Actually, it never really went away -- but obviously performances of the much lauded musical have been shutdown ever since NYC went into COVID-19 related lockdown.
But something is going to happen soon that wasn't supposed to happen until October, 2021 -- a four-year old recording of the Hamilton stage show with original cast will premiere on Disney Plus this coming July 3rd. In a time when stage and movie theaters are closed, and the only things we can see are shows and movies streamed or beamed into our homes, this makes for a major blockbuster event.
It's important to remember that this is a version of the stage show, it's not an actual movie-version of it. This article gives the backstory of how this recorded version of Hamilton came to be, and why it's going to be shown to the world nearly a year-and-a-half earlier than scheduled. The show's brilliant creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, indicates that a movie version might come along one day but there's no plans for it yet.
For my money, I actually hope that there never is a real movie version -- look at what happened with Cats! And A Chorus Line. And The Phantom of the Opera. And The Producers. And Into the Woods. Mega-hit shows that turned into a big flops. I also thought the movie version of Les Miz sucked despite the box office/Oscar-love it got. In my 'umble opinion, some shows just work better -- much better! -- as stage shows, as a collection of people coming together and demonstrating the great power of live theater. This can't be replicated in a movie, the power gets lost, gets minimized by the intimacy of film. As the saying goes, "The medium is the message." Shows like Hamilton and these others are "big" -- big casts, big sets, big songs, big messages -- and theater is the best medium for them. So I hope this recording of the stage show remains the definitive version of this musical.
It's important to remember that this is a version of the stage show, it's not an actual movie-version of it. This article gives the backstory of how this recorded version of Hamilton came to be, and why it's going to be shown to the world nearly a year-and-a-half earlier than scheduled. The show's brilliant creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, indicates that a movie version might come along one day but there's no plans for it yet.
For my money, I actually hope that there never is a real movie version -- look at what happened with Cats! And A Chorus Line. And The Phantom of the Opera. And The Producers. And Into the Woods. Mega-hit shows that turned into a big flops. I also thought the movie version of Les Miz sucked despite the box office/Oscar-love it got. In my 'umble opinion, some shows just work better -- much better! -- as stage shows, as a collection of people coming together and demonstrating the great power of live theater. This can't be replicated in a movie, the power gets lost, gets minimized by the intimacy of film. As the saying goes, "The medium is the message." Shows like Hamilton and these others are "big" -- big casts, big sets, big songs, big messages -- and theater is the best medium for them. So I hope this recording of the stage show remains the definitive version of this musical.
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