‘Hamilton’s’ rush to Disney+ could soothe fans amid pandemic
The touring version of “Hamilton” was supposed to be the centerpiece of the 2020-21 season at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Then COVID-19 shut down all live entertainment.
The movie version of “Hamilton” was intended to be one of the highlights of the 2021 fall movie season. But the pandemic brought the moviegoing experience to a screeching halt.
Hamilfans who’ve been clamoring for more of the “10-dollar founding father” finally can get their fill starting Friday when “Hamilton,” filmed with the original Broadway cast shortly before it disbanded, debuts on Disney+.
“I’m so proud of how beautifully (director) Tommy Kail has brought ‘Hamilton’ to the screen,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator and Tony-winning star, said in a statement. “He’s given everyone who watches this film the best seat in the house.”
Technically, Kail has given them something more.
By filming multiple performances at The Richard Rodgers Theatre in June 2016 from different angles, and re-creating some numbers on stage without an audience to allow for cinematic shots that would have been impossible during a ticketed show, the filmmakers didn’t just settle for capturing the musical live.
“The film is a leap forward in the art of ‘live capture’ which transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way,” Disney executives said in a statement. “Combining the best elements of live theater, film and streaming, the result is a cinematic stage performance that is a wholly new way to experience ‘Hamilton.’ ”
That explains some of the company’s enthusiasm for the project, for which it paid a reported $75 million, with plans for a theatrical release in October 2021.
With most movie theaters closed for the foreseeable future and production on films and television shows halted, hurling a sizable obstacle into its content pipeline, Disney saw an opportunity to cause a pop culture stir by moving up “Hamilton’s’ release date — much like its subsidiary ESPN did by rushing the Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance” to TV.
It isn’t just the new camera angles that make the filmed version of “Hamilton” differ from the one seen on stage. There’s the small matter of language — specifically three F-bombs that wouldn’t be at home on the family-friendly Disney+.
Miranda acknowledged in a series of tweets that Hercules Mulligan’s sentiment on how he gets back up in the song “Yorktown” has been muted, and an utterance in “Washington on Your Side” describing Southern Democratic Republicans has been replaced with the sound of a record scratch. The partial one uttered by Miranda’s Alexander Hamilton in the song “Say No to This” remains.
Addressing “Hamilton” purists, Miranda tweeted, “You can sing whatEVER you like at home (even sync up the album)!”
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.