Anyway...yeah, I've come to like Broadway musicals quite a bit, with much of that interest almost certainly attributable to the Hamilton phenomenon. I've always enjoyed them and even daydreamed of incorporating elements into my own creative projects, but when I finally saw Hamilton (on Disney+ during Covid lockdowns), a whole new level of interest was unlocked. There are a billion and one opinions of the show out there, so I won't bother with writing much in the way of specifics, but I will say that if you're reading this and you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself to give it a solid shot sometime...maybe even if you don't like musicals at all. It is likely the most complete and compelling work of art I've ever experienced, and I have a feeling I'll still be discovering new layers of storytelling within it after several more years of watching and listening to it.
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| Image from here |
So, two things on Hamilton: First, a couple of weeks ago, the very well-filmed presentation of the live show that has been on Disney+ since 2020 was released to movie theaters for the first time. While I've read about some people having less-than-stellar experiences with raucous crowds singing and dancing along with the film enough to hamper others' enjoyment (writer and original Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, did post that fans should sing along), our experience was just awesome. Pretty much everything hits a little different on a big screen with surround sound, and the shift in perspective and ability to catch little details had both Laura and me thinking that it was cut differently from the version we'd already seen many times. (That doesn't seem to be the case.) There's also a documentary-style intro that adds a bit to the experience, but the real draw for me was just getting to see the show in a (literally) different light, with the framing and camera angles often making it feel like we were sitting in the audience of a live theater.
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| Image from here |
Anyway, we were pretty excited when we found out that was going to be happening, and it lived up to expectations. Our reactions to it were nothing, however, when compared to our learning that Leslie Odom Jr. -- who originated the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton's Broadway run (and won a Tony for his efforts) -- would be returning to his old part for 12 weeks this year. Laura got in early for tickets (when we could still afford them), and we got to see him last week. And I don't want to oversell how great it was, but...it was pretty much the best thing ever. Obviously, everyone in Broadway shows is super-talented...but my gods can this man sing. You could feel the anticipation in the room when his biggest numbers were about to start. I think "The Room Where It Happens" is the one that really popped for me that night, but I'm probably most excited that I got to see him perform "Wait For It," which is such an incredibly moving song with him behind it...
So...that's pretty much what I've got today. Just a nod to the genius of Hamilton and the transcendent talent of Leslie Odom Jr. Because I'm always kind of thinking about how gaming weaves in and out of the things I enjoy, I'm certainly turning over some tabletop ideas in my head after all of this. It got me thinking about rules for a duel with pistols (uh...spoiler alert, I guess, if you don't know much about Aaron Burr), and it really has me working through thoughts on how to bring the narrative artistry of Broadway into a tabletop RPG. There has to be something there...I just have to figure out what tools are needed for a musical to emerge from a story about beating up goblins and taking their stuff...
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