Free Thoughts on ‘Hamilton’

brian — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 15:35:47 +0000

Here are “free thoughts” on the cast and performance from Hamilton, which I recently saw in NYC:

Michael Luwoye is a great Hamilton, but I wasn’t as blown away as I was led to expect from stuff I had read online. He was reserved in some spots and talk sang the beginnings to a bunch of songs. Maybe it’s his style, maybe it was a slow start for a Saturday matinee. However, I think he was really crying during “It’s Quiet Uptown.” He just didn’t always have the energy Lin can bring.
This may be blasphemy, but Daniel Breaker may be a better Burr than Leslie Odom. He had the snark and bitterness that I imagine Burr actually had from the beginning of the show. He was outstanding.
None of the women can touch the original trio even though I loved their performances. Lexi Lawson is a great Eliza. She worked really well with Elizabeth Judd, who is the standby for Angelica. That role is so hard because Renee Elise Goldsberry is such a powerful figure. Judd is younger and brought great believeability to the two as sisters. She wasn’t as powerful with some of her singing, but you saw the connection between the actresses. Joanna Jones was a great Peggy/Maria. I will never not love Peggy.
Euan Morton may be my favorite King. I think I have seen videos of 3-4 of them. I think his face just is more expressive than Jonathan Groft.
Anthony Lee Medina does a great job with Laurens/Phillip. He has an excitement that is natural, just like Anthony Ramos. He plays Laurens more like a horndog than a guy who may be obsessed with Hamilton, which was fun, but I liked the layered performance Ramos gave a little better.
Bryan Terrell Clark’s Washington just oozes cool. He doesn’t have the gravitas of Chris Jackson, but he makes the role his own. Unflappable.
Not the biggest fan of James Monroe Iglehart as Lafayette/Jefferson. His First Act accent is all over the place. And I am certain they play “Guns and Ships” a little slower so he can pull off the rap. Not horrible, just a curious choice for the role.
Andrew Chappelle played Mulligan/Madison. He was in the Public Theater ensemble and he been understudying on Broadway for a little while. He was good. He is not as imposing so he loses a little in Mulligan, plus it is hilarious watching him (he’s 31, but looks a lot younger) saying “I got ya’ll knuckleheads in loco parentis” to Igelhart, who is 43. I loved his Madison. He played him kind of foppish and effeminate, which I think underscored the weakness the character is supposed to have. He seemed more like Jefferson’s sidekick there so the casting worked well.
The ensemble member who played James Reynolds (Ryan Vasquez) was spectacular. You could tell he knew he had about a minute to be the biggest asshole he could be and loved every second of it.
I think the thing that goes unnoticed when watching the bootlegs is how active the entire cast and ensemble is throughout the show. You don’t see all that activity from a video.
“Battle of Yorktown” is just mindblowing. It was so hard to not stand up and fist pump along with them.

My Cha Cha Slide Debut

brian — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:30:40 +0000

I try not to let too many rules run my life. I am somewhat set in my ways, but I like adapting to new situations as they present themselves.

I knew a lot of that would change when we started a family almost eight years ago. I had to watch my language in the house. I needed to cut back on yelling at the TV during sporting events. I might not get a chance to take a nap whenever I wanted.

None of those things really phased me. In order to be a good Dad, I knew I would have to make sacrifices.

I made the biggest one of all at the father-daughter dance for Bridget’s Girl Scout troop the other night. I participated in a line dance.

Under normal circumstances, I celebrate the tackiness of American culture. Some people may find that boorish, but I don’t think we should apologize for our unique way of doing things.

I draw the line, however, at getting in a line and doing the same dance movements in unison at a public event.

I honestly don’t remember the last time I did a line dance. Some friends and I loved to do the chicken dance in college, but that was more of a raucous event after a few drinks instead of family-friendly fun.

I know I will probably upset lots of women with my stance on this issue since they usually lead the charge to the dance floor for one of these numbers, but I can’t think of anything more humiliating than being forced to break this rule of mine.

And that’s exactly why some of the mothers in charge of the dance made sure that we guys had to get up and do the “Cha Cha Slide” in front of our daughters.

At one point, I heard someone say they hoped someone had a video camera to capture the moment. I didn’t see any, but I was one of the guys hiding in the back trying to do as little as possible to draw attention to myself.

When I do go to an event where they play one of those songs, I usualy commiserate with other like-minded guys at the bar. I was stuck this time because the Girl Scout dance didn’t have a bar. It also didn’t have the basketball games on anywhere, but that’s a separate issue.

I really had a good time at the dance. Don’t think that my reluctance to take part in this one activity means that I don’t like to dance. I love to dance. I can cut a mean rug, but I like to do it on my own terms, not in the way that DJ Casper thinks I should.

Dancing should bring out your own unique style, not make us all do the same goofy. I would have gladly embarrassed myself in front of my daughter, but I wanted to do it differently than all the other Dads in the room.

That’s one of my best skills. I shouldn’t have to be stifled by the “Cha Cha Slide.”

Dancing – Regular Guy

Free Thoughts on ‘Hamilton’

My Cha Cha Slide Debut