10/19/2016

HamiltonsAmericatakesusintotheroomswhereithappenedSalon.com

HamiltonsAmericatakesusintothe
roomswhereithappened
MELANIEMCFARLAND

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LinManuelMirandain"HamiltonsAmerica"(Credit:PBS/JoanMarcus)

Pullingoffaworkablemusicalrequiresakindofartisticskillfewpossess.
Creatingalegendarymusical,though,isachievedonlybyhittingthe
tiniestbullseyecreatedatthecrossroadsoftalent,determination,
originalityandluck.Noneofthosefactorscanbediscounted,aswesee
inHamiltonsAmerica,whichpremiersFridayat9p.m.onPBSmember
stations.
IttookLinManuelMirandasvisionandimaginationtoseethepotential
forgreatnessinthestoryofaFoundingFatherwhoselifewasforthe
mostpartunsungthatis,beforehepulledRonChernowsAlexander
Hamiltonbiographyofftheshelfduringavacation.Mirandaoriginally

conceptualizedaspectsofthestoryasahiphopprojectinitiallyknownas
TheHamiltonMixtape.
ButevenMirandasperseverancetoseethroughtothefinishwhat
soundedlikeanimprobableprojectmightnothaveamountedtomuchif
hehadnttakenuptheWhiteHouseonaninvitationtoperformasong
theonlyMixtapesonginexistenceatthatpointinfrontofthe
Obamas.Someonerecordedhisperformance,shareditonlineand
Mirandawatcheditgoviral.Andthatstrokeofgoodfortunehelpedfuel

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HamiltonsAmericatakesusintotheroomswhereithappenedSalon.com

Mirandawatcheditgoviral.Andthatstrokeofgoodfortunehelpedfuel
thehalfdecadejourneythatresultedinaculturalphenomenon.
Likethemusicalitprofiles,HamiltonsAmericaalsowasbornoutofa
luckyhunch.DirectorAlexHorwitz,oneofMirandasroommatesat
WesleyanUniversity,decidedthathiscollegebuddyshalfbakedidea
mightgrowintosomethingbiganddecidedtofollowMirandaforthree
years.

Inthatspanoftimethedirectorcapturedthedevelopmentofwhatwould
eventuallybecomeHamiltonfromitsnascentstagesthroughtoits
openingnightoffBroadway,addinginlaterfootageoftheplaysrunaway
successattheTonyAwardsshowandonBroadway.
ToMirandascredit,themusicalscreatormadeHorwitzstaskeasierby
throwinghimselfintothetaskofhoninghisstagecraftandgettingthe
minutiaeofHamiltonsstoryright.Inthedocumentary,footageofMiranda
weavinglyricsinAaronBurrsbedroomwithhisheadphones,onor
visitinghistoricsiteswithothercastmembers,includingLeslieOdom,Jr.,
DaveedDiggsandChristopherJackson,makeshisartisticefforttangible.

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Mirandadidmorethansimplymakeanoverlookedhistoricalfigure
dynamicandcompellingincreatingHamilton.Hebirthedavibrant,fresh
wayofsharingamostAmericantaleonethatspeakstowhoweareas
anation,ourconceptofownershipoverourfoundationalstructuresand
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HamiltonsAmericatakesusintotheroomswhereithappenedSalon.com

values,ourlegacyandourhistory.
Inadditiontothoselocationshots,beautifullyfilmedmusicalsegments
fromtheBroadwaystageandthecastsWhiteHouseappearances,
HamiltonsAmericafeaturesinterviewsofpoliticianssuchasHouse
SpeakerPaulRyan,formerpresidentGeorgeW.Bush,Sen.Elizabeth
WarrenandPresidentBarackObamaaswellasanassortmentofartistic
luminariesandhistorians,whotalkaboutthe18thcenturyleadersimpact
onourhistoryaswellastheimportanceofthemusical.
Suchcontentisparforthecourseinaprojectlikethis.Onlyhere,the
overwhelmingaffectionAmericanshaveforMirandasmusicalinfectsthe
toneoftheirobservations,furtheraugmentingtheswellofcuriosityand
wonderpropellingthedocumentaryalong.Noteveryonehasglowing
thingstosayaboutHamiltonhimselfWarrensobservationabouthis
creationofourcountryscapitaliststructureissobering,andhistorian
JoanneFreemanpointsouthislessthansavoryqualities.
ThisispartofthewayHamiltonsAmericadispelsthemythabout
Hamilton,humanizinghimbylookingathisflawswhilealsoappreciating
hishustlethesoulofrapculture.Thusinchoosingtotellastoryofa
FoundingFatherwiththeswaggerandemotionalityofhiphop,Miranda
conveysHamiltonssignificanceonmultiplelevels.
HamiltonsAmericaalsosmoothlymarriestheverypersonalnatureof
themusicalsstorywithHamiltonsimpactonthenationandtheworld,
adoptingMirandasiconoclasticflavorintheprocess.Inoneofthefilms
mostaffectingmoments,Mirandadrawsparallelsbetweenhisrendering
ofHamiltononthestageandhisfamilybyhavinghisfathersharehis
storyofcomingtoNewYorkfromPuertoRico.

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Today,scoringticketstoaliveproductionHamiltonisnearlyimpossible.
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Evencatchingthetouringversionisagamble,whichisamazingtothink
of,giventhatthesubjectisAlexanderHamilton,themanmostpeople
knowastheguyonthe$10bill.
Becauseofthis,anumberofviewerswilltuneintoHamiltonsAmerica
mistakenlyhopingtoviewenoughofthemusicaltoeasethepainof
waitingfortheirshotataseatinaroomwhereithappens.The
documentaryincludesglimpsesofmusicalnumbers,addingcontextby
discussingelementsofHamiltonslifethatinspiredeachsongandits
themes.ButwhilethedocumentaryairsaspartofPBSGreat
Performancesseries,theactualperformanceisshowninonlysmall
slices.
Whatwegetinsteadisanenthralling,uplifting90minuteexaminationof
thecreativeprocessthatwentintomakingHamiltonwhileleadingus
thoughthelifeofitsstatesmansubjectandtheimpacthehadonthe
world.Thisisararebalancingacttopulloff,bothintherealmof
nonfictionfilmmakingandonthestage.
HamiltonsAmericaisoneoftwomusicalofferingshittingtelevisionthis
week.TheotherFoxsTheRockyHorrorPictureShow:LetsDothe
TimeWarpAgain!isademonstrationofwhathappenswhenstage
magicistransformedintoa1975filmthatflops,onlytomorphintoacult
phenomenonofparticipatoryart.Yearslaterthisweird,thewildtradition
hasbeenexsanguinatedofitsdelightfulfreakishnessbyindustrytrend
chasing,courtesyofprimetimetelevision.
ThereimaginingofRockyHorrordebutingThursdayat8p.m.the
familyhour!isthelatestentryinthetrendofmountingmusicalevents
ontelevision,onlyitwasafilmpresentationasopposedtoalive
broadcast.FoxsdecisiontodoRockyHorrorasatelefilmhasacertain
logictoit,ifyouconsiderthepotentialunwieldinessofrecreatingthe
midnightfilmcultureexperienceviaaliveTVevent.
Torunamoviebehindacastofaudiencemembersreplicatingtheaction

infrontofitwouldbeavisualmess.Yetthatmetaconstructmakes
midnightshowingsofRockyHorrorsuchoddculturaltreasures.Take
awaytheaudienceparticipation,withallitssingingalongandmessy
toiletpapertossing,andyousimplyhaveastrangemovieostensibly
inspiredbyclassichorrorandscififilmsthatotherwisemakesverylittle
senseatall.
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AsdirectedbyKennyOrtega,thisRockyHorrorisbasicallyaninvitation
tostareatagothinspiredsnowglobefortwohours.Itgetspointsfor
style,andcastingLaverneCoxasDr.FrankNFurter(aroleoriginatedby
TimCurry,appearinghereastheCriminologistNarrator)isastrokeof
somethingclosetogenius.
Oncewegetpasthergrandentrance,however,thethrilldiesquickly.
TheresmuchtoadoreinCox,butherFrankNFurtersbizarreelocution
growsincreasinglyirritatingasthestoryprogresses,andhercostars,
includingAmericanIdolrunnerupAdamLambert(Eddie)andVictoria
Justice(JanetWeiss),dontlendmuchinthewayofsupportor
distraction.OnecantexpectJusticetocompetewithSusanSarandon,of
course,butisgivingusamemorableupdateforJanettoomuchtoask?
AlackoforiginalityisthisRockHorrorreduxsfatalerror,butknowing
thatmaygiveviewersmoreappreciationforthecreativityexploredand
celebratedinHamiltonsAmerica.
Besides,itsremarkabletothinkthatmusicaltheaterhasriseninthe
mainstreamaudiencesestimationsogreatlythatbroadcasttelevision
hastwoprimetimeofferingstochoosefrominthesameweek.
RegardlessofanysingleopinionaboutFoxsRockyHorrorspecialor

FridaysGreatPerformancespresentation,thefactthatnetworkssawfit
topresentthemisahopefulstatementaboutthepotentallureofcreativity
inthesefraughttimes.
InHamiltonsAmericaMirandaacknowledgedthatidea.Iamaware
thatmusicaltheaterdoesnotgetofftheartspageoften,hesaid.And
hereweare.
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HamiltonsAmericatakesusintotheroomswhereithappenedSalon.com

MelanieMcFarlandisSalon'sTVcritic.Followheron
Twitter:@McTelevision

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