Watched Lately: Hamilton, Hollywood Pantages Theatre, September 14, 2024

• I'm not 100% sure when I fell in love with musicals, but I have a strong suspicion. Buried in my parents' record collections was an old album that my mother would occasionally play when the mood struck: the soundtrack to the film Paint Your Wagon. I had never seen the film, nor the musical upon which it was sort of based. But the songs were so evocative to my young ears that I could see those gold miners singing their hearts out. Eventually I met my wife and she introduced me to Broadway musicals in a big way. I still remember sitting with her, front row at Les Misérables, with tears welling in my eyes as the overture began. I've been hooked ever since.

• It's not really any surprise to me that I enjoyed Hamilton. The hip-hop inspired retelling of the life of Alexander Hamilton is absolutely fascinating in its construction. It should never have worked, but I find myself enthralled with its catchy tunes and clever loops the narrative runs on. And although I notoriously detest most second acts, Hamilton has enough drama and conflict to carry the story aptly to its conclusion. Of course, I've seen the filmed version of the show numerous times before we had the chance to attend ourselves. But instead of retreading points that have been written a million times over the last decade, I'd like to share the three things that enchanted me the most about seeing the show performed live. And yes, "The Ten Duel Commandments" ran through my head as I wrote out these points.


• Number One: One of the fun ways that the movie succeeds in bringing the musical to the screen is how it brings you onstage to see the performers from from intimate distance. But what the movie cannot replicate is the magic of the proscenium. From your viewpoint in the audience, you can take in the entirety of the production at once. And Hamilton is a busy show, with the bigger numbers absolutely overwhelming with things to take in. The filmmakers, in producing what is likely the best reproduction of a stage musical for the screen, still understand that they have to take advantage of the convention of movies. But that doesn't allow much time to luxuriate in the specticle. There was a huge grin on my face through the entirely of the show as I could pick out individual details that weren't important for a camera to focus on.

• Number Two: A corollary to the prior, one of the issues with flattening the show for a screen is that leaves not room for the audience. It was a little strange to see the performers playing to the audience in ways that don't come across well on film. King George is probably the most visible instance in the movie, but his antics are heightened on the stage, as are several of the other performances. That interaction is impossible to capture on film. It was so much fun to have the performers acknowledging that there was an audience in rapt attention.


• Number Three: Finally, the intensity of "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" does not come across on television. Maybe if I had a massively more capable audio system, it might approximate the live experience. But I doubt that you could reproduce those thunderous booms of cannon fire that you could feel in your chest. It is absolutely the high point of the musical, but I was not ready for just how intense the scene would be live.


• I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to, well, just about any media that I consume. So when something amazing comes along, it restores my ardour for the artform. Seeing Hamilton reminded me just how transcendent live theater can be.