Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Watch the original cast’s Grammy-stealing performance of “Alexander Hamilton”
Salon.com: Minutes before surprising nobody by nabbing the Grammy for “Best Musical Theater Album,” the cast of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “hit”-barely-covers-what -it’s-become musical “Hamilton” electrified the audience with a performance of the show’s opening number, the appropriately titled “Alexander Hamilton,” piped in via satellite from the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City.
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6 comments:
Hamilton is definitely the best show that I've ever seen on Broadway, so I'm so excited that everyone can finally get a glimpse of what the show looks live. Not only is the music amazing, but the direction and design elements are also extremely impressive. You can tell through this performance just how much hard work went into the creation of the show. However, I think the best thing about this performance is that it was happened at all. It seems like with the insane popularity of Hamilton and the rise of live televised musicals theatre is finally coming back to the mainstream. Hamilton itself doesn't need the publicity that the Grammys provide, but I think that the theatre industry as a whole does. People who have never even seen a musical before that tuned into the show had their first experience with theatre. Although we'll never know how much of an impact the show had, it will be interesting how ticket sales in general changed after the performance aired.
Watching Hamilton on the Grammys was incredible. It was the main reason I actually watched the Grammys and that was probably the case for many theatre people. It was especially special for people who have not seen the show on Broadway and cannot get tickets for years. It was really awesome that they performed from the Richard Rodgers Theatre and did not have to go all the way to Los Angeles. They were able to perform from the comfort of their own set as well as show the world what it was really like to see the show in the theater. This performance gave Hamilton even more exposure to the world especially in the outlet of the music industry and not the theatre world. I am really glad that theatre is getting this much exposure in the whole world and on incredible programs like the Grammys.
I think I died and went to heaven while watching this. It is visually and technically stunning. I unfortunately missed the Grammys, and I had been looking for a decent recording of this performance for the past week. I was well acquainted with the music before watching this, but I only knew a little of how the show looked. I knew there is a parquet floor, I knew the general color of the set and style of costumes. This was really the first time I could actually see a bit of the design concept. The choreography is synced wonderfully with the score, and at points out or accents certain lines with surgical precision. The beginning of the song reminds me almost of a signed song. Someone trying to bottle up all the emotion and vocal intensity/rhythm into a few hand gestures. Also the costumes are all white (except fo Burr and Hamilton). Its almost like a blank page. The story hasn't been written yet. All we know is the tragic history between Burr and Hamilton, but all the fine details and the steps which lead to the duel have yet to be colored in. It's just amazing to think about. My mind is a wildfire in a California forest. I can't contain it. I really want to see this show.
I saw the Hamilton cast perform during the Grammy awards a few weeks and was absolutely amazed. This show is incredible, and all the attention it has been getting is very well deserved. The little musical theater girl in me was so happy when I heard they were going to perform at the Grammys, and was so really impressed with the performance. I remember when I was young and just getting into theater, as a typical theater kid story goes, other people thought it was weird that my preferred choice in music when I was a kid was show tunes. Seeing a musical perform at the Grammys I think really helped young kids that like musical theater feel that it isn't so weird to like it, because Miranda was performing on the same awards show as so many other celebrities. I really hope that this becomes a trend and that other future musical theater shows get the same attention.
Can we first talk about how this is on the GRAMMYS? Can we discuss how much more mainstream recognition musical theatre has gotten over the past decade or so? A couple years back, we had the Les Mis and Chicago ten minute long performance at the Oscars, and now we have a performance of an entire song from Hamilton on the Grammys. While I have only been alive for nineteen years, in my experience there have only been musical theatre performances on the Tonys. Lately, that has all been changing, and other genres are recognizing the beauty of theatre, musical or not.
Now that that is out of the way, I can talk about how visually stunning the opening number for Hamilton is. It introduces every character subtly, apart from Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, who obviously deserve the extra recognition in this context. I remember when I saw this live the first time, I completely lost my mind when Lin Manuel-Miranda walks out and says his name for the first time. Additionally, as the audience does in this performance, everyone lost their minds with me and screamed and cheered. The buildup to the first "Alexander Hamilton" is for me one of the most memorable parts of this song, if not the show in general.
I could not wait until i would get to see Hamilton. I honestly believe Hamilton is so much more than the music. It is a great production and the only way to experience a great production is to see a great production. I watched all th Hamilton clips on you tube I could find but nothing really captured the show until the live performance of the opening song during the Grammys. I think they way that they presented the show was incredible. They were able to perform live, on their own stage, with their whole cast and that is not something that usually happens. It also gives us, the many who can't get tickets, an opportunity to see a show that we are dying to see. I think it is extremely important that the production, even if it is only one song. Is now visible to the entire world and can show people why this musical is getting such high praise.
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