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folklorestv · 6 years ago

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Hamilton London: Review (Oct 2018)

I saw Hamilton in London on Oct 4, 2018 (matinee show) and I decided to write a little review; I was located in the stalls, row K, seat 40 (scroll further to the bottom of the post to see where my seat was exactly). I’d been wanting to see Hamilton for about two and a half years and I bought the tickets eight months ago, and it feels so surreal that the moment I’ve been looking for is over at last. I flew out to London on Wednesday, the show was on Thursday (two show day). We got to the Victoria Palace Theatre at around 1pm and by that time, a small queue had already formed outside. We got in pretty quickly as the paperless ticketing system works great! The redeveloped theatre is absolutely beautiful, not to mention fancy as hell. They let us inside the actual stage room at 1.45pm, there’s different entries and they let us know beforehand which one to take, so we were at our seats in no matter of time. Fortunately, my seat had plenty of leg room and sitting was not uncomfortable at all. Being in 11th row, I was super close to the stage. Like, for real, I was really close. You can’t tell on the photo, but when the actors were on stage I could see every single tiny facial expression. Let’s just say that I could always see clearly whenever the actors spit while singing/rapping.

I’ve written a review on each actor which I will put under the cut (it actually got really fucking long, I doubt anyone will read all of it). You will be able to tell that I actually prefer the West End company over the OBC! I only have the OBC to compare them to, anyway. One thing I want to mention beforehand (because I don’t want to write it multiple times) is that you could actually hear the cast’s British accents here and there, but overall they did a solid job at faking an American one! I rather enjoyed it whenever a bit of a British accent slipped through at certain words.

Jamael Westman as Alexander Hamilton: I honestly don’t know where to start. Jamael is absolutely amazing, in my opinion a lot better than Lin! He is a perfect Alexander Hamilton and I can’t praise him enough. I’m glad he extended his contract and hopefully I’ll be able to see him again next year. He is great down to every micro-expression, like I said, he definitely beats Lin. His voice is awesome and very lovely to listen to, he hits all his notes, and he speaks clearly which made the rapping fantastic as well. He has a wonderful gentleness about him that is beautiful in That Would Be Enough and Stay Alive (Reprise); his Hurricane and his verse in The World Was Wide Enough are breathtaking. Moreover, Jamael nails the role in both acts. He has that certain playfulness in the first act and I enjoyed watching him so much. In the second act, he plays the fatherly and slightly more serious role really well, too. In contrast to the serious part, he is amazing during the Cabinet Battles and earned a lot of laughs from the crowd! Opposed to Lin (in my opinion), Jamael just fits the role a lot better physically, too. He’s young, fresh and handsome and that is mirrored in his portrayal of Hamilton. To sum it up, Jamael’s energy as Hamilton is out of this world and I’m at a loss for words.

Rachelle Ann Go as Eliza Hamilton: She didn’t particularly stand out for me, but she is still an amazing Eliza! She brings the necessary eagerness in Helpless and you could see her go through a real character arc as she grew more mature. She has a phenomenal singing voice and her acting is great, too. She’s genuinely crying in Burn and you could feel all her disgust towards Hamilton, it was amazing. Furthermore, her scream in Stay Alive (Reprise) is heartbreaking. She’s an excellent emotional singer. She’s also a lot shorter than Jamael which just made them look cute as a couple on stage.

Giles Terera as Aaron Burr: I have mixed feelings about him. I had to get used to him first for a couple of songs as his lisp annoyed me a bit, particularly at the start with the spoken narration. I wasn’t a big fan of his voice but I soon realised that he’s an incredible performer! He can sing really well which he definitely shows in Wait For It and The Room Where It Happens, so as the show progresses the lisp became less noticeable and you can focus on his excellent performance and acting. Overall, he plays a different Burr than Leslie Odom Jr, and at the end I actually adored his portrayal since it’s fresh and new. I still preferred him in the second act, though. He does a great job of making Burr a victim and The World Was Wide Enough - especially the end of it - was simply beautiful.

Rachel John as Angelica Schuyler: Oh my lord, she is absolute perfection. She might have beat Renée Goldsberry for me just because she has that certain something, she is a lot more fierce. Her voice is badass and she killed Satisfied! You can see her gentle side in It’s Quiet Uptown which she plays really well. She can sing, rap, act and get all the right emotions across. I’m so glad I got to see her as Angelica! I would’ve loved to see her sing Congratulations as that song seems to be written only for her. As you can tell, I’m literally speechless when it comes to her. She definitely owns the stage whenever she is on it.

Obioma Ugoala as George Washington: Definitely one of my favourites. He was unreal. Imagine Chris Jackson but even better! He has a really powerful and super deep voice along with amazing vocals. He was full on yelling a few times in Right Hand Man and you definitely feel intimidated by him. He plays the comedic part in the Cabinet Battles well, which is something I haven’t seen with other Washingtons. He gives the role all the aspects that were missing and I was completely speechless after his performance! He gets the loudest applause after One Last Time as he does a particularly fantastic job during the song! His vocals are simply incredible and he dominates the tricky role of George Washington. Fun fact: He actually forgot his line “Remember, my decision on this matter is not subject to congressional approval / The only person you have to convince is me” in Cabinet Battle #2 while saying it and just changed it up quickly to “Anybody else’s opinion doesn’t matter”. I just thought that was funny, it just proves what live theatre is like.

Jason Pennycooke as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson: Absolutely loved him! I wasn’t immediately a fan of his Lafayette because I got caught up in how different he is to Daveed Diggs. But in reality, he brings completely new energy to the role, which I enjoyed a lot. Guns And Ships is flawless, so he is really likeable in the first act. He is sort of this small, young guy who comes out of nowhere and saves the day. The second act blows everyone away! His Jefferson is perfect, probably better than Daveed’s. His version is again different but he is so funny and gets the majority of laughs! Next to Jamael as Hamilton, he does perfect comedy in the Cabinet Battles - they both do. I am basically in love with his portrayal of both characters as he brings a lot to them each. He does a stand out performance and is a true joy to watch. Although he is so very, very different to Daveed, he is very talented and awesome in his roles! Again, the second act had me completely amazed. His rapping and singing is on point and he is really flamboyant and confident. I also met him at the stage door and he’s very lovely in person. He genuinely appreciated when I told him how much I liked his portrayal and he took tons of time with everyone.

Tarinn Callender as Hercules Mulligan / James Madison: Personally one of my cast favourites as I’ve been enjoying his Instagram stories (and Cleve’s) for a year now. I was super excited to see him on stage and he was perfect! His portrayal is quite similar to Okieriete’s, but I still enjoyed it! He brings a booming energy to the group as Mulligan in the first act and he morphs perfectly into Madison in act two. He kills his rap in Yorktown and I was in love. He has this wonderful “I’m so done with this shit” attitude about Jefferson which is funny and he gets a lot of laughs as well. Tarinn is a wonderful performer and has an amazing comedic timing! He is awesome alongside Cleve in act one, and then alongside Jason in act two. He lifts the scenes and picks up the pace. He was the nicest person ever at the stage door (I had been dying to meet him) and he took a lot of funny photos with my phone! It was a blast to see him that day, definitely my favourite part of my London trip. (I’m putting the photos he took with my phone at the end of the post.)

Cleve September as John Laurens / Philip Hamilton: My other favourite besides Tarinn! Cleve and Tarinn are an amazing duo, on and off stage. They put a lot of comedy into the first act and bring new energy to the characters’ beliefs. It is absolutely heartbreaking when John Laurens dies (right after Dear Theodosia) and Cleve is able to bring the sadness and the pride across at the same time. He is absolutely fantastic as Philip, too, I probably prefer him over Anthony Ramos. Take A Break was sooo funny, I wish everyone could see him in it! His portrayal differs from Anthony’s while he still stays true to the character. He’s so scared during Blow Us All Away and he’s genuinely shaking before the duel. Stay Alive (Reprise) is absolutely heart wrenching to watch. Cleve’s acting is flawless during the conversation between Philip and Alexander (”I did exactly as you said, Pa / I help my head up high / Even before we got to ten- / I was aiming for the sky”). He actually screams out in pain while talking and my heart shattered into pieces. He does an awesome job! Definitely a bummer that I didn’t meet him at the stage door as Cleve is such a lovely and funny person as well.

Sharon Rose as Peggy Schuyler / Maria Reynolds: She is the only understudy of the main cast that I saw but she really kills her role! I had heard recordings of Christine Allado as Maria before and thought she was amazing; therefore I was really curious to see Sharon. She is really fun-loving during The Schuyler Sisters and her portrayal as Peggy is everything it has to be. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her and she is adorable during Helpless and Satisfied. She also kills her performance as Maria during Say No To This and it reminded me more of Christine Allado’s version, rather than Jasmine Cephas Jones’s. Sharon hits every note and plays that helplessness and state of being devastated well, she’s definitely an amazing emotional singer, similar to Rachelle!

Michael Jibson as King George: I wasn’t sure about him first but afterwards I can say that I definitely like his portrayal more than Jonathan Groff’s. I prefer Jonathan’s vocals as I felt like Michael was sometimes struggling with the high notes, but he absolutely owns the stage when he was on it! All of his mannerisms are superb; he might have got the most laughs and cheering from the audience. The British definitely love to make fun of themselves and poke at the Royals, it was awesome! Michael adds a lot of tiny tweaks to the character which is really creative. He changed several things about the performance as King George that make the whole portrayal a lot more fun to watch. You should definitely go see him in his role if you ever have the chance. I also met him at the stage door where he seemed like a really laid-back and nice guy!

Jack Butterworth as Samuel Seabury: Now, this is a super minor role but I thought I should mention it anyway. Jack Butterworth is a pure joy to watch as Samuel Seabury. Completely different energy compared to the OBC; Jack seems a lot more innocent and playful. Also, he is standing on a podium and Jamael is almost taller than him without a podium, just a funny thing I noticed. Jack was definitely the right casting choice (as are all the other actors involved).

Gregory Haney as Charles Lee: Another really minor role that I want to mention nevertheless. Charles Lee is usually played by Leslie Garcia Bowman so it came as a bit of a surprise to me that Gregory played the role that day. I’ve been following him for several years as he was part of the Broadway cast before and I was really excited when he starred as Charles Lee in Stay Alive! He did a really good job in both Stay Alive and Ten Duel Commandments. His “I’m a general, whee!” sounds different than the Broadway one and earns many laughs.

Ensemble - Jade Albertsen, Curtis Angus, Courtney Mae Briggs, Jack Butterworth, Jon Scott Clark, Kelly Downing, Gregory Haney, Leah Hill, Walyon Jacobs, Miriam-Teak Lee, Chris Tendai: The ensemble are the true stars of the show; they bring beautiful harmonies and mind-blowing choreographies. Leah Hill stood out for me as the Bullet and she did a beautiful job. Miriam Teak-Lee is another one who stood out in all of the dancers, I’ve heard recordings of her as Angelica (she’s actually an alternate for all the Schuyler sisters!) and she definitely has potential to rise up. Kudos to everyone in the ensemble, they’re doing an amazing job every night.

Like I said, I was pretty close to the stage. My ticket was £100 while the ticket for the seat to my right is already £250. This is because my view of the stage was slightly obstructed to the left side which didn’t matter at all. The only thing I missed was Washington’s “Me, I trusted him” during Alexander Hamilton and I couldn’t see Hamilton standing on the staircase during Satisfied. Both of those are, however, very minor things that didn’t bother me. I felt extremely close to the actors in 11th row, and it was definitely worth saving £150 (the rows in front of me are £250, too).

Aaaand here are the photos Tarinn took with my phone!

#hamilton london #hamilton west end #hamilton london cast #west end #hamilton #kristina.txt

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omgkatsudonplease · 8 years ago

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#helpless (hamilton, a writeup)

okay so tl;dr? i cried. i frickin sat there with two teardrops rolling down my face and chin and neck and i couldn’t frickin wipe it away because i was so invested (and also i didn’t want to ruin my makeup) and it was just. it was so good guys. so good.

gushing about the staging under the cut

listen. we all know what a piece of musical genius this show is. none of that prepared me for how beautiful the staging was. oh my god.

so the set has two storeys, with the top part like a wooden gallery. there are stairs leading down. the stage itself is open, and there’s a circular portion that rotates. it’s friggin beautiful. they really occupy the space.

everyone is deeply involved in the show. seriously, the real mvps are the dancers of the ensemble? they’re in the background vocals, obviously, but they’re also, like, in every single song. we really lose some of that just listening to the soundtrack, because it’s one thing to hear a lot of ensemble vocals and it’s another to see them on stage, collaborating with the leading cast. they are everything – they are congresspeople and students and doctors and british and american soldiers. one of them plays a medic twice. they are a hurricane, they are the masses, they are the eyes of history watching and witnessing the leads. this is especially relevant in songs where the ensemble mostly appears up in the gallery, looking down at the events unfolding below.

alexander was like, somehow even more extra in person? from where i was sitting, i actually was like really close to the stage, so i could see every detail of his earnest expressions. he’s so open and frank and passionate about everything.

as a contrast, i think the way burr was staged really drives out the tragedy of his arc. this is a story about hamilton, but burr is also very deeply entwined in that story as a sort of rival figure. but really, for burr this staging gives us the feeling that he’s kinda introverted and anxious – especially when he sings about the room where it happens. that switch from an impassive third-person “this is the room where it happens” to the more personal “i want to be in the room where it happens” really hammered in the sense that he cares. very deep down. about being excluded from the narrative.

the doubling of hercules/madison and lafayette/jefferson wasn’t apparent to me when i first listened to the soundtrack, because i don’t tend to keep track of artist names when i’m listening, but seeing it on stage was really interesting? because in this narrative, lafayette returns to france…. and then jefferson comes in from france. which is kind of a stroke of genius. and then the idea of having hamilton’s closest friends in act 1 as his enemies in act 2 is also very interesting in a meta way. same for peggy becoming maria reynolds and mr schuyler becoming mr reynolds. and of, course, laurens doubling as phillip really hurt because in a very meta way, hamilton loses a guy he loves twice, not to mention laurens shoots a man in the first duel that comes back to shoot him in the penultimate one.

for reference, i cried when phillip died.

there’s also a lot of turns of phrase that i hadn’t noticed in the soundtrack that got really brought out in the staging. for example, the repeated phrase of “helpless” in “say no to this��, hearkening back to the song in the first act. then the repeats of the number ten are elaborated by the presence of the ensemble cast forming a line between the duel contestants.

it is interesting that the ensemble is usually in white, with various bodices that are either corset or waistcoat-styled. most of the feminine-presenting ensemble members wore both waistcoat and corset bodices, and sometimes attached full skirts to the corset ones, or – in one instance, wearing long coat-dresses that hung open at front so you could see their breeches. there’s an entire discussion on the fluidity and performativity of gender in hamilton, especially since it’s the feminine-presenting actors who did a lot of that mixed-gender costuming. i’d like to say it’s probably due to the fact that women’s roles in this time period were fairly limited, while this modern retelling of the story seeks to defy those set limits while also making some level of commentary on the lack of women in the narrative of the founding fathers. this is supported by the last song ending with eliza’s contribution to the preservation of her husband’s legacy, and with hamilton visibly taking a step back to allow eliza into the front and spotlight.

now i’ll talk about some specific song stagings that really stood out to me:

my shot - the visual pun of everyone taking a shot during the song

farmer refuted - hamilton literally climbs onto the soapbox and there’s a little tussle – he’s really heckling this guy. like the song makes it obvious he’s giving the guy grief, but in the staging it’s even more obvious.

you’ll be back - you know how there’s a ton of meta about how this is one of the few songs sung without the entire ensemble’s involvement, because the musical is about democracy, and king george’s solos are about the monarchy where it’s rule by one person? yeah. that, and when he says “everybody!” the ensemble does in fact appear, but they remain static in formation in the background, their hands locked together like they’re at etiquette school. very good visual representation of the tyranny of absolute monarchy.

helpless - the passage of time in the circular movement of the stage (helpful in the analysis of the next song). eliza collecting letters from her sisters and the ensemble and preserving them in a box.

satisfied - i almost teared up at this song because the staging is so beautiful. it is #flashback goals. i know in the song we get a sense of that in the rewind music, but in the staging it is made all the more powerful because they literally do rewind – the stage turns in the opposite direction, and then angelica sings through the events of helpless. it is the stage version of those special effects shots in movies where the protagonist is the only one moving and the rest of the image and characters are frozen in place. but in this sense, it is extra beautiful because you know there weren’t multiple cameras in place to catch this 3D static movement. we see angelica flip the script on helpless, immediately rewinding and remixing the story so that a song we had just heard through eliza’s point of view is now being told through hers. it is literally an instant remixed fanfiction of the previous song. and it hurts so goddamn much.

ten duel commandments - i mentioned earlier about the ensemble forming a barrier between the duel opponents as the “ten steps” they take away from one another? yeah.

(i’d like to mention here that right before we went to intermission there was that bit about laurens’s death? there were lots of little bridge moments in the show with snippets of existing thematic songs and lyrics that i don’t recall being on the soundtrack. so yeah. and also how hamilton looked at laurens like he was seeing a ghost, while laurens sings. it’s really sad.)

what’d i miss? - jefferson’s return actually establishes his character as a bright, exuberant and pompous playboy character – but you probably figured that out from the soundtrack. the staging hammers it in by having the ensemble members dancing like they’re vegas showgirls, playing with white gloves as they do.

take a break - phillip raps, and eliza beatboxes, and it’s fuckin adorable.

say no to this - first off, big mood for umfb. like hella big mood? second, this was one of the many instances in which the ensemble was more of a glimpse into the mental processes of the lead character singing. meet me inside was another one – the fairly claustrophobic presence of the ensemble in this, shouting “no” the entire time, really reinforces how much of a pickle hamilton had been in at the time. also, maria reynolds wears red. which is such a huge statement – red means desire and danger in costume designer-speak, so yeah (-cough- the red outfit in umfb that viktor used to skate to belle? ayyyyyy)

the room where it happens - once again, another instance of the ensemble acting as someone’s mental process. this time it really reinforced burr’s anxiety at being excluded deliberately (i feel like washington dismissing him in act 1 really did a number on him haha).

the adams administration - king george was sitting through a portion of the opening of the adams administration section of the musical. i’m wondering if that’s really part of the staging, since burr (i’m pretty sure it was burr? could have been madison) looked at him like wtf are you doing here

hurricane - the really gorgeous visual hurricane that the ensemble creates through the rotating stage. the ensemble are also responsible for setting up the scenes.

the reynolds pamphlet - the downpour of papers was an excellent transition into the next song. also, king george was seen reading the pamphlet in the gallery and then tossing his own at hamilton before leaving.

(can i just say, the presence of more than just the ensemble in the back during many of the songs was really neat? seeing leads having cameos up in the gallery was really fun to notice)

burn - another song that was sung without the ensemble, but it’s thematically fitting given how private this moment was, and how the lack of “witnesses” in the form of the ensemble really hammers in the concept of erasing oneself from the narrative

it’s quiet uptown - i started crying at the end of the last song and all throughout this one. it’s got the ensemble in mourning colours (hamilton starts wearing black and remains wearing nothing but black for the rest of the show; there’s another dissertation in the way the colours of his outfit are symbolic somehow – green outfit for most of act 2 (complementing eliza’s green outfits too i suppose) black after phillip’s death, brown coat in the beginning – but i digress) walking along the rotating stage, with eliza in the middle. she doesn’t look at hamilton. he skirts around her a lot, never touching her (incidentally, in the previous song, he jerks his hand from hers after phillip’s death, because he’s not sure if he can touch her to comfort her, even in her grieving for their son. it’s really heartbreaking), sort of talking at her for a good portion of the song until she puts her hand back into his, and sings the line “it’s quiet uptown” – her only line in this song. it’s like that moment in a narrative where the breaking of someone’s silence is a notable turn in the plot (-cough- “enjoying the view?” -cough-). and then she takes his arm, as the ensemble sings about forgiveness, and i’m dead.

(i wonder if they really cried onstage during that moment in it’s quiet uptown? i like to think i’m not alone in this. like i listen to that song a lot – it’s literally one of my faves because i’m an angst gremlin – but i think i can only cry at things once. the first time i heard it i cried, and now, the first time i see it, i cried as well. there’s something about the first time you hear that song, i guess…)

(jefferson: can we get back to politics? madison: -sobbing, wiping at his eyes- yes, please….)

the bit where hamilton is appealed to for his opinion on the candidates burr and jefferson, his lines for a good portion of the beginning are just “it’s quiet uptown” like he’s desperately trying to stay out of it. i’m sure this is in the soundtrack. it really gets hammered in as he sings it from the gallery, content to remain aloof.

the bit right before hamilton is shot, when he has his giant monologue about remembering death and all of that. this is the third time he does it. it’s like he has flash forwards before, and now he’s getting a flashback to those other moments when he monologued like that before. the ensemble helps him recreate those moments, and he also sees people on the “other side” in the gallery, dressed all in white. eliza, on the other hand, places herself in between hamilton and burr, like she is the last thing he sees before he is shot.

the world was wide enough - “dying is easy. living is harder.” the way burr stumbles through living after hamilton dies really reinforced that line. ouch. and i guess hamilton ascending into the gallery was pretty symbolic, too.

and yeah, i think i talked about the ending of the final song, too. this is really a show where it feels like every single decision, every single move and lighting change and musical shift and costume change, and blocking – everything has some deeper meaning to it. i don’t know how much of this was intended by @linmanuel, and i feel like you’d really have to see the show several more times to find everything symbolic. this is all i can pull back out of my head from this showing, and i really hope no one takes this as a substitute for seeing the show. my words really don’t do this show justice at all. you really gotta see it for yourself (so i really hope there’ll be an official recording made available sometime soon!)

also @kazliin, i’m definitely seeing the bits from “burn” and “that would be enough” that remind you of btds hahaha (also, that line about lovemaking being easy and love being harder? i didn’t actually intend a hamilton ref when i first wrote that, but washington’s repeats of that phrasing structure was like wow. no wonder you thought that was intentional on my part. whoops.) i hope i snuck in enough umfb parallels into this writeup for you. burr really reminded me of umfb yuuri. also, haha, washington’s opening lines in “here comes the general” where he’s like, everyone’s writing home about how eloquent i am but i’m only like that to make up for the fact that this war is a literal dumpster fire? reminded me of you hahaha <3

(though i gotta ask, why do you write like you’re running out of time)

#hamilton #personal #lily's dabbles #lily reviews hamilton #also for the record i don't cry at things very much #if a fic makes me cry that's like at least an everclear on the angstcohol scale #but for visual media it's at least a little easier esp when music comes into play #or someone deprogramming a robot i guess #i've also cried at boote in der nacht in elisabeth

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mintypothos · 8 years ago

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Reneé appreciation week- day 3

this one got away from me a bit, and isn’t as much about Angelica as I wanted it to be. But she is still the PoV, so that’s something. Basically, this is an au in canon era where some people are witches and this is kept a secret from normal people. Basically, like harry potter but there’s no magical school and most witches are a part of non-magic society rather than being all cut off (they do have their own cultural things and social circles, they just also have actual positions in non-magic society)

[ Day 1 Day 2 *Day 3* Day 4 Day 5 ]

“I came as soon as I heard,” Angelica's cloak was coated in soot and mud, a testament to the urgency of the situation. Eliza rushed to her arms, not even pausing to greet, nor even attempt at a smile. Angelica couldn't blame her, there wasn't a lot for her to smile about.

“Finally, someone who-” Alexander- no, Hamilton- rushed to his feet, only to meekly cut himself off at Angelica's withering glare. He was the reason Eliza wasn't smiling.

Angelica turned her face away, resolutely. “Come on Eliza, you can spend a few nights away with your sister, can't you?” Eliza gripped tighter, nodding into Angelica's chest. “Okay, okay. Let's go, then.” Angelica drew a bottle from her carefully organized satchel, uncorked it, and dribbled the contents on the floor. The thick, viscous liquid pooled together, swirling and bubbling and steaming, before smoothing into a still mirror. Except, where the liquid should have reflected Eliza's sitting room and the people in it, Angelica's study peered back instead.

Angelica spared one last glare at Hamilton, frail as he watched them. It was almost pitiable. Angelica turned forward and ushered Eliza into the Conduit potion. They sank into the potion, disappearing through space and magic. The potion boiled off in their wake, magic spent.

Eliza did not speak until Angelica put an invigorating tea in her hands, piping hot. Then, “I.. shouldn't be here long. The children need me.”

Angelica considered it. “And Hamilton is not up to the task?”

Eliza sagged. “No, he- he will try, I believe. But I haven't been much of a mother, this past week.”

“Don't apologize. You've been through enough, you've nothing to be sorry for.” Angelica tried to meet Eliza's eyes, though they were downcast. Desperately, she wished for the days where her sisters' greatest hurts could be cured with a simple flower blooming spell.

Eliza took a slow, measuring sip of the hot brew. “I never expected it, that betrayal.” She sighed, and then looked up at Angelica with red stained eyes. “I burned his letters, you know. From the first he sent me.” Unsaid, was a tiny question, an uncertainty.

“You did what you had to.” Angelica confirmed. “No one gets to tell you how to cope. I'm ready to burn a lot more than letters, by your leave.”

Eliza's brows furrowed. “What do you mean? I don- I don't want to physically harm him.”

“Well,” Angelica shrugged, intentionally and carefully casual. “While I certainly wouldn't mind, that's not what I'm talking about.” She took another breath, “I speak of your magic.”

“My magic..?” Eliza looked down at her hands, then back up again. “What do you mean?”

“Have you tried casting anything?” Angelica spoke cautiously, words slow and gentle. Eliza wasn't as closely attuned to her magics, not in the way Angelica was. But then, few others were as perceptive as her in the flow of magic.

Eliza frowned, and lifted one hand. Where a calmly pulsing, perfectly round witch's light would have formed, a spiking, misshapen bulb popped into existence. It twisted and flickered as Eliza tried to sustain it, before imploding with a sharp flash. The Witch's light was the first spell every witch learned almost the moment they could walk. It shouldn't have needed more than a spare thought.

Fearful panic dawned on Eliza's face. Angelica's heart broke. But it wasn't her that caused this. “Your magic is out of control, because you shared it with a man who betrayed you. I imagine it would have been acting up over the years, since.” She avoided the actual words. Eliza didn't need the reminder. “It would only have been acting up during the actual moments, or when he was actively lying about it. But now that it's in the open, your half of the harmony can't patch the magic together.”

Eliza swallowed another mouthful of tea, enough to likely burn her tongue. Slowly, her features settled into grim understanding. “Because we married in the old ways, and I shared my magic, made it depend on our unity.” She put the cup down, gently. Her hand trembled, just slightly.“Angie, will I ever have my magic again?” She faced the question with squared shoulders, despite all the pain that Angelica wished she could take away.

She smiled despite the situation, unbearably proud. Eliza was strong. “You will, I swear it. But not with Hamilton. You need to divorce him.”

Eliza flinched, a full body spasm. She picked the tea up again. “That's difficult, under human laws. And I agreed to stay. My children need both their parents.”

“No,” Angelica shook her head. “Not in the legal way, if that is your wish. I mean a divorce under the old laws.”

“That's possible!?”

“Yes, but not nearly as easy as a marriage. I'll need supplies, and time, and maybe even some help. But I can do this for you.” Angelica tried to push as much meaning as she could through her eyes, her tone. Eliza needed this. “I can take the magic he stole and give it back to you.”

Eliza hesitated. “I'm not sure...”

“Your children need a mother who can help them with their magic, as well.”

A long sigh. Another long draw of tea. Then, “Okay. Do what you must.”

“Thank you, Eliza.” And Angelica was truly thankful. She would do this for her sister, and Eliza would get past this and flourish again, even if the hurt could never be undone.

Eliza spent the night there, and left in the morning. Angelica started immediately. It started with a visit to the only other witch she knew with control of a vast compilation of magical knowledge. Aaron Burr.

He greeted her at his door with a knowing, silent nod. Burr slipped a hand into the fold of his jacket, out came a massive tome far too large to have fit on his person, and the uncomfortable acrid sensation of space warping magic. Angelica took the tome, flipping through it- no need, it was exactly the resource she needed.

“Not going to talk me down?” Angelica clutched the tome tightly- it wouldn't fit in her bags- though not truly believing Burr would have some change of heart. He didn't do anything he wasn't completely set on.

Burr raised a single, bemused eyebrow. “Why would I? Hamilton adores his magic, but he's done a great wrong, one I don't believe he fully understands, at least in the old ways. Mrs. Hamilton deserves to be whole again.”

“..Right.” It was not what Angelica had been expecting. She had come with potions under her belt and threats on her tongue. To meet not only a lack of resistance, but open agreement, was offputting.

“Please wish Ms. Schuyler my best.” Burr slammed the door in her face. Angelica remembered why she wasn't comfortable around the man, a fellow high level witch. She would thank him another time. For now, she had a divorce to officiate.

so I cut off here because the rest would’ve devolved into hamilton centered angst, likely. Basically though, Hamilton absolutely loves the magic he got from Eliza but willingly goes along with the witch-divorce, knowing it’s the least he could do to atone, and knowing neither of them will be able to use magic anyways with this. And then, when the events of ‘It’s Quiet Uptown” happen, it’s with the kind of sad understanding that, no matter how forgiven he is, he’ll never have magic again and that’s just the way it is.

#reneeappreciation #why cant i stop worldbuilding help me #fic #i hope this makes at least a fraction of sense okay #i tried

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truthlogicbeauty-blog · 6 years ago

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Hamilton revolution

I wanted to see what all the shouting was about, so I got a ticket to the Hamilton revolution

What a shock, the best seats in New York were going for $829, if you could even get one, but the scalpers in NY are getting over $2000 from frenzied theater-goers. So, I waited until it hit LA. I was lucky, I got 2 center area tickets at regular price (not together) for only $1,120.00. That’s a high price to pay for a show without any famous stars, but I saved the plane fare, plus the weather here in LA is a bit better than in NY.

“The musical Shot Heard ‘Round the World” has seemed to have started a new American Musical revolution with all the publicity it’s been receiving. Okay, okay, did the show live up to all the hype it has been receiving? Well, not exactly, but just bear with me, this is a very ambitious and unusual show.

I liked what I saw of Miranda’s first show In the Heights, which used mostly R&B and Salsa. But, Hamilton was pretty much Rap and Hip Hop. The show had clever rhyming, but the lyrics in scrappy street rap really dropped the bar. I’m wasn’t aware that the colonies were also revolting against the king’s English:

"ten-dollar Founding Father without a father" “Man, when the British taxed our tea, we got frisky, Imagine what’s gon’ happen when you try to tax our whiskey”.

Damn, you’re in worse shape than the national debt is in Sittin’ there useless as two shits Hey, turn around, bend over, I’ll show you Where my shoe fits

I'm runnin' with the Sons of Liberty and I am lovin' it! See, that's what happens when you up against the ruffians We in the shit now, somebody's gotta shovel it! Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!

I can handle the profanity, getting down and dirty, taking off the gloves and white wigs, and the street gang rebels rapping against English rule. Even if it at odds to the actual literate and scholarly style of our superstar founding fathers, which I think the show was trying to honor. Look at Thomas Paine’s 47-page pamphlet Common Sense, if you want to see how eloquent the founding fathers were contrasted to this show’s street gang rap. Thomas Jefferson’s statements of human liberty and equality are a bit of an odd fit in this transition into street gang rap. I’m just not so sure that “we hold these truths to be self-evident” communicated gang rap, slang, twitter, even emojis, always finds a new way to beauty and enlightenment? So what, if it’s not classy or literate, a diversity of new styles can be fun.

Miranda’s choice of putting his history lesson into kind of an oratorio style, where characters summarize the events and rarely ever interact with one another, doesn’t give us three dimensional protagonists that pull us into the story. Despite the incredible talent of the cast, the show’s constant rap beats like a stuck metronome. The ensemble of dancers going on and off stage almost constantly, does give the story a sense of non-stop motion. Unfortunately, this history lesson in declamatory rap gets tedious as it recites with little dramatic variety or beauty.

The rap all seems very mechanical. If only the cast could just step out their metered march and touch us with something real like “Molasses and rum” that was in the musical 1776.

Molasses to rum to slaves 'Tisn't morals, 'tis money that saves Shall we dance to the sound Of the profitable pound In molasses and rum and slaves

'Tis Boston can boast To the West Indies coast "Jamaica, we brung what ye craves" Antigua, Barbados We brung Bibles and slaves

Molasses to rum to slaves Who sail the ships back to Boston Laden with gold, see it gleam Whose fortunes are made In the triangle trade Hail slavery, the New England dream

Also using Burr as Hamilton’s Judas/Javert is a bit of a red herring. For the most part they worked together and even got along. When Hamilton had his scandalous affair 1792 and Monroe challenged him to a duel, it was averted by none other than Aaron Burr. The split came later when Hamilton supported Jefferson for president instead of Burr in the 1800 election.

Hamilton doesn’t seem to celebrate winning the war for independence against Miranda’s foppish King George. Similarly, none of the major events in the recited history lesson seems to really catch fire, the company just talks about them. Hamilton’s first act badly needs conflict and a real adversary to pull us into story. The war lasted for over 8 years and 1 out of every 20 able bodied Americans died fighting for our independence. Giving us Hamilton complaining about Washington’s field promotions is part of it, but the show needs to pull into the real battles, and America’s final victories.

The American Revolution ended when Britain and the infant United States won the war and they both signed the treaty of Paris. Hamilton’s Act I finale, in an anticlimax, as it ends with just talking about the Federalist papers. These newspaper essays were hasty written in three or four a weeks to support New York’s ratification of the Constitution. But by the time New York voted, it had already passed. If this was the big event to get excited about and stand up and cheer at the end of act I, it was a bit of a yawn.

Hamilton biggest problem is overlooking what our revolution was actually about. It forgets the Sons of Liberty’s mantra: "No taxation without representation". Hamilton changes the English colonies fight against taxes and the rule of England and to a conflict with immigrants and slaves against slavery. This may resonate with some groups, but it’s not the true story of the British colonies war from English rule and Hamilton’s roll in the forging of our country.

The Revolutionary war was not against slavery. The founders accepted slavery as an institution. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison were all slave holders.

Number of slaves each president owned. (CAPS indicate the president owned slaves while serving as the chief executive): [1] - GEORGE WASHINGTON (between 250-350 slaves) - THOMAS JEFFERSON (about 200) - JAMES MADISON (more than 100) - JAMES MONROE (about 75) - ANDREW JACKSON (fewer than 200) - Martin Van Buren (one) - William Henry Harrison (eleven) - JOHN TYLER (about 70) - JAMES POLK (about 25) - ZACHARY TAYLOR (fewer than 150) - Andrew Johnson (probably eight) - Ulysses S. Grant (probably five).

Hamilton mother, Rachel Lavien lived with James Hamilton, a Scottish trader. They lived on Nevis, an island in the British West Indies near St. Croix. They had two sons, Peter and Alexander. She lived with him for nearly fifteen years, even though she had not formally divorced her former husband. When Alexander was ten years old, they moved to the island of St. Croix. Of the 24,000 residents on the island, 22,000 were slaves. They owned a dry goods store and 7 slaves. After discovering that Rachel was still technically married to John Lavien, James Hamilton left Rachel and returned to Nevis and St. Kitts, leaving her and his two sons behind. To make matters worse, his mother died of severe illness, when Hamilton was only 13 years old. Ironically, when his mother died, she left two slaves to her sons—one to James and the other to Alexander. The sons never took possession of these slaves as the court held that since they were the illegitimate offspring of a fallen woman, they had no right of inheritance.

Hamilton worked as a clerk for Beekman and Cruger Company in Christiansted on St. Croix. The company traded sugar and African slaves with New England. Hamilton recorded the arrivals of slaves from the Gold Coast of West Africa. They were, he reported, “very indifferent indeed, sickly and thin . . .” and commented on the bottom line, “they average about 30 [pounds sterling].” Hamilton’s excelled in his position and ran the company when the firm’s owner was absent at sea.

In 1780, Hamilton married Elizabeth Schuyler, from a prominent New York slaveholding family. He bought for his in-laws "2 negro servants" from N. Low for $250 in 1796 according to Hamilton's own expense book. Hamilton deducted $225 from Church's account on 29 May 1797 for the purchase of "a Negro Woman and Child. Although Hamilton was not an advocate of slavery and did not own slaves himself, opposing slavery was never at the forefront of his agenda.

The Revolutionary War: Here’s the long and short of it! It began as a conflict between Great Britain and her Thirteen Colonies. The British were overtaxing American colonies pay for Britain’s war debt from the French and Indian War. They revolted and declared their independence as the United States of America and the fight began. We formed a militia, drove the British out and formed our own government

[HAMILTON] You have your orders now, go, man, go! And so the American experiment begins With my friends all scattered to the winds Laurens is in South Carolina, redefining brav’ry [HAMILTON/LAURENS] We’ll never be free until we end slavery! [HAMILTON] When we finally drive the British away

[LAURENS] Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom

Slavery and indentured servants within England was pretty done at that time in England, and it was outlawed in 1772. It was abolished in all British colonies in 1833. But, the colonies had slavery both before the war for independence and long after. My gosh, even in the Declaration of Independence, the delegates had Jefferson cross out the antislavery clause in the Declaration:

“He (king George) has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the opprobrium of infidel powers, is the warfare of the Christian King of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a market where Men should be bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain this execrable commerce.

Slavery was also implicitly permitted in the Constitution through the Three-Fifths Compromise, which detailed how each slave state's enslaved population would be factored for apportioning seats in the United States House of Representatives and direct taxes among the states. Slavery wasn’t abolished until the 13th amendment 100 years after the war for independence.

[LAURENS] They'll tell the story of tonight [ELIZA] "On Tuesday, the twenty-seventh, Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens was killed in a gunfight against British troops in South Carolina. These troops had not yet received word from Yorktown that the war was over. He's buried here until his family can send for his remains. As you may know, Lieutenant Colonel Laurens was engaged in recruiting three thousand men for the first all-black military regiment.

The surviving members of this regiment have been returned to their masters."

[LAURENS] Tomorrow there'll be more of us

However, England’s Lord Dunmore In November 1775, promised freedom to all the slaves and indentured servants of revolutionaries who would take up arms and fight for “His Majesty’s crown and dignity.” Most believed that victory by the British would lead to the end of their slavery. Slaves rushed to Norfolk to join “Lord Dunmore’s Regiment.” Across the chest of each black soldier appeared the words “Liberty to Slaves”.

By the end of the war, from 20,000 to 100,000 enslaved blacks—as many as one in five enslaved Africans from all 13 states including George Washington’s own slave Harry, ran to the combined British-black army. Washington had refused to accept slaves into the official Continental Army. Lord Dunmore’s proclamation prompted Washington in 1777 to reversed his decision barring free blacks.

Roughly a year later, enough slaves in Rhode Island—were promised freedom in exchange for military service—enlisted to fill two battalions. For South Carolina and Georgia, it was a different story. Even with increasing pressure from Congress for additional manpower, those colonies would not arm slaves. If the use of slaves in the battles is to be an important element in Hamilton, it shouldn’t be half told.

King George defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. George wanted to "keep the rebels harassed, anxious, and poor, until the day when, discontent and disappointment were converted into penitence and remorse”. That’s the bully that should be the show’s bad guy. But this show makes King George into a foppish preening drag for a few laughs, who just thinks the Colonists are just being very bad boys. Moreover, he’s always all alone without any solders, not menacing at all. This takes away any real drama from the battle. Also being British he gets a Beetles style song.

With all this show’s supposed diversity, what’s with the “single” white casting of King George? How come only a white guy get to play the bad guy? The original casting call specifying “NON-WHITE men and women” actors (later amended) for ongoing and future productions of the show. Lin-Manuel Miranda: “It is essential to the storytelling of Hamilton that the principal roles — which were written for non-white characters, excepting King George.

L-MM “There are only 3 roles specifically designated for Hispanic actors on Broadway: Paul San Marco in A CHORUS LINE, Bernardo in West Side Story, and Cervantes in Man of La Mancha.” “I don’t dance well enough to play Bernardo [West Side Story], or Paul in The Chorus Line. And I don’t have enough of an operatic voice to play the Man of La Mancha. And if you’re a Latino man, that’s all you get.” The idea has always been to look the way America looks now, so it doesn’t exclude anyone.” ‘Hamilton’ is a story very deliberately told to reflect what America looks like right now. We have every color represented …”.

While I applaud making more minority casting for shows, excluding all whites, except for King George, is not how America really looks right now. African Americans are 12%, Hispanic and Latino 18%, native is 1%, and white make up 61%. At the dawn of the American Revolution, 20 percent of the population in the thirteen colonies was of African descent. The first official United States Census taken in 1790 showed that only eight percent of the black populace was free. If L-MM had to include slaves in the story, how would they be cast? In Hamilton all the main characters are being played by people of color, but there are no historical people of color find a place in Hamilton’s narrative. Washington had hundreds of slaves, why pretend they aren’t there? While I applaud L-MM being race conscious, I would prefer the show to be colorblind, instead of excluding white performers.

The tedious uninvolving story and lack of excitement were only one of the show’s problem. Fatigue was another. “Hamilton” has 3 to 4 times more words in the show than most musicals. Lin-Manuel Miranda explained, in an interview , that it would be impossible to tell Hamilton’s story at the pace of a conventional musical.

L-MM, “It would have to be 12 hours long, because the amount of words on the bars when you’re writing a typical song — that’s maybe got 10 words per line,” he said. “Whereas here we can cram all this shit in all the margins.”

A total of 20,520 words are crammed into Hamilton's two hour and 23 minutes if Hamilton were sung at the same pace of other shows it would run somewhere between four and six hours.

Show Total words

Hamilton 20,520

Spring Awaking 4,709

Phantom of the Opera 6,789

Company 5,085

1776 2,735

Candide 5,616

Oklahoma! 4,303

Pirates of Penzance 5,962

Sometimes more words are, well, is just more words, unless you have something new to say. This is what contributes to Hamilton’s verbal overload. One wonders with almost 3 hours running time L-MM needed so much filler for the room where it happened.

[Thomas Jefferson and James Madison] and an immigrant* [Hamilton]

*Why is Hamilton treated like an Ellis Island immigrant? He is an American and qualified to run for President. When the new Constitution was adopted: Article II, Section 1, specifies: No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;

Two Virginians

walk into a room

Diametric’ly opposed, foes

They emerge with a compromise, having opened doors that were

Previously closed

Bros

The immigrant emerges with unprecedented financial power

A system he can shape however he wants

The Virginians emerge with the nation’s capital

And here’s the piece de resistance:

[BURR] No one else was in The room where it happened The room where it happened The room where it happened No one else was in The room where it happened The room where it happened The room where it happened No one really knows how the game is played The art of the trade How the sausage gets made We just assume that it happens But no one else is in The room where it happens The room where it happens….*

*“The room where it happens” lyric is repeated many, many more times—I just didn’t print them all.

I suppose a weak lyric is better than nothing, and if you just keep repeating it long enough and then add a banjo to the hip-hop mix, it’s going to end up golden.

And why does the shoe need a number about Burr’s bitching that he wasn’t in the room where it happened anyway? He wouldn’t have been invited to the room where it happened for the June congressional dinner meeting as NY state’s attorney general. Burr didn’t make it to Congress until 1791. Miranda creates the dinner party diplomacy in Burr's imagination. Why not show the sausage actually being made in congress where it was passed, instead of all this imaginary verbal repetition?

Central to the compromise was a bargain where southerners agreed to change their votes and support if Congress would relocate the capital city of the United States after a ten-year temporary residence at Philadelphia. This carried the strong implication that the North would not raise serious objections to the institution of slavery, since the capital would now be located on the Potomac in two slave states, Maryland and Virginia.

Three key Southerners -- George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison -- finagled locating the national capital, Washington, DC, in slave territory. The capital started out in New York City, in a free state, then moved to Philadelphia. But in Philadelphia a slave-owner could only keep a slave for six months before freeing him, unless he was temporarily sent into slave territory, which was inconvenient to the owner. The founders set aside land around a slave town, Alexandria, Virginia, to serve as the capital of the new nation.

Sondheim’s song Someone in a tree in Pacific Overtures comes to mind, where no one knows what happened in the treaty house. The old man and the boy report what they’ve seen from a tree, and the soldier hiding under the floorboards reports what he’s heard. Sondheim gives it from three points of view and this song is brilliant.

"The World Turned Upside Down" is an old 1640’s English ballad protesting against the policies of Parliament relating to the celebration of Christmas.

In the surrender of British troops, article 3 stated that: "the garrison of York will march out to a place to be appointed in front of the posts, at two o’clock precisely, with shouldered arms, colors cased, and drums beating a British or German march. There was no historical record of song or songs were played by the band. The account of it being that song was added to the historical record almost a100 years after the event.

This show also lacks memorable melodies. I not asking for Che gelida manina, but couldn’t Hamilton step out of the rapped history lesson and give us some real emotion, about what he feels about the Nation he’s building or maybe even a love song? Moreover, if it had a beautiful song, or melody, to soften the monotonous beat of this show. Usually most shows have at least one standout musical theme that rises above the rest, Beauty and the Beast’s “Tale as old as time…”, Les Miz’s “One more day…”, Evita’s “Don’t cry…”, and I can’t think of it, but Hello Dolly may even have one.

I didn’t find myself humming anything from the show as I was leaving. But the show did have one catchy recurring leitmotif “Not throwing away my shot” that pervades the show. I was very confused what that lyric was all about.

Hamilton:

I am not throwing away my shot I am not throwing away my shot Hey yo, I’m just like my country I’m young, scrappy and hungry And I’m not throwing away my shot

But when it finally comes time to duel with Burr and his shot, Hamilton sings,

“If I shoot first and throw it away He has to yield.” “We both get to live another day” “I know this puts me in a difficult spot, but I’ve got to throw away my shot.

Hamilton wrote a note, entitled “Statement of Impending Duel with Aaron Burr,” stating he would “throw away my first fire [shot].” Indeed, Hamilton does throw away his shot. And he was fatally wrong about Burr yielding and both of them living another day. Hamilton did throw away his shot! This lame and recurring lyric “I am not throwing away my shot, needs to be changed.

At the end of the first act, I simply just got tired of the long monotonous rapped history lesson. The prospect of the second act done much in the same manor dealing with Hamilton’s establishment of our national bank, foreign and domestic debt, and the U S Mint, seemed even more tedious, so I bailed at intermission.

Oddly, Hamilton’s version of our history gave me little stand up and cheer about. But, when they dimmed the lights, the audience went crazy and most had never seen the show. I can’t believe this show with a single wooden balcony set devoid of any effects except a turntable and some chairs costs any more to produce than shows like Les Misérables, Wicked, Miss Saigon, or Phantom of the Opera. But with all the show’s hype, and the money they were charging, the story of the Emperor’s new clothes did come to mind. Charging thousands of dollars with a B list cast on an essentially bare stage, would be a tough sell even for Bernie Madoff.

Hamilton, one of the great founding fathers, in addition to being instrumental in the war for America’s independence, was the author of America’s economic policies and the architect of our financial and banking system. Hamilton’s gravestone said, “The PATRIOT of incorruptible INTEGRITY/The SOLDIER of approved VALOUR/The STATESMAN of consummate WISDOM.”

Hamilton’s brilliant accomplishment’s in the forging of our country needs to make us stand up and cheer, but the show’s lack of excitement and tedious rhythmic droning just holds it back. The show’s semi-dramatic dialogue in a metronomic slog fails to muster up much excitement, but at least the dancers being onstage did give the story some sense of motion.

But my biggest problem with Hamilton was my failure to understand just why on earth they were charging us thousands of dollars to see it. The second one was setting this history in a metered rap using a chorus to show emotions and personalities with little theatrical interaction between them. The constant rap rhythm made it feel like the cast were just reciting and chanting the events to me, in choregraphed patterns, not really bringing them to life. If Lin-Manuel Miranda could also have gotten the history right, it would have also made for a much better show.

I am not putting Lin-Manuel Miranda abilities down, as he one of the brightest new lights in the theater. Listen to 'Evolution of Lin-Manuel Miranda', a soulful celebration of Lin's groundbreaking musical creations! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=381&v=6PGV_p4iPiE

The music, harmonies, the transitions, are an inspiration.

I can hardly wait for his next show. I’m sure it will easily surpass this dramatically flat and tedious street gang rapped, “We in the shit now, somebody's gotta shovel it!”, tableau on Alexander Hamilton’s importance in American history.

Peace,

Bob Main

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