Reviewed by:

• Hamilton: An American Musical by Lin Manuel-Miranda
• Patricia Herrera

Since its off-Broadway debut at the New York Public Theater in early 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton has become a theatrical phenomenon of historic proportions, achieving staggering levels of critical and commercial success. I have had the great fortune of seeing Hamilton onstage a couple of times and have enjoyed this artistic masterpiece, but as I have written before, that pleasure comes with some caution and trepidation. By detaching from the narrative of slavery and disavowing Black bodies and their experiences, Hamilton brings the white body back to life, glossing over the racial terror saturating American history. While Disney’s early release of Hamilton is certainly beneficial in terms of accessibility, these shortcomings are far more pronounced. In the wake of 2020’s racial injustice protests and the coronavirus lockdowns, when gasps of grief and rage grew even louder, the show’s closing image of Eliza’s gasp took on a whole new meaning.

Wrestling between pleasure and urgency, the craft of theatre remains as a source of “revolution and revelation” (as the Schuyler sisters desire). Under the direction of Thomas Kail, who also directed the stage version, the film is a firsthand look at the actual stage production at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Rather than emulating the form and style of cinema, the film is an immersive live-captured version of a Broadway musical. Televiewers come close to experiencing what it feels like to be on the stage as a performer or in the theatre as an audience member from the comfort of their homes. While the film indeed offers a great approximation of theatre, the cinematic form, as is true for most live-recordings, can’t replace the liveness nor capture the give-and-take between actors and audience. What remains is a valuable historical document preserving the original cast on film and underscoring the collaboration of the creative team.

Shot in three days in June of 2016, when the cast was performing the show to sold-out audiences on a nearly daily basis, Kail captures both the scope and intimacy of Hamilton. He employed nine cameras, some placed in the audience, others overhead, and another set in the rear of the stage. The wide shots allow for a fuller theatrical experience. The spare, evocative set design of David Korins and stunning choreography of Andy Blankenbuehler stand out as central elements of the musical. The large two-story wooden scaffold with coils of nautical ropes and pulleys hanging in front of the brick wall underscores America being built from its foundation and how Hamilton and other immigrants came by ship. The film accentuates even more the physicality of the ensemble. Actors move above the stage, descend onto the platform, and stand on a turn-table-floor, offering the musical more expressive complexity to the subtext. Alex Lacamoire’s score, blending the rhythms of hip-hop, rock, and Golden Age Broadway, heightens the audio experience. The film beautifully captures theatre-making at its best, particularly in the final duel scene. The scratchy-rewinding-of-time along with the countdown punctuates Hamilton’s death. Ariana DeBose theatrically heightens this moment when she grabs the invisible bullet that will kill the title character in mid-air and the ensemble freezes in a series of tableaux. As the turntable-floor rotates ever so slightly, the ensemble reenacts flashes of Hamilton’s life in slow-motion.

The camera shifts from wide shots to close-ups capturing those moments sometimes not visible to the naked eye. Sitting in the far-off theatre seat, I missed the intensity of the spittle flying from King George III (Jonathan Groff). Now seeing his uptight posture up close against his spittle filled that moment with so much more humor. The wide shots and close up also helps capture the emotional intensity of the conclusion. Towards the end, Eliza speaking [End Page 83]

Lin-Manuel Miranda is Alexander Hamilton...

审核人：

• 汉密尔顿：林曼纽尔·米兰达（Lin Manuel-Miranda）的美国音乐剧
• 帕特里夏·埃雷拉（Patricia Herrera）

自2015年初在纽约公共剧院在百老汇首演以来，林·曼努埃尔·米兰达的音乐剧《汉密尔顿》已成为具有历史意义的戏剧性现象，取得了惊人的批判和商业成功。我有幸见过汉密尔顿两次登台并享受了这部艺术杰作，但是正如我之前所写的那样，这种愉悦感带有一些谨慎和恐惧。汉密尔顿摆脱了奴隶制的叙述，讨厌黑人的身体及其经历，使白人恢复了生命，掩盖了充斥着美国历史的种族恐怖。而迪士尼早日发行的《汉密尔顿》在可访问性方面肯定是有益的，这些缺点要明显得多。在2020年种族不公正抗议和冠状病毒封锁之后，悲痛和愤怒的喘息声变得更大，该节目的伊丽莎（Eliza）喘息的闭幕式具有全新的含义。

在愉悦与紧迫之间挣扎，戏剧的手法仍然是“革命与启示”的源泉（正如舒勒姐妹所希望的那样）。这部电影是在托马斯·凯尔（Thomas Kail）的指导下完成的，该导演同时也是舞台剧的导演。这部电影不是模仿电影的形式和风格，而是百老汇音乐剧的沉浸式现场拍摄版本。电视观众几乎可以在家中舒适地体验作为表演者在舞台上或作为观众在剧院中的感觉。尽管电影确实提供了非常近似的戏剧效果，但电影形式（对于大多数现场录制而言都是如此）无法替代生动性，也无法捕捉演员与观众之间的让步。

拍摄于2016年6月的三天内，当演员几乎每天都在向售罄的观众表演该节目时，凯尔抓住了汉密尔顿的范围和亲密感。他雇用了九台摄像机，有些放在观众席上，有些放在头顶上，另一套放在舞台后面。较宽的镜头可以提供更完整的戏剧体验。大卫·科林斯（David Korins）的备用，令人回味的布景设计和安迪·布兰肯布勒（Andy Blankenbuehler）的惊艳编舞成为音乐剧的核心元素。大型的两层木结构脚手架，在砖墙前悬挂着成卷的航海绳索和滑轮，这突出了美国从其基础开始建造的过程，以及汉密尔顿和其他移民如何乘船来港。这部电影更加强调了合奏的实体感。演员在舞台上移动，下降到平台上，并站在转盘地板上，为潜台词提供了更具表达力的音乐复杂性。Alex Lacamoire的乐谱，融合了嘻哈，摇滚和黄金时代百老汇的节奏，增强音频体验。这部电影以其最佳状态完美地捕捉了戏剧制作，尤其是在最后的决斗场景中。时光倒流和倒计时标志着汉密尔顿的死。阿丽亚娜·德波塞（Ariana DeBose）抓住舞台上的那颗隐形子弹，杀死空中的主人公，而合奏则冻结在一系列画面中，这时戏剧性地提升了这一时刻。当转盘地板旋转得如此微小时，合奏以慢动作再现了汉密尔顿的一生。阿丽亚娜·德波塞（Ariana DeBose）抓住舞台上的那颗隐形子弹，杀死空中的主人公，而合奏则冻结在一系列画面中，这时戏剧性地提升了这一时刻。当转盘地板旋转得如此微小时，合奏以慢动作再现了汉密尔顿的一生。阿丽亚娜·德波塞（Ariana DeBose）抓住舞台上的那颗隐形子弹，杀死空中的主人公，而合奏则冻结在一系列画面中，这时戏剧性地提升了这一时刻。当转盘地板旋转得如此微小时，合奏以慢动作再现了汉密尔顿的一生。

相机从广角镜头切换到近摄镜头，以捕捉那些有时肉眼看不到的瞬间。坐在遥远的剧院座位上，我错过了乔治三世国王（乔纳森·格罗夫（Jonathan Groff））发出的唾沫般强烈的飞扬。现在看到他紧紧的姿势紧贴着唾沫，那一刻充满了更多的幽默感。宽镜头和近距离拍摄也有助于捕捉结论的情感强度。最终，伊丽莎（Eliza）发言[结束第83页]

Lin-Manuel Miranda是亚历山大·汉密尔顿...