So Disney+ released Hamilton on its platform yesterday. What did I think of Hamilton? I’m going to be honest here. It wasn’t my favorite show, I’ll start by saying that. And I know that a lot of people are going to come after me and say a lot of things about how incredible the show is. In some ways I agree! I’ll share what I liked. But overall, I don’t really like the hit musical, Hamilton.
If you aren’t familiar with Lin Manuel Miranda and his work on Hamilton, I recommend you either watch the musical or at least make yourself familiar with the show before reading this post. There will be spoilers! 🙂 But for the most part, I’m pretty confident that everyone and their grandmother knows what Hamilton is so I’ll dive right into what I liked and didn’t like.
I’ll start with the positives. I really enjoyed the set and all of the effects. From that perspective, Hamilton was incredible. The use of movement with the stage and the use of LIGHTING in this production was phenomenal.
Each of the actors and actresses were incredibly talented too. I really enjoyed watching the young lady that played Eliza. She was phenomenal and I loved her voice. I also loved Jonathon Groff’s appearance as King George. His vocals suited the role extremely well. His work with Frozen has definitely not gone unnoticed by me and the same goes for his work in Hamilton.
And now onto what I didn’t like as much in this hit musical. I’ve never been that big a fan of rap and that’s basically what most of the music is in Hamilton. That’s just a preference thing. I’ve never really liked the beat or tone of rap and for an entire musical to be that way just wasn’t my cup of tea. It felt so repetitive at some point. There definitely were a few songs I liked from the show, but in general, the music was just a pass for me.
Lin Manuel Miranda has an interesting sound too. I’m not sure if I like it or hate it, but personally, I thought his sound was just a bit odd in Hamilton. He is clearly a very talented and brilliant man and I must give credit where credit is due. He spent years putting this show together and it has definitely paid off. Do I enjoy him as a performer though? Most likely not.
I really wasn’t a fan of the ending either. This is REALLY where the spoiler is going to hit if you aren’t familiar with the history of the United States or the show so if you’d prefer to see for yourself, then stop reading here. 🙂 In the end, they sing a song called “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story” after Hamilton is shot by Aaron Burr in their duel. I did enjoy the duel rap though, I must say. Anyway, after Hamilton is shot, Hamilton’s life is played out before us. The show ends a few minutes later with Eliza singing about how she started an orphanage to help kids that remind her of her precious Alex and then she screams in horror (I’m assuming because she has learned that her husband died in a duel) and the show fades to black. Personally, I feel like the show could have had a greater impact if it ended right after Hamilton was shot and then the stage went black. Does anyone else feel that way about the end? I’d be curious to know.
I did mention my opinions on the set and the lighting from the show and I’ve touched briefly on the talent of Hamilton but the biggest reason I don’t think Hamilton is all that great comes down to the fact that the show just didn’t have that “wow factor” that a lot of Broadway shows seem to have. The music was just constantly going with the rapping and dancing and I found myself zoning out occasionally. There just wasn’t a whole lot of different within the show if that makes sense. Hamilton would rap and they would dance and then someone else would rap and then it would just repeat and to me, it felt like that for the two and a half hours following the opening song. It got kind of old kind of fast and I found myself wondering WHEN the show would be over about forty-five minutes in. That hasn’t ever happened to me when watching a Broadway show before. Again, that could just be because I just don’t have the taste for Hamilton like others do.
I’ve mentioned this before but we are all entitled to our opinions and if you really enjoyed Hamilton, I’m happy for you! I wish this were a show that I could learn to love and appreciate as much as a majority of the world, but I unfortunately don’t find myself in that population. If you haven’t seen Hamilton yet and you own Disney+, I recommend checking it out for yourself and I’d be curious to hear your opinions! Have a good week everyone, and happy belated Fourth of July!
