“Something Good” Sunday
As promised, my “something good” for this week is all about…
Last night was wonderful! Dinner at a restaurant on the 11th floor of a building was interesting. We sat inside because the weather was sketchy, but the meal, though the descriptions (and prices) were fancy…the food didn’t live up to the menu hype. Josh was observant of what my supervisor and her husband had and concluded that it didn’t look like it was prepared in a way that was worthy of the price. For example, he could tell that her husband’s pasta was overcooked.
Despite a mediocre, overpriced dinner, seeing Hamilton live made the whole evening fantastic!
I was initially a little hesitant because I have been listening to the original cast perform these roles for five years, what would it be like having somebody else sing every part? And to be honest, a few bars into the opening song and none of that mattered.
Josh was a little concerned about me initially because I did get very excited when it started. And again (and again) when my favorite songs came up.
I cried at all the parts I usually cry at–during “It’s Quiet Uptown” and “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story”.
Despite how much I absolutely loved the experience of seeing it performed live right in front of me, I do have one small critique. I was not a fan of how Aaron Burr was portrayed. Some of the actors took some small creative liberties with how they perfomed certain lines. The tone of their voice or facial expressions, all subtle ways they made the character their own. However, the guy who played Aaron Burr took too many of those liberties I think. There were many parts where he got a laugh based on the way he said something. To be fair, it worked. The audience laughed and these additions from him and the Hamilton actor really showed how opposite they each were in terms of the relationship between their characters. However, as an OG cast loyalist, Leslie Odom, Jr. played Aaron Burr with a very serious, almost quiet intensity. He didn’t get laughs. He didn’t need to. By the end of it last night, I think some of the seriousness of Burr challenging Hamilton to a duel was a little lost because of the humor he injected into the lines throughout the earlier parts.
Now, having said that, another actor did the exact same thing Burr did and it worked out SO well! And I appreciated it so much more. That was the guy who played King George III. That character is supposed to be funny anyway. So for the actor to add facial expressions and hand gestures that got laughs, that was a welcome addition to the character. Aaron Burr, not so much.
But honestly, I shouldn’t have any criticism because despite that one thing being a little annoying to me, I certainly can’t sing and would never be able to perform on stage like any of those actors did. Despite me joking that I could easily fill in for any of the characters with how well I know the songs. Also, Lin-Manuel Miranda himself encourages the actors to make the characters their own. In fact, when he was asked what is meant by Eliza gasping at the very end, he said he couldn’t answer that because it’s different for every person who plays her.
All in all, it was just the best time! I loved it so much! I believe this is the second time it has come to this particular venue. If it were to come around again, I may consider seeing it a second time, just to see a different cast and what they do with their roles.
Also, in case you’re wondering, Josh hasn’t said much about it, other than he thought the actors’ singing was good. He got through it. I’m guessing he probably didn’t enjoy it very much, but, at least he finally saw it. My supervisor and her husband had never seen it either. She texted me after it ended and said it was “Sooooo good!”–with exactly that many ‘o’s. So at the very least a Hamilton newbie enjoyed it.
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