He definitely deserved more than that, but I love the way he has been talking about this. I think he ended up leaving Hamilton without a lot of advance notice or build-up because he wanted to be paid more/a better contract if he was going to renew, and that he also fought for some kind of equity for the entire cast. (ETA: the post literally says that... maybe I need to suffer through Dax Shepard and actually listen to the interview.)
It sounds like there was some tension and some people act like he's ungrateful, but I mean... look at how much Hamilton's producers are making compared to any cast members (other than LMM, who doesn't count).
The second source I listed is about the fight for profit-sharing and how a lot of Act 2 was created by bringing cast members in, with no plan or script, and mining their understanding of their characters. I don't know how you can be "ungrateful" when your artistry was used to make the show what it is. It wouldn't exist without them, so they 100% deserve to reap the benefits of its crazy success.
That source also talks about how LMM and the cast members closer to him (Javier, Chris Jackson, Groff) tried to convince the cast not to rock the boat and to still do (unpaid) Ham4Ham shows while negotiations were going on with the producer, etc.
And ofc they're all getting the profit-sharing Leslie/Renee/etc. fought for now that it worked.
Wow... I knew that the original cast was instrumental, because they were there off-Broadway and were helping in the development, but I didn't realize how much they must have contributed.
That night came intense discussions among the cast on how to proceed. The temptation the checks presented had sharpened the differences between its members-its veterans and its newbies, its comfortable and its scraping-by. At least one performer cried all the way home. Muñoz said he couldn’t sleep until 4:30 a.m. Later, he told the rest of the cast in an e-mail that Miranda had called him that morning to warn against infighting, lest the Broadway press hear of it.This is so upsetting to read. I really understand Javier's POV here, because he's an understudy/alternate. He never should've been put in this position. The fact that LMM is worried about the press and about the publicity from Ham4Ham really says a lot about him. Nothing new, really, but by this point his show was clearly a hit. He doesn't have anything real to worry about, and other
( ... )
It's really crazy how little artists actually make sometimes, for things that are massive hits and you'd assume they're being well-rewarded for making it possible.
I thought it was interesting when Leslie talked about how he was okay through his 20s because he had done TV, where residuals are the norm, so even after the work was done he would keep getting very-needed checks in the mail to sustain him. But in theater, once you're done, that's it. No matter how much sweat and tears you put into shaping the show, or making it successful, you have no financial tie to it and don't benefit from its success once you're gone - which can happen at any moment from an injury or something, too.
I've been lucky enough to see him live in a few things and he is unbelievably talented and charismatic. Plus this was filmed in mid-2016 when Hamilton was absolutely the hottest ticket in town.
There should've been no question he and the other cast members would get paid $$$$$ to participate in the filmed version. They brought a ton of value to the table being the OBC.
And as talented as he is, Aaron was miscast in Grease: Live (and there's a good argument his skills fall short of Leslie in general), plus there's no way Grease: Live is going to be rewatched like Hamilton is.
lmao. I really like Aaron, but he cannot act as well as Leslie (or doesn't really have the range). He's not even close. He's hella charismatic and good looking (and white), but he only plays like 1 type of role really.
Yeah, there have a been a couple things I've seen him in where I bought it (because it seemed pretty close to his real life self), but for the most part it feels very I'm-Acting-Now-Ta-Da! Whereas Leslie is super grounded and authentic.
I love Lin but as I told my husband today, he’s like a theatre kid who won a walk-on role on a Broadway play 😂 Super talented songwriter and seems like a good dude. Extremely sub-par actor/singer.
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It sounds like there was some tension and some people act like he's ungrateful, but I mean... look at how much Hamilton's producers are making compared to any cast members (other than LMM, who doesn't count).
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That source also talks about how LMM and the cast members closer to him (Javier, Chris Jackson, Groff) tried to convince the cast not to rock the boat and to still do (unpaid) Ham4Ham shows while negotiations were going on with the producer, etc.
And ofc they're all getting the profit-sharing Leslie/Renee/etc. fought for now that it worked.
Reply
That night came intense discussions among the cast on how to proceed. The temptation the checks presented had sharpened the differences between its members-its veterans and its newbies, its comfortable and its scraping-by. At least one performer cried all the way home. Muñoz said he couldn’t sleep until 4:30 a.m. Later, he told the rest of the cast in an e-mail that Miranda had called him that morning to warn against infighting, lest the Broadway press hear of it.This is so upsetting to read. I really understand Javier's POV here, because he's an understudy/alternate. He never should've been put in this position. The fact that LMM is worried about the press and about the publicity from Ham4Ham really says a lot about him. Nothing new, really, but by this point his show was clearly a hit. He doesn't have anything real to worry about, and other ( ... )
Reply
I thought it was interesting when Leslie talked about how he was okay through his 20s because he had done TV, where residuals are the norm, so even after the work was done he would keep getting very-needed checks in the mail to sustain him. But in theater, once you're done, that's it. No matter how much sweat and tears you put into shaping the show, or making it successful, you have no financial tie to it and don't benefit from its success once you're gone - which can happen at any moment from an injury or something, too.
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There should've been no question he and the other cast members would get paid $$$$$ to participate in the filmed version. They brought a ton of value to the table being the OBC.
And as talented as he is, Aaron was miscast in Grease: Live (and there's a good argument his skills fall short of Leslie in general), plus there's no way Grease: Live is going to be rewatched like Hamilton is.
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He is so amazingly talented.
I think it's great that he fought for profit sharing for the cast. They deserved it.
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