One of the last things I did before starting my four months in quarantine was see a production of Hamlet at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. New York had its first confirmed case of COVID a mere hour before I stepped into the tiny theater. And while I’m a huge Shakespeare nerd who had been waiting months to watch Ruth Negga take on the titular role, I couldn’t help but wonder, “is this really worth the risk?” during the entire performance. By the following weekend, I was staying inside.
Obviously, practicing social distancing is of paramount importance at the moment and, as much as I miss leaving my home to see great art (or leaving my house in general), I don’t plan on stepping into a theater any time soon. Between the many streaming services I subscribe to, I have no shortage of films and television to watch. Musicians have been releasing new albums with some regularity, and I’ve already ordered quite a few novels from indie bookstores nearby. But the experience of watching a new musical or play at home is almost impossible to replicate. Almost.
By now, you probably know Hamilton is streaming on Disney+. I had the privilege of seeing the musical on Broadway in 2018, after years of listening to the album on repeat and entering the lottery for tickets on a regular basis. As a piece of musical theater, its reputation practically speaks for itself, but I’ll go on the record and say that I think it’s a fascinating look at how we contextualize American history and form our own narratives. It’s also brilliantly staged, and nearly every song is a showstopper. When Disney acquired the recording of the original Broadway cast on stage, I was excited to eventually check it out again for the price of a movie ticket – not a Broadway one.
But the recording took on a new meaning this summer, as I entered my fourth month at home. I was desperate for a taste of live theater and excited to have something that felt like a new release but was also something I knew I would enjoy. I watched Hamilton twice over the 4th of July weekend… once with my family (who I had originally seen it on stage with), and another time with friends (virtually, of course) who had never seen it before. It was a thrilling escape – a reminder of how much talent there is on Broadway waiting for us once this ends.
Of course, a cast recording doesn’t quite replicate the experience of seeing a show on stage. For example, the rewind choreography in “Satisfied” (the musical’s best song) isn’t captured in a way that showcases just how brilliant it is. The sound mixing during big group numbers like “Non-Stop” and “The Schuyler Sisters” leaves a bit to be desired. And the many close-ups tend to be distracting, emphasizing the sort of over-acting that is necessary for playing to a large audience but does not translate well to film.
But, then again, I’m approaching this from the privileged perspective of someone who has already seen Hamilton on stage once and attends Broadway productions semi-regularly. This recording will absolutely thrill viewers who haven’t been able to see the show – and its presence on Disney+ will (hopefully) introduce many kids to the wonderful world of musical theater.
But let’s look past Hamilton for a moment. I don’t know when performances will resume on Broadway. At the time of publishing, we’ve already known for weeks that theaters will be closed through the year, which is necessary but no less heartbreaking. There are, however, some streaming alternatives that I hope both theater fans and those curious about the performing arts will check out.
One of the highlights of the past few months was when Original Cast Album: “Company” was added to the incredible lineup over at the Criterion Channel (my personal pick for the best streaming service at the moment). For those that aren’t aware – this is an hour-long documentary originally envisioned as a TV pilot which focuses on the original Broadway cast of Company as they record the album over the course of a single night. It was a cult favorite – very hard to find a copy of, but passionately praised by anyone who had seen it. Most recently, it was (brilliantly) spoofed on Documentary Now.
Company is my absolute favorite musical. It’s a brilliantly written look at being single, and I was extremely excited to see the gender-bent production set to open on Broadway in April – now one of the many productions whose fate is currently up in the air. But having this documentary suddenly available to view whenever I want is just an absolute gift. It’s such a shining testament to the absolute beauty we can find on Broadway, diving into the technical aspects of the craft we don’t immediately think about when we’re watching a show. I’m sure fans of the musical have already checked it out, but I hope it finds an audience who may not have heard of the musical before.
But that’s not all! We had the absolutely joyful virtual concert in honor of Stephen Sondheim’s birthday, which led to many brilliant performances from actors we love – including the thrilling performance of “Ladies Who Lunch” (from Company) by no less than Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, and Audra McDonald. The cast of the NBC series Smash reunited and made their production of Bombshell in Concert available to the masses, which was an absolute treat for fans of the camp classic.
Meanwhile, the Globe Theater has been making productions available on a weekly basis, which is an absolute must for Shakespeare fans (I watched a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream a few weeks ago that was quite funny). And, for those interested in having a library at their disposal, BroadwayHD has a solid selection of professionally filmed productions available for about $9/ month (from their catalog, I recommend the brilliant revival of Falsettos from 2016).
It’s, of course, a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. But I miss theater a lot. I’m happy that something like Hamilton was made available to viewers that were already fans of the musical, and those who have not been able to see it on stage just yet. I’ve loved talking with friends about what they think of the musical. But I hope we don’t stop there. It will be a while before we can sit in a theater – let’s embrace the options we have at our disposal. Sure, we can’t sit in a theater – but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about how wonderful it is.
Hamilton is now streaming on Disney Plus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CzV1_HOf-E
