the story of tonight
I saw "Hamilton" tonight.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Do I go best-> worst? vice versa? Do I start with the set or the blocking or the choreo or *gasp* the motherfucking lighting?
Because the LIGHTING. LET ME SAY that I have never seen red utilized so effectively. It wasn't just for bellicose moments, but for internal seething rage. I have never, in my 22 years of theater-going, seen more stunning light design than during "One Last Time". It was magical. That song moves me anyway, and the blocking is brilliant, but add to it a soft triple blue spotlight, some purple and amber, and a touch of green... There are no words. Really. Something else I love about the show's light design is that there is no strobe. Basically every show uses strobe during war numbers. Not so here. One flash of white light, so much red, drums, and choreography painted a more visceral and engaging picture. There was far less purple than in the bootleg; it was primarily used in romantic moments.
The set was essentially a dilapidated cityscape. It served as "scrappy" when necessary, but the angles paired with that brilliant lighting made it look like a skyline at other times. The rotating floor had a different effect when seen head-on (orchestra pit for the winnnnnnnnn). Things didn't feel so urgent; it just felt like an extension of the backdrop.
I'm so tired.
Almost all of the actors were amazing. Eliza left *a lot* to be desired. "Around" doesn't rhyme with "crown". It's "erase", not "he-rase". She was nasal and whiny and it was distracting. I feel like she needs a refresher on the fundamentals. Her acting was wonderful, and her rendition of "Burn" was fairly good (possibly due to her speaking a fair bit of it). Burr sang well but had some difficulty transitioning from song to rap & rap to song. Washington was nothing to write home about in Act I, but he shone in Act II. Hamilton was fucking amazing throughout. Laurens/Philip is a great physical actor. King George stole the show. I was hoping we'd have that actor, and yissssss! His performance rivals that of Groffsauce. I do lament the choreo change that keeps him stage right instead of fucking everywhere during "The Reynolds Pamphlet".
There was a smattering of applause at "Immigrants: we get the job done!" Naturally, I was one of those who clapped. Ordinarily I wouldn't clap in the middle of a song, but it's such an important line and the cast, I think, expects a reaction there.
There was some really nuanced blocking, such as how feet were spaced. One of my favorite bits of choreo was removed.
9/10 would see again (the missing point is because of that dreadful Eliza and the slow starts a couple actors had).
Can't wait for "Miss Saigon" next month ^.^
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Do I go best-> worst? vice versa? Do I start with the set or the blocking or the choreo or *gasp* the motherfucking lighting?
Because the LIGHTING. LET ME SAY that I have never seen red utilized so effectively. It wasn't just for bellicose moments, but for internal seething rage. I have never, in my 22 years of theater-going, seen more stunning light design than during "One Last Time". It was magical. That song moves me anyway, and the blocking is brilliant, but add to it a soft triple blue spotlight, some purple and amber, and a touch of green... There are no words. Really. Something else I love about the show's light design is that there is no strobe. Basically every show uses strobe during war numbers. Not so here. One flash of white light, so much red, drums, and choreography painted a more visceral and engaging picture. There was far less purple than in the bootleg; it was primarily used in romantic moments.
The set was essentially a dilapidated cityscape. It served as "scrappy" when necessary, but the angles paired with that brilliant lighting made it look like a skyline at other times. The rotating floor had a different effect when seen head-on (orchestra pit for the winnnnnnnnn). Things didn't feel so urgent; it just felt like an extension of the backdrop.
I'm so tired.
Almost all of the actors were amazing. Eliza left *a lot* to be desired. "Around" doesn't rhyme with "crown". It's "erase", not "he-rase". She was nasal and whiny and it was distracting. I feel like she needs a refresher on the fundamentals. Her acting was wonderful, and her rendition of "Burn" was fairly good (possibly due to her speaking a fair bit of it). Burr sang well but had some difficulty transitioning from song to rap & rap to song. Washington was nothing to write home about in Act I, but he shone in Act II. Hamilton was fucking amazing throughout. Laurens/Philip is a great physical actor. King George stole the show. I was hoping we'd have that actor, and yissssss! His performance rivals that of Groffsauce. I do lament the choreo change that keeps him stage right instead of fucking everywhere during "The Reynolds Pamphlet".
There was a smattering of applause at "Immigrants: we get the job done!" Naturally, I was one of those who clapped. Ordinarily I wouldn't clap in the middle of a song, but it's such an important line and the cast, I think, expects a reaction there.
There was some really nuanced blocking, such as how feet were spaced. One of my favorite bits of choreo was removed.
9/10 would see again (the missing point is because of that dreadful Eliza and the slow starts a couple actors had).
Can't wait for "Miss Saigon" next month ^.^