Hamilton Yes, right, I’m going to say something unique about it! After all the top theater experts in the world have written thousands of articles about it! Great idea, BeninSC! So … expect nothing major. But they are my words, at least!
Now, to start. One thing I do that … works for me is, I go into shows without big preconceptions. Yes, of course I have some awareness of the show’s impact. But, I have not read any of the reviews. I did not read any synopses, beyond what I remember from History classes. I had not listened to any soundtrack clips, I had not watched any YouTube videos, or interviews, no Daily Kos diary reviews or conversations with friends who HAD seen it. It was as fresh as I imagine it could be, in today’s connected world.
More below.
Top Comments recognizes the previous day's Top Mojo and strives to promote each day's outstanding comments through nominations made by Kossacks like you. Please send comments (before 9:30pm ET) by email to topcomments@gmail.com or by our KosMail message board.
My first impression came from the stupendous set, open to view from the moment we entered the venue. We had front-row seats! Standing, we could peek down into the orchestra pit! (Live orchestra! Had to be!) Watching the show from such proximity offers special advantages. For me, with my severe hearing handicap, it naturally allows the clearest possible appreciation of the music, the singing and dialogue. I have hearing aids that can be attenuated based on the nature of the sounds, they helped a great deal, also, even if it is certain that I missed linguistic and aural nuance.
We could also see the actors close up. That was most notable in being able to so clearly see King George’s hilarious facial expressions!
What.
An.
Amazing.
Show!
Wow!
I didn’t know, before attending, just how bold and brilliant the creative vision for the show was! What impressed me more was how faithful they remained to that vision THROUGHOUT the show! Never a compromise, never a failure of nerve! For me, that remains one of the show’s most powerful elements.
Our cast was magnificent! (We are hosting the ‘Philip Tour.’) As those of you who visit a lot of theater know, the touring troupes for shows like Hamilton are Broadway-caliber. It isn’t uncommon to see former members of the Broadway cast on show tours, and they almost never out-shine anyone else in the cast. Not because of condescension, but because the quality is that good.
While I had what I think of as an advantage in attending the show without specific expectations, there were things that surprised me, even so. The incredible dance throughout the show! No matter what was happening at center stage, dance happened everywhere on the set. Brilliant, cohesive, expressive movement. Literally everyone could dance. Everyone was included in the stunning choreography (except the King, perhaps)! The dance was fully integrated into the set evolution, as the ensemble moved staging elements throughout the show. At one point there was a bank of candles onstage. I have NO idea how they got there, but I know the ensemble moved them. I didn’t see them move them off of the stage, either, but I know they did, because their tenure was short, and never repeated.
Here is a screen shot of the googoo summary of the show. (It’s on the right side of the shot.)
Do you see that?! What is missing?
That shows Lin-Manuel Miranda, of course, as Playwright, Composer and Lyricist, it shows a couple of characters, it shows Directors, Thomas Kail and Alex Lacamoire … do you see a glaring omission?!
I do. The choreography for the show was done by Andy Blankenbuehler. Wow. Genius. Leaving his name off is a terrible disservice. I would never do it. Michael Balderrama and Stephanie Klemons are associate supervising choreographer, Kourtni Lind-Watson Dance Supervisor. Also clearly high achievers!
Basically, the show demonstrated a fluency in movement I know I will never experience or even comprehend … like I have never seen before. Many many complex elements. How on earth could they remember where they were supposed to be at any given time?! Yet, I never saw anyone bump into anyone else, trip over anyone else, and that includes sequences when they moved directly backward without looking behind themselves. They KNEW they wouldn't bump into anyone. They knew that everyone else was as professional about being where they were supposed to be as they were. They knew the set cold.
It reminded me of watching White Nights, decades ago, the dance sequence with Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov. I have great respect for Hines’s ability, but it was the precision of Baryshnikov’s movements that always fascinated me, down to the rhythmic and perfectly in tempo drawing of his fist into a fixed position.
I saw that exact kind of movement and precision throughout the cast of Hamilton, ALL SHOW LONG. The music, the ingenious rap, the lyrics, the history … they’re the kind of things that you find in experiences you know you need to repeat over and over again. I could watch Hamilton a dozen times from a dozen different angles, and still see only a tiny portion of what it offers.
No! That is NOT counsel to avoid the show! After all, life is filled with infinities. Never let that stop you from experiencing glimpses of its richness. Hamilton is but one brilliant example. If you get an opportunity to see Hamilton, go see it. If you get a second opportunity, and a third, and a tenth, go again. You won’t regret it. You won’t exhaust it. You won’t exhaust yourself.
One final element of the experience, that came after the cast Finale and ovations. Associate Music Director, Lily Ling, did the direction for the show we saw, including keyboards. As we exited the row, she spoke briefly with us. I told her that it looked to me like they had as much fun during the performance as the cast did. She smiled huge and agreed! Isn’t that what we love?! Seeing magically creative people doing exactly what they want with their lives?!
Isn’t it a commission to do the exact same with ours?
On to tonight’s comments!
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
Note: Please remember that comment inclusion in Top Comments does not constitute support or endorsement by diarist, formatter, Top Comments writers or DailyKos. Questions, complaints or comments? Contact brillig.
From thurayya:
I'm submitting this comment by mww01833 purely because I loved it. (Ed. note: Uplifting! Speaks well of Kos community and C&J!)
From BeninSC:
This comment by hpg is little more than a link to an astonishing WP letter written by 44 former US Senators to the current Senate. I had not see that! (Of course, I don’t have high expectations for it. Current Republican Senators care little for tradition and effective governance, as you know.)
Highlighted by Roberto De Beers:
Is this comment by JD Candykitty, on the virulence of functioning narcissism atop our ‘government.’
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday, December 9th, 2018, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for December 10, 2018. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you jotter!
|
|
|
|
Image permissions block inclusion in Top Comments
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Addendum:
I just thought of something. In retrospect, my first impression was not from the remarkable and very versatile set. It was from our theater entrance. That same venue hosted a series of presidential primary debates in 2004 (Jan. 29). Because of my assistance with event preparation, I scored a couple of the last tickets available, in the nosebleed section. Obviously, security was very tight. The debaters on that occasion were John Kerry, Joe Lieberman (boo-hiss, damned right, boo-hiss), Al Sharpton, General Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards. (Dean was most impressive! He stood with his legs wide apart, arms free, looking as if you could hit him with a truck and it would bounce off. Kucinich, fine as he was, curled one foot behind himself, in a weak posture that made clear he’d never be president. I don’t think he knew.)
But, security for that occasion paled in comparison to the rigorous screening we underwent to get into Hamilton.
Why?!
After all, isn’t Hamilton a deeply appreciated cultural phenomenon?! Universally celebrated and loved?!
Apparently not.
Events like we saw in Charlottesville (RIP Heather Heyer) and so many other places highlight the absolute necessity for heightened security for creative shows like Hamilton. The unconscionable enabling of violent white racists has its consequences, even if they remained unmentioned at the screening. Those fall to the account of the enabler in chief, may he rot for his many crimes. That one not least.