throughout, more than enough to make you overlook the few points where the camera could’ve been slightly better positioned. There are few edits and when they are used, they pack a punch.

Even without the marvelous cast, Hamilton would be a sight to behold. The performers’ arresting voices and the songs elevates this to a level that may have some people thinking they needn’t bother with a live performance. Or maybe they’ll see this as a way to watch and re-watch the show enough times to memorize all of the tunes - there’s no way you could pick just one favorite. When you see the cast of Hamilton bow, the o-screen audience won’t be the only one getting up to cheer. (January 16, 2021)

[spam-monster]

Another way they could have made a good Cats movie besides the obvious “practical effects/makeup over cgi” problem:

Less “let’s try to cast a bunch of famous people because we want attention”, more “cast famous people who can actually sing and dance and have worked in musical theater before”.

Cats is, first and foremost, a spectacle piece. It’s not here for deep storylines or compelling characters, it’s here to be shiny and campy and entertaining. And frankly in terms of visuals, you’re never going to beat any superhero or sci-fi movie based on cgi tricks alone.

So how do you compensate? By bringing something to the table that those movies don’t have - people who can sing and dance and do crazy backflips and such without the use of fancy stunts.

Cast one or two famous actors in roles like Old Deuteronomy and Grizabella where they can wow without having to do anything fancy. Keep James Corden because people may find him annoying but he does actually know how to musical theater. Not enough pop culture? Throw in Hugh Jackman who has been in a bunch of musicals and add a cheeky Wolverine reference. Want to impress the cool kids by having someone who can rap? Lin Manuel Miranda and his bros from the Hamilton cast can rap. Get Idina Menzel, Nathan Lane, just...go down the list of plays that have won a bunch of Tonys and grab a few people from there for your big-name stars because as much as you want a big fancy blockbuster that appeals to everyone Cats is a weird niche Broadway thing and if you alienate the Broadway fans while trying to make a thing based on Broadway it’s not going to go well for you.

Then fill out the cast with the best dancers and acrobats you can find - musical theater, Cirque Du Soleil, wherever - and have them do the heavy lifting in terms of spectacular visuals. Get people who are willing to sit and have makeup done for a hour or two so they can actually look the part. Maybe enhance it with cgi after you’re done but don’t rely on cgi for the look. And Taylor Swift was apparently good I guess so she can stay too, but don’t change her character’s part just because she’s being played by Taylor Swift.

I’m pissed now because I’m picturing a timeline where we could have had like Lin Manuel-Munkustrap and Hugh Jackman-Rum Tum Tugger and Idina-Dementer...something like that, idk, broadway nerds out there what would have been your dream cast for a Cats movie?

[justasoftplacetoland]

Chapter Three

Wow, it's been a year. We’re back in lockdown and I’m back writing again.

It's kinda crazy how much can change in a year. I like to think that it was changed for the better though.

Although 2020, I was really hoping COVID would vanish and life would go back to normal, that hasn’t been the case. It’s kinda like normal is fading farther away as the days go by.

But I’ve been wanting to write about this topic for ages, not exactly sure how, but here’s a shot I guess…

Do note that this is all my personal opinion and my little bit of thought into this topic.

It all started in a class when we were talking about Diversity and Representation on stage. It really sparked an interest for me. As a POC, I find it pretty interesting to read into these topics, especially with the amount of social justice showing up on social media and well.. reality really. With the increased awareness of racism around the world, people are starting to be more woke when it comes to people’s race and ethnicity.

Theatre to me, is a form of storytelling, no matter how unrealistic it may be, or how “fairytale-like” it may be, there’s always some truth to these stories. They all have to come from somewhere right? And with the diversity of people, comes many different stories to tell- Take In The Heights as an example, it's about the Latinx community in America, and how they survive as immigrants. A very real story, because to this day it’s still an active, growing story. Of course, written by Lin Manuel Miranda which is absolutely amazing I am honestly so obsessed with his musicals AND he is a Latino himself, having grown up in Washington Heights.

But then taking The Colour Purple as an example, this musical was written by Marsha Norman, who’s white. Writing about a story of an African American woman in the South.

Then comes the topic of representation.

White writers writing minority stories- Some of these stories HAVE to be told, the weight, the significance of the story, it's a chance for these minorities to be represented on stage. But it becomes a matter of how the casting directors, producers, directors and team behind the show is going to put it forward to the public.

But then the authenticity of the performance comes into play. Are these minorities represented accurately on stage or is it what the creative team *thinks* is who these minorities are? Then are we going to have someone of the specific minority group in the room while the creative team is having decisions for the show? Are we going to have someone in the cast playing someone who is essential to the story that they HAVE to be specifically that minority group? That all has to be present for an authentic, accurate representation of a show, to ensure that this story is told with that truth in it, no matter how much. The more real it is, the more important this authenticity is.

This ties into diversity too.

To me, diversity is the people we see on stage. Take Hamilton as an example, intentional colourblind casting- Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, the Schuyler Sisters, They’re all white in reality. But on stage, they’re played by African-Americans, Latinx, Asians and so many more minority groups.

Diversity to me means breaking barriers, theatre is to be shared by everyone. It’s a gorgeous art form that is out there for everyone to enjoy. It shouldn’t be something for people who are privileged one way or another. It is for actors of any kind to not be labelled by their race, ethnicity or religion, to have an equal chance of landing roles like every other white performer in the world (this is debatable in terms of geographic location as well but that on another day). But this ties into the authenticity of a role that’s being played as well.

If a role that is written as an Asian is out for casting, why cast a white actor when an Asian actor can play it authentically while allowing that Asian actor to play their truth? (Side note on that, there are MANY kinds of Asians out there, not all Asians are the same. Please get that right.) If there are Asians out there who are good actors, who can play the roles. It’s no excuse that an Asian actor isn’t suitable to play an Asian role but a White actor is. It makes no sense.

My mentor once asked me, what would make me enraged, pissed off. The first answer that came to mind was- If Miss Saigon was made out of a fully white cast.

Sure, the back end creative side has been pretty decently accurate (at least to my knowledge). But on stage, I think it is SO important to at least get Asians (as in the umbrella term) to play the Vietnamese and Thai roles. Sometimes you may not be able to find someone who is authentic to that specific ethnicity, sometimes there are actors who are mixed, but then it should go to at the very least POCs. POCs have very unique and sometimes united life experiences that some people are just unable to understand. And to ensure the authenticity of a show, I think it is very vital to at least have actors who are “like” the roles to play them.

But then on the flip side, you think about all the dominantly white roles out there in the theatre world. And you could argue that by casting people who are “not white” would affect the authenticity of the show.

And to this I ask you, think about the ratio between the pieces of theatre written for white people vs. pieces of theatre written for POCs. Clearly, there are SO many more written that have been dominantly cast, because it's the majority yes. And to this, I have to say, if the story is about a complete experience that only a white person would experience (btw I challenge you to name one!) and you want to go all out and cast only white actors sure by all means. But if this can be a shared experience, and a POC actor is suitable for the role, I don't see why those actors should be removed from the equation.

And I swear if one more person dares to tell me that Hamilton should’ve been cast fully white because America is majority white, I’m gonna lose it.

To me, POC actors shouldn't be defined by the colour of their skin, unless it’s necessary for the authenticity of the show (e.g. The King And I, Miss Saigon, Hamilton, The Colour Purple, In The Heights) If they are truly defined by the colour of their skin, you could literally count the number of shows on your hands. (That has to change btw- progress !!!) And if that is the case, SO many POC actors will be out of jobs. I don’t see why a Latina can’t be Elphaba in Wicked, or an Asian be Cosette in Les Miserables.

The problem is, so many casting directors have this image of who they want to cast in a show, most of the time, that image ends up being someone white.

BUT POCs shouldn't be defined by the colour of their skin and end up being the “token POC”.

Welcome readers, to Tokenism.

Tokenism is when, say an entire cast of 20 people, 19 are white, 1 is black.

Theatre companies take diversity into consideration and want to appear progressive, yes. But they use a single POC to show “HEY WE’RE DIVERSE”

Sorry, hun that's not how this works. It becomes a thing of casting actors, not for their talent or their suitability for the role, but because of the colour of their skin (again!). Now I'm not saying that the “token” actor isn't good at their craft because I have no doubt. But it becomes a front, and said actor would end up questioning if they got the role for their skills or because they fit the criteria for “one POC per cast”.

Nice try casting team, it’s a start, but not good enough.

We’re making progress, the first POC Christine has just been cast in Phantom Of The Opera on the West End and I couldn't be happier. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is made up of a VERY diverse cast as well. We’re getting there, but there's so much room to be better.

Here’s to more authentic stories about minorities, more diversity on stage, and more love to all humans.

So that's the end of my rather large chunk of thoughts on the theatre industry.

I sincerely hope I didn’t offend anyone reading!

See you in my next post! (Which hopefully won’t be written a whole year later)

C xx

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

Sorry for Hamilton, but after reading a bit more about the historical people I don't understand why everyone's slavery besides Jefferson was erased. Washington was anti-black, Hamilton owned people even though he said he didn't like slavery, the person that Mulligan owned was a better spy than he was. I read that part of it was because Lafayette and Laurens were abolitionists but white abolitionists were friends with slave owners all the time. It's just baffling that only Jefferson was the same.

It’s ok!  And that’s really why so many are critical of Hamilton and the way that Lin-Manuel wrote the musical.  Because like for example he could have done a play within a play type of thing where a group of college students are tasked with telling stories of our Founding Fathers. Then they could take turns making fun and condemning the Founding Fathers before staging the play of Hamilton it would have gone a long way towards showing how modern day people of color might feel having to confront who our founding fathers were. 

Like for example I’ve seen documentaries on the musical where different actors from the original staging talk about what its like to play a slave owner while they themselves are Black.  Like how much more powerful would these perspectives have been for us if we had actors singing about how conflicting it is to portray a slave owner?

I think part of the problem honestly is that LMM identified too strongly with Alexander because I’ve seen him talking about how Hamilton’s story is his dad’s story of being an immigrant.  And like sure Hamilton was an immigrant but he was also a white colonizer. Moreover LMM is not Black and he probably didn’t even think about what it would be like for a Black person to portray a slave owner.

Like yes this musical was written in the Obama era where so many people white and non white considered racism conquered and there were so many conversations about finally being in a post racial america. Which we now know to be dead wrong.  Like I feel that LMM made a choice to condemn Jefferson because of Sally Hemmings but it’s obvious that the other slave owning founding fathers raped their female slaves too. And on the off chance that they didn’t they were no better. Like he only condemned Jefferson mostly because Jefferson and Hamilton weren’t friends. it was easy to condemn him but like as you say abolitionists were regularly friends with slave owners.

Sorry i just rambled for so long!  i probably should make this a video because I just have too many feelings on the issue.

mod ali