Hamilton

Very intense! I knew the cast album, but it still was amazing. The performances were better than the album, more emotional. Eliza's sceenes were believable, King George was funny. Jefferson and Hamilton go against each other, and the audience loved it. Even though I knew it was coming, Hamilton's final scene was horrible. The audio describer was good, sometimes describing the action during the applause, before the singers started singing, or describing during a song. For example, before the Skuylar Sisters song starts he says, "Burr." Then, he said "The Skuylar sisters hold up their silk gowns, dancing in the center of the rotating stage." After that song, he describes the next one before they start singing. Thank you, Disney Plus for funding the audio description.

Although many musical adaptations have flopped this may have proved that best way to do it is simply film the play. What you get is one of the best musicals available to watch whenever you like at an affordable price. Great work by everyone involved especially Lin Manuel Miranda.

I started watching this out of curiosity and to say I have seen it, being the cultural touchstone that it is. At first, I was a little detached, not liking the songs too much, and thinking I would probably just skip through to end in a minute. I couldn't stop watching and it really sucked me in. I have to say, I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it at all, live in the theater. I benefited greatly from the captions and the ability to put it on pause to consult Wikipedia from time to time. The lyrics were so clever and really told the story. I ended up very moved and almost cheering at the end. Of course, now that I am familiar with the story, I would love to see it live and would enjoy it immensely. But I would strongly recommend this for a first time viewing. I will definitely re-watch. And probably again and again.

I was fortunate enough to see Hamilton 3 times in Chicago, including once from the second row thanks to a friend winning the lottery. How did this compare? WAY better than I expected, honestly. I noticed new moments. I saw the original cast in a new light. I experienced the story like I was onstage. There's nothing quite like being in the theater, but this may be the closest a film crew ever got to capturing theater magic. (I wish the RENT movie had been a recording of a 1996 production...) Hamilton represents a unique moment in American theatre, and I'm grateful someone captured it.

I am not even a fan of musicals, but this is excellent. The songs are great, as they are upbeat and modern. The production, acting, stage set up and the story are all great. I really enjoyed it.