By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
If you couldn?t catch the original Broadway production of the multi-Tony Award-winning hip-hop musical ?Hamilton,? well, Disney+ is bringing the sensational show directly to your home this weekend.
Beginning July 3, the streaming service is releasing the original version of
?Hamilton? which was filmed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in 2016.
?Hamilton? has been adapted for the small screen and features enhanced Dolby sound quality to give you a full-fledged theatrical experience all from the comfort of your couch.
It?s quite a gift for audiences especially when you consider that ?Hamilton? was initially slated to open next year but got pushed up rather than back like most others movies have due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But, as they say, timing is everything. ?Hamilton?s? arrival comes during a Fourth of July-stay-at-home-weekend which will likely be a huge coup for Disney. And as America continues to grapple with issues of systemic racism and ensuring liberty and justice for all, the social and political message of ?Hamilton? makes it even more relevant and significant.
?Hamilton? is based on the 2004 book ?Alexander Hamilton? by Ron Chernow and directed by Thomas Kail who also helmed the Broadway version.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who co-wrote and provided the music and lyrics, stars as Hamilton, a determined and feisty young man who is not about to let the ?American Dream? pass him by. The movie chronicles Hamilton?s hard-knock life as an immigrant from the Caribbean who arrives in New York. Through perseverance and utter shrewdness Hamilton becomes an associate of George Washington (a fabulous Chris Jackson, TV?s ?Central Park?) and helped author the Federalist Papers which supported the United States Constitution.
Miranda is remarkable in every way. So is the entire cast which features Broadway principals, Leslie Odom Jr., Philippa Soo, Ren?e Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs, Christopher Jackson, Jonathan Groff, Okieriete Onaodowan, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Anthony Ramos, who by the way, you?ll also want to see in the upcoming movie musical ?In The Heights.?
It is almost criminal to single out anyone in ?Hamilton? since everyone is dynamic, but I was always mesmerized by Goldsberry who won the Tony Award for ?Best Featured Actress in a Musical? for her portrayal of Angelica Schuyler. Goldsberry is fierce throughout ?Hamilton,? but blows you away with the soul-stirring song, ?Satisfied.?
Leslie Odum Jr. astounds as Aaron Burr and owns the stage when singing ?The Room Where It Happens.? Daveed Diggs shines bright too as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson and brings the fire and the funny to ?Hamilton? with ?What?d I Miss??
Whatever you do, don?t miss ?Hamilton.? It is stunning. Every single minute of it.
Check Out This Trailer For
"HAMILTON"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association (BFCA), The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC), The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ) and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
