Can there be reactions to other cut songs? I personally like "One last ride" and "Ten things, One thing" (Another version of The World Was Wide Enough, but with Hamilton having a ten dual commandments part as well) There's also a longer version of Schyuler Defeated which I really like, too! (Which is followed by another song, Let It Go) There's also a Dear Theodosia Reprise worth listening to, and The Adams Administration rap- dear, there are so many 😰
A couple of interesting facts. Burr goes on to live almost another 30 years after the duel with Hamilton. For the rest of his life after the duel, he would always refer to Hamilton as "My friend Mr Hamilton, whom I shot." Burr would also outlive his daughter Theodosia, who died in a shipwreck. He would go on to get remaried, and later, when his wife wanted a divorce, her lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr. Burr would only once ever express regret about what happened with Hamilton. He was asked about the incident in a letter from a friend. He responded, "Had I read Sterne more and Voltaire less I should have known the world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me." Hence, we get the song. A lot of Lin's lyrics are taken from real dialogue. Hamilton did call Burr "amoral" and "a dangerous disgrace" and during the correspondence leading to the duel, Burr did sign all his letters "I have the honour to be your obedient servant, A. Burr." Finally, we see Hamilton writing a Letter during the Song "Best of Wives, Best of Women." The letter he is writing would become quite famous, and gives the song its name. It read; "To Elizabeth Hamilton, This letter, my very dear Eliza, will not be delivered to you, unless I shall first have terminated my earthly career; to begin, as I humbly hope from redeeming grace and divine mercy, a happy immortality. If it had been possible for me to have avoided the interview, my love for you and my precious children would have been alone a decisive motive. But it was not possible, without sacrifices which would have rendered me unworthy of your esteem. I need not tell you of the pangs I feel, from the idea of quitting you and exposing you to the anguish which I know you would feel. Nor could I dwell on the topic lest it should unman me. The consolations of Religion, my beloved, can alone support you; and these you have a right to enjoy. Fly to the bosom of your God and be comforted. With my last idea; I shall cherish the sweet hope of meeting you in a better world. Adieu best of wives and best of Women. Embrace all my darling Children for me. Ever yours, A.H" It was given to his second, Nathaniel Pendleton, who gave it to Eliza after Hamilton's death. Eliza lived to be 97 dying in 1854. Alexander hamilton was 48 or 49 when he died. Burr was 51 at the time of the duel and 79 when he died. Following Hamilton's death, It became a convention for every man elected president, to pay a courtesy call to Mrs Hamilton in D.C. Mrs Hamilton met every president up to and including Franklin Pierce, with one exception... James Monroe. Upon his election, Monroe went to pay her a call as tradition dictated, and she said she would only see him if he publicly apologised for the lies he spread about her husband. She blamed him for her husbands death as the main instigater of the public outcry relating to the Reynolds affair and a former close friend of Hamilton's. Monroe refused, and she demanded he leave without seeing him.
Burr also raised an expidition of "farmers" (read: militia) to take some land in Texas from Spain, banking on a war between the two powers being inevitable, possibly to form his own nation. Jefferson arrested him for treason to get him to back down, forcing him into exile in Europe for fear of individual states taking it further. While there, he tried to team up with Napoleon, only to run home under an assumed name after being rejected. His post-Hamilton life reads like a direct-to-video sequel to a Don Bluth film.
My favorite summarization of Burr and Hamilton’s relationship, by Lin-Manuel Miranda himself: “For most of the time they knew each other, Hamilton was reckless, Burr was cautious. The first time they switched places, one of them kills the other”
The subversion of Madison coughing all the time and NOT dying - the usual end for that in theater and films - because irl Madison was ALWAYS sick like a dog and coughing, but he outlived literally ALL other founding fathers, the clever dog.
I will point out that while the show is nominally about Alexander, the TITLE is Hamilton and the last person we focus on is in fact Elizabeth Hamilton. There is a strong argument that the title references both Alex and Betsy. ETA: Also since Mortius didn't mention it, the orphanage is still open.
One of my favourite things after knowing that Hamilton shot up is that in non-stop, Hamilton sings “I am not throwing away my shot” only for the chorus to sing back with “just you wait.” I love this musical
I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT! I mean the "I am not throwing away my shot" "just you wait" was so frequent in the first act that I never really connected the dots?
Don’t forget this moment in Hurricane: Hamilton: “I was twelve when my mother died... I couldn’t seem to die.” Burr: “Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it”
This, and also the chorus urging him to _”Wait For It, Wait For It, Wait For It- WAIT”_ right before he pens the Reynolds Pamphlet at the end of ‘Hurricane’.
Burrs line "This man will NOT make an ORPHAN of my daughter" makes soooo much more sense in conection to the cut song "Dear Theodosia: Reprise"! Becouse in that song, we learn that Theodosia senior (Burrs now wive, and the mother of his daughter "Theodosia"), dies doe to sickmess. So if Burr would die in this dual, his daughter would be in the same posittion he was in growing up: an Orphan. It puts it in COMPLETELY different perspective why he acted the way he did during the dual!
Um, no. Burr's daughter was 21 and married when Hamilton died. It's completely different to Burr who's parents died when he was 1 and 2 years old. You are not an orphan if you are 21 and married. Burr was looking for excuses.
@@jackson857 "Orphan Syndrome: An orphan is typically defined as a child under the age of 18 who has lost one or both parents. When used in a broader sense, the word orphan applies to anyone who has lost their biological parents. Adult-age persons who have lost their parents can and still do identify themselves as orphans." So while you aren't incorect, the intendet use is for people under 18 (at least in america), the term "orphan" can still be applied to her, even if she is alredy over 18, from a sentimental standpoint.
Eliza was 97 when she died. And she was waiting so long for that. People wrote that even when she was 80 (and probably younger) she would say that she wanted to see Hamilton again.
Eliza also was often visited or invited to meet by the sitting President up until her dearh in 1854. The last President to meet with Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was President Filmore
Mortius said Alexander is the "title character", but I would argue otherwise. The musical is called "Hamilton", and so I would say it is about not just Alex, but Eliza (and to some extent Phillip) as well. Like they sang in the finale, "Will they tell your/our/my story?" It may have started with a literal biography of Alex' early life, but it ended up being a story about the Hamiltons as a whole, all of their stories were told, and I think that is beautiful ❤
Eliza, Alexander and Burr are also the only ones that wear something different from the other cast members, because they are Who Lives (Burr), Who Dies (Hamilton) and Who Tells Your Story (Eliza).
On a rewatch, look at George Washington's face when Eliza sings "I speak out against slavery" the character playing Washington looks down in shame (because he owned hundreds of slaves)
17:37 As tragic as this song is, I got really happy from hearing Casper say "You poor fool." It's the first time I've seen someone actually feel bad for Burr in this moment. People seem to think that if they were in his position, they would've done things differently. I don't think I would. I can't know what I'd do, but self-preservation is instinctual, and marksman Alexander wore his glasses to the duel, so it isn't irrational to assume "Hey, this guy may actually be intending to shoot me."
In 1806, Eliza Hamilton teamed up with her friend Isabella Graham, a Scottish immigrant, and Isabella's daughter Joanna Bethune to create an orphanage that would come to be known as the Graham Home for Children. Another building in 1835, Windham Child Care, helped widowed mothers to care for their children. These two merged into the Graham Windham, which still exists today. In fact, Eliza's actress Phillipa Soo started "The Eliza Project" to bring the arts to these children (music, dancing, rapping) to help teach them how to express themselves. Truly, this is how you GET INTO CHARACTER.
Ok, as for how the musical came about: in Lin's own words, "I was looking for a book to read on the beach during a vacation in Mexico and happened to pick up this amazing biography about Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. I had written a paper in high school about the duel in 1804 between Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr, but that was all I knew about the man. I said to myself, “I know this guy” - because his story is an immigrant story, which I find myself drawn to. I didn’t know that he was an immigrant until I read the book. This is a guy who pulled himself up from out of nothing and helped to create our nation. He was like some character from a Charles Dickens story. He was born illegitimate; he was an orphan by the time he was 10 and he was penniless. Just on the strength of his writing, he got himself a scholarship to come to New York at age 17. Hamilton also reminded me of my father. My father was about the same age as Hamilton when he came here from Puerto Rico to study, and he learned to speak English only while he was doing his studies here. He later served as a special advisor to Mayor Koch and ran political campaigns through his own consulting company. Writing the story has helped me understand my father and his ambition." He was so fascinated by the book that he wondered why Hamilton's life had never been made into a musical. Even other musicals like "1776" (the line Hamilton sings in Act 2, ♫Sit down, John...♫ is actually lifted right out of 1776) that focus on the Founding Fathers say little about Hamilton. It took Lin about seven years to write the show. It took him one year alone to write the second song in the show, "My Shot." He intended just to do a concept album, and there is a great video here on RUclips of Miranda performing the first song at the White House and explaining his concept that Hamilton had beef with all the other FF, and that seemed very hip-hop to Miranda, so he intended the album to do the same. That gave him his hook and realized not every character had to be hip-hop, each could sing in the style that best fit them. That's why King George sings like a British Invasion band from the 60s (to highlight his "otherness" as a British man), why Samuel Seabury sings to a staid, restrained harpsichord (to show how old fashioned he is), why the Schuyler sisters sing like those girl-power pop groups from the 1990s (like TLC), and why Jefferson, doing his own thing and being out of step with everything the Revolutionaries have been through, sings something jazzy and so different from the rest of the group, and YET easily falls steps into the hip-hop patterns and outraps Hamilton.
34:42 AND at the beggining of the song "Alexander Hamilton", Alex has the same costume that everyone else because he is essencially dead, but when he prepares to tell his story, Eliza puts a coat on him almost like she wanted him to "revive". The ensamble and other characters have the white costume, except for Aaron and Alexander for the rest of the song.
Dead - or not realized / ready to take their places. It could be argued that they”re all as actors / representations of the characters they will soon become. Burr is only in color because has part-time narrator duties & just starts in that roll (But yea - I love that Burr takes the white coat & Eliza puts him in the brown)
Y'all are missing something. The name of the show is NOT Alexander Hamilton. Who takes the first solo bow at the end? Traditionally, on Broadway, the main character does that - but that isn't Alex. It's Eliza. This is HER story. The last song isn't an epilogue, it's a tribute to her. She lived another 50 years, and it became the custom for newly-elected Presidents to go to see her to get her views on the issues of the day.
Fun fact. The government was looking to replace one of the people on our bills to put a woman of history and it had been decided on replacing Hamilton on the $10 bill and the success of this musical changed their minds.
There's something really tragic about Eliza's death, because the final living widow of a founding father died 7 years before the American civil war began, in 1854 a civil war probably seemed inevitable, so you can imagine just how depressed this woman would be, because in some form or another she remembers the founding generation, she was one of the last living people to know those men personally, and she was alive to witness the beginnings of the schism.
Elizabeth Schuyler lived to 97. I do want to point out that life expectancy was not as low as it was at the time because of bad health LATER in life, it is because it also counts the infant mortality which was infinitely higher then than it is today. 97 is still impressive for the time but 70 was absolutely not unheard of for the time among people who lived past 4 years old (Also, LOVE that you're doing Legally Blonde!)
97 is still impressive for today ;) but you're totally correct. If I remember correctly, the Hamilton's also had some kids who did not survive infancy. But if I'm correct, Eliza survived all (or at least most) of their kids
Mortius, Lafayette and Mulligan actually change coats on stage. Other cast members bring their white coats and take their Jefferson and Madison coats away. The smooth transitions in this show are amazing 😊
There's no way to confirm or deny the eyewitness report, and it was from a guy who was on Hamilton's side on the day of the duel, but Hamilton apparently told his companions that he had his glasses on NOT to aim better, but to be able to see Burr's face to see if Burr was having second thoughts.
Oh, and again the musical is very generous towards Burr. In the musical, Burr says he tried to go to Hamilton, but was ushered away and then went for a drink with a tone in his voice like he's sad. In reality, he went to a bar to drink with friends and was so happy and carefree at the bar that *none* of the friends he met there knew he'd just killed a man. They were shocked to find out later what he'd done because of how nonchalant he was while hanging out with them.
Yeah, Les Miserables does some really fantastic work with the moving stage, like the big barricade scene where they spin the entire barricade around to see one of the student soldiers splayed out on the other side of the barricade with the red revolutionary flag draped along it next to him after the battle with the royal army is lost. It's just...jawdropping.
Unfortunately, people like Jefferson, Madison and his other political enemies worked as hard as they could to destroy Hamilton's memory. It's actually all thanks to Eliza that we know anything about him at all. If she had either passed earlier or had ended up still bitter at Alexander for what he did, she wouldn't have saved and protected his writings, or recorded the memories of people who fought and worked with him.
Notice how from the second the bullet hits Alexander, there's a heartbeat, but once Burr says "Were both at his side when he died", there's a ring of a bell (it sounds like a church bell to me) and the heartbeat stops.
Anyways. In the end Burr didn’t wait for it and Hamilton threw away his shot. Which I just find really funny. Also in one of the songs the where Hamilton says “I’m not throwing away my shot” the backing vocals sings “just you wait” and later also saying “till the world turns upside down.” After the war these same background vocals sing “the world turned upside down” metaphorically giving Hamilton ‘permission’ to throw away his shot!
I think an interesting thing about the lyric “I survived, but I paid for it.” Is that it also implies that people were upset that he survived. Almost like a “It should have been you.”
aaaa i hope you guys noticed Washington face when Eliza sing "i speak out against slavery" because the shame that comes to his face right after he proudly sings "she tells my story" (26:27) is just so good!
6:17 There's a cut song, "Ten Things, One Thing," that tells this duel from Hamilton's perspective, and it's beautiful how everything has more sense. I really like this song cause it's when the protagonist and antagonist broke their leitmotiff: Hamilton threw away his shot, and Burr didn't wait for it (you can even hear that he tries to sing it after the shot)
Casper's so lucky, this could have been one of the weeks where the scene would have played like this: C: "Of course you remember because it's your favourite song: death doesn't discriminate-" M: "Actually, my favorite song is One Last Time..."
This brings a different meaning to Burrs song. Mainly one part comes to mind when he sings “Wait for it, wait for it I am the one thing in life I can control “.
When I went to see Hamilton in London there was a couple in front of me and the woman clearly knew the show inside out whereas the man was going in blind. At the interval she turned to him and was like “the first act is all gearing up, war and action. The second act is all pain” She was not wrong.
There’s an older version of “The World Was Wide Enough” that didn’t make the Final Cut (for good reason cause Hamilton’s beat poem is SO much better!) where they go back through all the same points in the 1-10 that Burr just went through but from Hamilton’s point of view. Again, not as good as what we got, but adds some layers of depth to Burr’s verse.
I finally saw Hamilton live yesterday in Dublin, sobbed at the first note knowing I was actually seeing it live. I started listening to your coverage partially as a countdown to our tickets, so it's fitting that your coverage ends this week as well, thanks for the journey and the insights ❤
What i like about this musical is that it doesn't let Alexander entirely off the hook for this duel. It puts some of the blame on Alexander because while burr does shoot him, Alexander is partly to blame as well. Also, it's up for debate whether or not Alexander actually meant or intended to throw his shot even though that's what he wrote in that letter.
"Di-di-di-di, but I always say I'm from Queens!" is from 'In the Heights' "My mom is Dominican-Cuban, my dad is from Chile and P.R. which means: I'm Chile-Domini-Curican! But I always say I'm from Queens!" Which is still Lin 😂😂😂 There were definitely some pop and rock songs in musicals before this. But I don't know that there were any raps (outside of Lins works) unless we're saying Sonheim's lyricism rises to rap 😂
I hope Epic has a moving stage, if only for the part of Monster "I lost my best friend, I lost my mentor my mom" with all the people on the wider spinning part
Well, Jorge said he wanted to present Epic (if he didn't do it in an animation) in a circus, right? Which is like three times cooler, the other day I saw a really good video that showed how Epic could be presented in a circus.
Thank you Mortius for explaining what happens when Eliza gasps. I always wondered what that was about. I also love that Eliza's orphanage still exists and we're invited to the show.
Mortius trying to remember what dollar bill Hamilton is on (getting it right, of course) when there's a whole lyric at the beginning of the musical about what dollar bill Hamilton is on: "The ten-dollar founding father without a father."
These songs makes me sob like a baby. I'll name my favorite parts of each song; Hamilton remembering Eliza as his last thought. The ensemble singing, "He aims his pistol in the sky!" AND BURR'S "WAIT" HURTS ME SO MUCH ARHHDHGBOGKGOG Eliza's whole part in Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story is so good. It's so inspiring and heartwrenching. ESPECIALLY WHEN ELIZA MENTIONED THE ORPHANAGE- NEVER FAILS TO MAKE ME SOB AHH.
the colors of the ensemble is considered 'parchment'. Not because they're dead, but because they're part of the story. As they assume their characters their clothes change. So much history we weren't taught in schools. The end of the show when their voices join together is a nod to our "official" slogan- "out of Many, One". Loved your reactions!!
my favorite comment about hamilton is how its not just alexander hamilton's story -- its eliza hamilton's story --- aaah so good like say what you will about Hamilton and Lin but you can't deny how well written it is as a form of art
Me: I've seen and listened this musical so many times I'm not gonna cry Also me: *absolutely destroyed sobbing during the entirety of Elisa's part of who lives who dies who tells your story*
Btw2, The orphanage Eliza Hamilton founded is STILL active and working. I can't think of that many people who could be said to have created an institution that lasted through the centuries helping others.
There is a animatic by Ziksua called "Eliza's final song" that has the letter that Hamilton wrote in the beginning before transitioning to "Who lives, Who dies, Who tells your story" and is read by eliza and is beautiful P.S.: It's a shortened version of the actual letter Hamilton wrote Eliza as a goodbye
Last comment, I swear, but Mortius, they didn't change OFF stage. If you watch the choreography, focus on the background after Jefferson and Adams give their praise of Hamilton, they come down to the stage, and they are not trying to hide it, the ensemble members help them change into the cream coats of the dead characters. According to Chernow's book, Eliza tried for years to get Alexander's story told, but no biographer was ever able to get through the mountain of his papers.
Oh boy, I forgot how hard the "WAIT" in The world was wide enough and the whole Who lives, who dies, who tells your story hits me. I was sobbing without any controllike Mortius.
Lin was inspired to write hamilton after reading the biography on vacation and realizing A.Ham’s life truly reflected the hip-hop/rap journey experience so it would fit a hip-hop musical
Also one last thing, the world was wide enough, is actually based on something that Burr said later in his life, but the interesting thing about it is, burr doesn't ever seem to show remorse for what he did to Hamilton, and that quote is representative of the only time he even remotely came close to feeling sorry about it, (and it's not even like burr could justify it by saying that the point of a duel is to kill your opponent, people were killed in duels, but it usually wasn't the point of the duel, usually it would end before anyone shot just like the play says, and most of the time if they did shoot the other person would take a non-fatal wound) there is a separate rant to be had about a duel that happened Hamilton's lifetime, Hamilton helped expose something called the Conway cabal, it was some sort of plot to overthrow George Washington as general of the Continental forces, Thomas Conway is called to a duel over this affair, and he is shot directly in the mouth, but he survives (you remember the quip from Hamilton in reference to Charles Lee, where he said that "John should have shot him in the mouth, that would have shut him up" yeah that' was apparently based on the words of the person who shot Thomas Conway, history is wild sometimes man,) sorry for the side tangent, there are just so many fun Easter eggs in this play that after I talk about one another strikes me in the head and I feel compelled to share it. Edit: okay so looking up what actually happened to Thomas Conway, he is a medical miracle, I told you the part about him getting shot in the mouth, but it gets even crazier, it apparently went out the back of his head and lodged itself in his hair (And Thomas Conway somehow managed to live another 17 years, hopefully he was able to live comfortably, because the prospect of surviving something like that in the 1700s is kind of terrifying to contemplate, first off I don't even see how it was possible for them to treat him and even if they could keep him alive I don't see how he wouldn't have lived every day in agony, I really need to find more in depth information about this man)
Edit: 27:50 this feels more important for the moment but i have never noticed that through out the it looks like eliza is wearing her normal blue dress, but as she walks up to take alex/lin's hand the lights change from the blue hue that was one her to the normal light color and it shows eliza in a white dress (the color that is shown to represent death in this story), that is such a crazy detail, maybe I'm seeing it wrong but thats what it looked like - Also 15:44 that situation casper explains where its like a prophecy where you know no matter what thats how it ends but you're just hoping that some how some way it'll change in the end reminds me of one of my favorite books from when I was in highschool called "They both die at the end" it's set in a world where there is this company that is able to know the exact day when someone dies and they call them a day before and tell them they will die by the next day, and the whole time you're reading it, you're getting attached to these two characters (both guys) who end up finding eachother in during their final day (they both got calls saying they will die by the end of that day, hence the name of the book), and they end up falling in love and you hope so much that some how everything will be okay, it is such a heart wrenching book that follows multiple stories and protagonists infact those two aren't the only characters we follow, it actually a really interesting book and from what i hear it has two sequels now "the first to die at the end" (that ones a prequel) and a new one coming out soon that im not sure if it has a set name yet, anyways ik that series isn't for everyone before anyone gets on my case for it, but how casper was describing that scene heavily made me think about it
Thanks for covering this amazing show! A fun fact for the end of the play: the line “I should have known the world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me” was actually taken from a letter Burr wrote to a friend (I forget who) later in his life when he was reflecting on how his life changed after this moment. Lin has also said that Eliza is the only character who does not rap because she was the one to outlive everyone else and doesn’t need to rush getting her words out, because she is lucky enough to have more time. 🥲
"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" is my favorite song of this musical. To know all she did and we barely know any of this from real history class. (I'm in my fifties.)
I got to see Hamilton in person for my nineteenth birthday, by then it wasn't the original cast but it was still incredible. and I'm with you, never leave before all the bowing and such.
Hamilton is standing in the spot his son was shot, using the guns he loaned his son for HIS duel. He's fiddling with the trigger, maybe wondering if this was the gun that shot Phillip or the gun Philip was holding when shot. Hamilton was wearing his glasses as he'd just come from writing his last letters to his wife, father, and others. He probably didn't even think about leaving them on.
Two things- My high school had a moving stage. But it was different. The front half ( we called it the pit) moved up and down . Which might be something completely different and more common...But I remember being so fascinated with it especially when we would use it .( I was in the theatre magnet , choir , orchestra so we used it quite a bit ). 2nd - I understand . It's how I and I'm sure a lot of people felt about The Big Bang Theory ( TBBT) and Young Sheldon (YS). Watching YS you knew at the end that his dad was going to die because it already spoke on it plenty of times in TBBT but even when it happened it was so heartbreaking especially because the character in YS was much more likeable than they made him to be in TBBT... anyway I digress. I enjoyed the breakdown of my favorite musical ❤!
I wrote my comment before finishing the video to see you come back and talk about the Pit lol . I guess it is more common than I thought, I know our high school was the only one around the surrounding schools that we had visited.
Maaaan, i know they said they'd do first burn and congratulations already but i really hope they also do ten things one thing, i think the insight it gives into Hamilton's thought process is very good and I'm kinda sad they cut it
Part of why life expectancy was low was infant and women dying in childbirth, that will skew the numbers, not necessarily because ppl didn't live as long
It's crazy how this show blew up after I went to see it. I will always be grateful i went into it blind. The best thing my school ever did for me. We even had a private Q and A with the cast (OG) after the show
Most Broadway theaters have TV monitors facing the stage (like on the mezzanine/balcony) with a camera on the conductor so he can conduct both the music and a capella pieces to keep tempo. ♥
It's very cool to get the take of someone who wasn't born in this country and grew up with this history. The Hamilton/Burr duel might just be THE most famous duel in American history because a former Vice President shot and killed a former Secretary of the Treasury; the idea that 2 men who had gotten to those particular heights of political power would seek to kill each other is kinda shocking. Interestingly, Hamilton's own writing claims he intended to throw away his shot rather than try to kill Burr, but the guns he used had a hair trigger that made them much easier to fire, so no one knows if he changed his mind or if he accidentally shot when he raised the pistol. Btw, the actual rules of dueling say that if you intend to purposely miss your opponent, you don't raise the gun towards them at all (precisely BECAUSE guns were so unreliable). Instead, you aim to the side and point the gun at the GROUND as the safest option for all parties.
When Eliza mentions speaking out against slavery, Chris Jackson made the decision to bow his head, a sign of shame because George Washington was a slave owner.
While it doesn't take away how incredible these performers are, a good portion of the time, there are screens in eye view of the stage that show the conductor so that the cast can see what they are doing without having to look down. It's still very difficult, especially with a rotating stage that might take you out of view of those screens, but I thought it should at least be mentioned.
LMM points out that the musical is named "Hamilton", and that it does not only tell the story of Alexander Hamilton but also Eliza Hamilton. Also he was on vacation and saw a book on the biography of Alexander, it was light reading for him
yk I was thinking... the first song ends with Alexander *Hamilton* front and center, surrounded by the cast. The last song ends with Elizabeth *Hamilton* almost in the same position. I think that reinforces the idea that HAMILTON is about the both of them... the HAMILTON marriage.
No matter how many times I see this, the ending of this Musical will always make me emotional! I am really happy to view you both react to the ending! I would recommend checking out "Hamilton in 7 minutes" by RANGE music as it summarizes the musical in acapella and it is such a fun listen!
I love the version of the story lin goes with here because it gives it so much more emotion. But it is still unclear what happened during the dual and if hamilton's shot hiting the tree was on purpose. The shots were also within a couple seconds but they dont know who actually shot first. But both guns were shot.
If Casper likes learning about US History from musicals, the 250th Anniversary of the Dec of Ind is coming up….and 1776 is a great show to cover it!!! There is a musical movie with many of the original Broadway folks
Thank you, Moritus, for saying the house lights came up for Eliza's cry. That makes me look at it differently. Previously I thought it was representing the moment he died.
13:23 In My Shot Hercules Mulligan does this same choreography, and so does Hamilton! At this point in the choreography Hamilton is saying “see, I never thought I'd live past twenty where I come from some get half as many” he got double that, dying at 43, but he still wanted more time, he mainly raps since one of his fears (seemingly) is running out of time. Also I love burr sm, and the moment he screams wait makes me so emotional for no reason at all
14:43 I'm doing my final investigation project for school about this musical, so I've looked too much into its lyricism. This note isn't about the theme it's going to be about so it will be left out, so I wanted to share it in here: In "Aaron Burr, sir", the first meeting between Hamilton and Burr, Burr says to Hamilton "Can I get you a drink?". And here, once Hamilton is gone, he says "I get a drink", completely mortified. It could have been completely accidental, but there's something that screams inside of me when I hear the "same sentence" with one less person because they aren't there anymore. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well, I might have lost my sanity after the 10th rewatch with the most excrutinity I could muster😅
I'm very happy that I was able to witness the formation of this beautiful friendship from the beginning (I discovered Mortius' channel with Epic, then watched all the episodes since Casper joined). I`m so happy when I see a post from OAR, can't wait to see more from you two. And I am one of the people that Casper mentioned - I`ve been here from the first episode, patiently waiting to see the songs with you because I never watched or lisened to Hamilton before. So Mortius was my Hamilton guide as well. Thank you!
Thank you all so much for joining us on this historical AND musical journey.
Can there be reactions to other cut songs? I personally like "One last ride" and "Ten things, One thing" (Another version of The World Was Wide Enough, but with Hamilton having a ten dual commandments part as well) There's also a longer version of Schyuler Defeated which I really like, too! (Which is followed by another song, Let It Go)
There's also a Dear Theodosia Reprise worth listening to, and The Adams Administration rap- dear, there are so many 😰
I I'm pretty sure they did said they will listen to them at some point, they said it when listening to reynolds pamphlet @@TheSillyGuyaxelotl
Eliza lived to be 97. She was 47 when Alexander died, and their marriage lasted 24 years.
it was fantastic ⭐️
Isn't Legally Blonde the musical that has the "Is he gay or European" song?
"My fellow soldiers'll tell you I'm a terrible shot"
Fun fact: burr was aiming for hamilton's shoulder.
I’m sobbing.
Burr just has horrible luck first one Theodosia, then kills Hamilton then loses the other Theodosia
@@anastasija6866 wait he looses his daughter???
@@Ilovelanguages265 he outlives theodosia as she died at 29 in a ship wreck all of his other kids died before they even made it to adult hood
@@Godofwarenjoyer66664 YOURE NOT HELPING MY SOBBING, but ty for the new info that’s so sad
Eliza asking “Can I show you what I’m proudest of?” and Casper nodding so earnestly was actually really, really cute. 🥹
I did not notice that my lord
26:50
he was so into it
I know 😭 it just goes to prove what he was saying! He forgets he’s watching a play and gets so sucked into it and invested. It was a very cute moment
A couple of interesting facts. Burr goes on to live almost another 30 years after the duel with Hamilton. For the rest of his life after the duel, he would always refer to Hamilton as "My friend Mr Hamilton, whom I shot."
Burr would also outlive his daughter Theodosia, who died in a shipwreck. He would go on to get remaried, and later, when his wife wanted a divorce, her lawyer was Alexander Hamilton Jr.
Burr would only once ever express regret about what happened with Hamilton. He was asked about the incident in a letter from a friend. He responded, "Had I read Sterne more and Voltaire less I should have known the world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me." Hence, we get the song.
A lot of Lin's lyrics are taken from real dialogue. Hamilton did call Burr "amoral" and "a dangerous disgrace" and during the correspondence leading to the duel, Burr did sign all his letters "I have the honour to be your obedient servant, A. Burr."
Finally, we see Hamilton writing a Letter during the Song "Best of Wives, Best of Women." The letter he is writing would become quite famous, and gives the song its name. It read;
"To Elizabeth Hamilton,
This letter, my very dear Eliza, will not be delivered to you, unless I shall first have terminated my earthly career; to begin, as I humbly hope from redeeming grace and divine mercy, a happy immortality.
If it had been possible for me to have avoided the interview, my love for you and my precious children would have been alone a decisive motive. But it was not possible, without sacrifices which would have rendered me unworthy of your esteem. I need not tell you of the pangs I feel, from the idea of quitting you and exposing you to the anguish which I know you would feel. Nor could I dwell on the topic lest it should unman me.
The consolations of Religion, my beloved, can alone support you; and these you have a right to enjoy.
Fly to the bosom of your God and be comforted. With my last idea; I shall cherish the sweet hope of meeting you in a better world.
Adieu best of wives and best of Women. Embrace all my darling Children for me.
Ever yours,
A.H"
It was given to his second, Nathaniel Pendleton, who gave it to Eliza after Hamilton's death.
Eliza lived to be 97 dying in 1854. Alexander hamilton was 48 or 49 when he died. Burr was 51 at the time of the duel and 79 when he died.
Following Hamilton's death, It became a convention for every man elected president, to pay a courtesy call to Mrs Hamilton in D.C.
Mrs Hamilton met every president up to and including Franklin Pierce, with one exception... James Monroe.
Upon his election, Monroe went to pay her a call as tradition dictated, and she said she would only see him if he publicly apologised for the lies he spread about her husband. She blamed him for her husbands death as the main instigater of the public outcry relating to the Reynolds affair and a former close friend of Hamilton's. Monroe refused, and she demanded he leave without seeing him.
Burr also raised an expidition of "farmers" (read: militia) to take some land in Texas from Spain, banking on a war between the two powers being inevitable, possibly to form his own nation. Jefferson arrested him for treason to get him to back down, forcing him into exile in Europe for fear of individual states taking it further. While there, he tried to team up with Napoleon, only to run home under an assumed name after being rejected.
His post-Hamilton life reads like a direct-to-video sequel to a Don Bluth film.
Burr tried to get New Orleans as an independent country with him as President.
Nice facts!!
There's also the fact that eliza actually was one of the only people to forgive maria reynolds for the situation that occured
please let them see this 😂
Lol, Mortius saying quick thought instead of slowmo for the Bullet's choreography
😅
He has EPIC on his mind, he's gonna say quick thought. LOL
My favorite summarization of Burr and Hamilton’s relationship, by Lin-Manuel Miranda himself:
“For most of the time they knew each other, Hamilton was reckless, Burr was cautious. The first time they switched places, one of them kills the other”
Yeah I love this. Hamilton "threw away his shot" and Burr didn't "wait for it"
The subversion of Madison coughing all the time and NOT dying - the usual end for that in theater and films - because irl Madison was ALWAYS sick like a dog and coughing, but he outlived literally ALL other founding fathers, the clever dog.
Maybe he was pretending 🤷
Jonathan Groff is in the bow line up next to Daveed Diggs, he's just not dressed as King George so he's harder to spot.
I will point out that while the show is nominally about Alexander, the TITLE is Hamilton and the last person we focus on is in fact Elizabeth Hamilton. There is a strong argument that the title references both Alex and Betsy.
ETA: Also since Mortius didn't mention it, the orphanage is still open.
One of my favourite things after knowing that Hamilton shot up is that in non-stop, Hamilton sings “I am not throwing away my shot” only for the chorus to sing back with “just you wait.” I love this musical
I HAD NEVER THINK OF THAT OH MY GOD
I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT! I mean the "I am not throwing away my shot" "just you wait" was so frequent in the first act that I never really connected the dots?
How has this never occurred to me. brilliant
Don’t forget this moment in Hurricane:
Hamilton: “I was twelve when my mother died... I couldn’t seem to die.”
Burr: “Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it”
This, and also the chorus urging him to _”Wait For It, Wait For It, Wait For It- WAIT”_ right before he pens the Reynolds Pamphlet at the end of ‘Hurricane’.
Burrs line "This man will NOT make an ORPHAN of my daughter" makes soooo much more sense in conection to the cut song "Dear Theodosia: Reprise"! Becouse in that song, we learn that Theodosia senior (Burrs now wive, and the mother of his daughter "Theodosia"), dies doe to sickmess. So if Burr would die in this dual, his daughter would be in the same posittion he was in growing up: an Orphan.
It puts it in COMPLETELY different perspective why he acted the way he did during the dual!
He also outlived his daughter
Um, no. Burr's daughter was 21 and married when Hamilton died. It's completely different to Burr who's parents died when he was 1 and 2 years old. You are not an orphan if you are 21 and married. Burr was looking for excuses.
@@jackson857 "Orphan Syndrome: An orphan is typically defined as a child under the age of 18 who has lost one or both parents. When used in a broader sense, the word orphan applies to anyone who has lost their biological parents. Adult-age persons who have lost their parents can and still do identify themselves as orphans."
So while you aren't incorect, the intendet use is for people under 18 (at least in america), the term "orphan" can still be applied to her, even if she is alredy over 18, from a sentimental standpoint.
Eliza was 97 when she died. And she was waiting so long for that. People wrote that even when she was 80 (and probably younger) she would say that she wanted to see Hamilton again.
Angelica was 67 and Peggy 43 or 42 (not exactly sure)
Eliza also was often visited or invited to meet by the sitting President up until her dearh in 1854. The last President to meet with Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton was President Filmore
Another fun lil fact! Eliza almost lived long enough to see the American Civil War, she died only 6 years before it started.
@@valerieloc1686 no she was 97, hamilton didn't die that young lol, he was 47 when he passed
@@manooo0na yes, she was 97 when she died and they were both 47 when he died. Did I say something else?
Mortius said Alexander is the "title character", but I would argue otherwise. The musical is called "Hamilton", and so I would say it is about not just Alex, but Eliza (and to some extent Phillip) as well.
Like they sang in the finale, "Will they tell your/our/my story?" It may have started with a literal biography of Alex' early life, but it ended up being a story about the Hamiltons as a whole, all of their stories were told, and I think that is beautiful ❤
Eliza, Alexander and Burr are also the only ones that wear something different from the other cast members, because they are Who Lives (Burr), Who Dies (Hamilton) and Who Tells Your Story (Eliza).
also they each have a solo song (Wait for It, Hurricane, Burn) in that same order!!
Wait, i never got that :-o
On a rewatch, look at George Washington's face when Eliza sings "I speak out against slavery" the character playing Washington looks down in shame (because he owned hundreds of slaves)
This! This is one of my favourite details of the final song!
17:37 As tragic as this song is, I got really happy from hearing Casper say "You poor fool." It's the first time I've seen someone actually feel bad for Burr in this moment. People seem to think that if they were in his position, they would've done things differently. I don't think I would. I can't know what I'd do, but self-preservation is instinctual, and marksman Alexander wore his glasses to the duel, so it isn't irrational to assume "Hey, this guy may actually be intending to shoot me."
In 1806, Eliza Hamilton teamed up with her friend Isabella Graham, a Scottish immigrant, and Isabella's daughter Joanna Bethune to create an orphanage that would come to be known as the Graham Home for Children. Another building in 1835, Windham Child Care, helped widowed mothers to care for their children. These two merged into the Graham Windham, which still exists today. In fact, Eliza's actress Phillipa Soo started "The Eliza Project" to bring the arts to these children (music, dancing, rapping) to help teach them how to express themselves. Truly, this is how you GET INTO CHARACTER.
AHHHHHHHH FRICK IMMA CRYYYY
The one time Burr didn't wait for it...
And the one time Hamilton didn't take his shot...
@@godabandonedthisuniverse yep 🥲
The one time Eliza wasn't satisfied
Ok, as for how the musical came about: in Lin's own words, "I was looking for a book to read on the beach during a vacation in Mexico and happened to pick up this amazing biography about Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. I had written a paper in high school about the duel in 1804 between Hamilton and Vice President Aaron Burr, but that was all I knew about the man. I said to myself, “I know this guy” - because his story is an immigrant story, which I find myself drawn to. I didn’t know that he was an immigrant until I read the book. This is a guy who pulled himself up from out of nothing and helped to create our nation. He was like some character from a Charles Dickens story. He was born illegitimate; he was an orphan by the time he was 10 and he was penniless. Just on the strength of his writing, he got himself a scholarship to come to New York at age 17.
Hamilton also reminded me of my father. My father was about the same age as Hamilton when he came here from Puerto Rico to study, and he learned to speak English only while he was doing his studies here. He later served as a special advisor to Mayor Koch and ran political campaigns through his own consulting company. Writing the story has helped me understand my father and his ambition." He was so fascinated by the book that he wondered why Hamilton's life had never been made into a musical. Even other musicals like "1776" (the line Hamilton sings in Act 2, ♫Sit down, John...♫ is actually lifted right out of 1776) that focus on the Founding Fathers say little about Hamilton.
It took Lin about seven years to write the show. It took him one year alone to write the second song in the show, "My Shot." He intended just to do a concept album, and there is a great video here on RUclips of Miranda performing the first song at the White House and explaining his concept that Hamilton had beef with all the other FF, and that seemed very hip-hop to Miranda, so he intended the album to do the same. That gave him his hook and realized not every character had to be hip-hop, each could sing in the style that best fit them. That's why King George sings like a British Invasion band from the 60s (to highlight his "otherness" as a British man), why Samuel Seabury sings to a staid, restrained harpsichord (to show how old fashioned he is), why the Schuyler sisters sing like those girl-power pop groups from the 1990s (like TLC), and why Jefferson, doing his own thing and being out of step with everything the Revolutionaries have been through, sings something jazzy and so different from the rest of the group, and YET easily falls steps into the hip-hop patterns and outraps Hamilton.
34:42 AND at the beggining of the song "Alexander Hamilton", Alex has the same costume that everyone else because he is essencially dead, but when he prepares to tell his story, Eliza puts a coat on him almost like she wanted him to "revive". The ensamble and other characters have the white costume, except for Aaron and Alexander for the rest of the song.
Nice take.
Dead - or not realized / ready to take their places.
It could be argued that they”re all as actors / representations of the characters they will soon become.
Burr is only in color because has part-time narrator duties & just starts in that roll
(But yea - I love that Burr takes the white coat & Eliza puts him in the brown)
@meaghanrodel6056 YESS
Y'all are missing something. The name of the show is NOT Alexander Hamilton. Who takes the first solo bow at the end? Traditionally, on Broadway, the main character does that - but that isn't Alex. It's Eliza. This is HER story. The last song isn't an epilogue, it's a tribute to her. She lived another 50 years, and it became the custom for newly-elected Presidents to go to see her to get her views on the issues of the day.
Fun fact. The government was looking to replace one of the people on our bills to put a woman of history and it had been decided on replacing Hamilton on the $10 bill and the success of this musical changed their minds.
They should have replaced him with Eliza.
if anyone needs to be replaced its andrew jackson.
@duolingoowl920 that was the plan after this but there was a LOT of push back.
@@SS-rk2meyea because everyone cried about DEI 🙄
I remember hearing about that from Larry Wilmore, I think on his own short lived show.
There's something really tragic about Eliza's death, because the final living widow of a founding father died 7 years before the American civil war began, in 1854 a civil war probably seemed inevitable, so you can imagine just how depressed this woman would be, because in some form or another she remembers the founding generation, she was one of the last living people to know those men personally, and she was alive to witness the beginnings of the schism.
The theory is that this is not called Hamilton because it's Alexander's story. It's called Hamilton because it is about BOTH of them.
Elizabeth Schuyler lived to 97. I do want to point out that life expectancy was not as low as it was at the time because of bad health LATER in life, it is because it also counts the infant mortality which was infinitely higher then than it is today. 97 is still impressive for the time but 70 was absolutely not unheard of for the time among people who lived past 4 years old
(Also, LOVE that you're doing Legally Blonde!)
Male life expectancy was one thing, but it was still fairly common for women to die in childbirth and in real life Eliza had eight children.
97 is still impressive for today ;) but you're totally correct. If I remember correctly, the Hamilton's also had some kids who did not survive infancy. But if I'm correct, Eliza survived all (or at least most) of their kids
Why am I still crying during Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story? I've seen this damn show so often and still it gets me going 😭
Me too i get goose bumps every-time
Every time Eliza gasps is when I lose it.
This and it’s quiet uptown
@@ruthortega6192 same.
Mortius, Lafayette and Mulligan actually change coats on stage. Other cast members bring their white coats and take their Jefferson and Madison coats away.
The smooth transitions in this show are amazing 😊
Mortius?
Jonathan Groff changed into the same white outfit. He was in the line.
Between Lafayette and Mulligan 😊
There's no way to confirm or deny the eyewitness report, and it was from a guy who was on Hamilton's side on the day of the duel, but Hamilton apparently told his companions that he had his glasses on NOT to aim better, but to be able to see Burr's face to see if Burr was having second thoughts.
Oh, and again the musical is very generous towards Burr. In the musical, Burr says he tried to go to Hamilton, but was ushered away and then went for a drink with a tone in his voice like he's sad. In reality, he went to a bar to drink with friends and was so happy and carefree at the bar that *none* of the friends he met there knew he'd just killed a man. They were shocked to find out later what he'd done because of how nonchalant he was while hanging out with them.
Yeah, Les Miserables does some really fantastic work with the moving stage, like the big barricade scene where they spin the entire barricade around to see one of the student soldiers splayed out on the other side of the barricade with the red revolutionary flag draped along it next to him after the battle with the royal army is lost. It's just...jawdropping.
Unfortunately, people like Jefferson, Madison and his other political enemies worked as hard as they could to destroy Hamilton's memory. It's actually all thanks to Eliza that we know anything about him at all. If she had either passed earlier or had ended up still bitter at Alexander for what he did, she wouldn't have saved and protected his writings, or recorded the memories of people who fought and worked with him.
Notice how from the second the bullet hits Alexander, there's a heartbeat, but once Burr says "Were both at his side when he died", there's a ring of a bell (it sounds like a church bell to me) and the heartbeat stops.
Anyways. In the end Burr didn’t wait for it and Hamilton threw away his shot. Which I just find really funny.
Also in one of the songs the where Hamilton says “I’m not throwing away my shot” the backing vocals sings “just you wait” and later also saying “till the world turns upside down.” After the war these same background vocals sing “the world turned upside down” metaphorically giving Hamilton ‘permission’ to throw away his shot!
I think an interesting thing about the lyric “I survived, but I paid for it.” Is that it also implies that people were upset that he survived. Almost like a “It should have been you.”
aaaa i hope you guys noticed Washington face when Eliza sing "i speak out against slavery" because the shame that comes to his face right after he proudly sings "she tells my story" (26:27) is just so good!
6:17 There's a cut song, "Ten Things, One Thing," that tells this duel from Hamilton's perspective, and it's beautiful how everything has more sense.
I really like this song cause it's when the protagonist and antagonist broke their leitmotiff: Hamilton threw away his shot, and Burr didn't wait for it (you can even hear that he tries to sing it after the shot)
Casper's so lucky, this could have been one of the weeks where the scene would have played like this:
C: "Of course you remember because it's your favourite song: death doesn't discriminate-"
M: "Actually, my favorite song is One Last Time..."
Hamilton threw away his shot and Burr didn’t wait for it.
This brings a different meaning to Burrs song. Mainly one part comes to mind when he sings “Wait for it, wait for it I am the one thing in life I can control “.
When I went to see Hamilton in London there was a couple in front of me and the woman clearly knew the show inside out whereas the man was going in blind. At the interval she turned to him and was like “the first act is all gearing up, war and action. The second act is all pain”
She was not wrong.
Mortius : take off your headphones
Casper : **starts beatboxing**
There’s an older version of “The World Was Wide Enough” that didn’t make the Final Cut (for good reason cause Hamilton’s beat poem is SO much better!) where they go back through all the same points in the 1-10 that Burr just went through but from Hamilton’s point of view. Again, not as good as what we got, but adds some layers of depth to Burr’s verse.
I finally saw Hamilton live yesterday in Dublin, sobbed at the first note knowing I was actually seeing it live. I started listening to your coverage partially as a countdown to our tickets, so it's fitting that your coverage ends this week as well, thanks for the journey and the insights ❤
What i like about this musical is that it doesn't let Alexander entirely off the hook for this duel. It puts some of the blame on Alexander because while burr does shoot him, Alexander is partly to blame as well. Also, it's up for debate whether or not Alexander actually meant or intended to throw his shot even though that's what he wrote in that letter.
"Di-di-di-di, but I always say I'm from Queens!" is from 'In the Heights'
"My mom is Dominican-Cuban, my dad is from Chile and P.R. which means:
I'm Chile-Domini-Curican! But I always say I'm from Queens!"
Which is still Lin 😂😂😂
There were definitely some pop and rock songs in musicals before this. But I don't know that there were any raps (outside of Lins works) unless we're saying Sonheim's lyricism rises to rap 😂
Former props crew girl here so I 1000000000% agree with Mortius, keep your 🍑 in your seat and respect the work of the cast, crew and orchestra!!!
I hope Epic has a moving stage, if only for the part of Monster "I lost my best friend, I lost my mentor my mom" with all the people on the wider spinning part
Well, Jorge said he wanted to present Epic (if he didn't do it in an animation) in a circus, right? Which is like three times cooler, the other day I saw a really good video that showed how Epic could be presented in a circus.
Thank you Mortius for explaining what happens when Eliza gasps. I always wondered what that was about. I also love that Eliza's orphanage still exists and we're invited to the show.
Mortius trying to remember what dollar bill Hamilton is on (getting it right, of course) when there's a whole lyric at the beginning of the musical about what dollar bill Hamilton is on: "The ten-dollar founding father without a father."
These songs makes me sob like a baby.
I'll name my favorite parts of each song;
Hamilton remembering Eliza as his last thought. The ensemble singing, "He aims his pistol in the sky!" AND BURR'S "WAIT" HURTS ME SO MUCH ARHHDHGBOGKGOG
Eliza's whole part in Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story is so good. It's so inspiring and heartwrenching. ESPECIALLY WHEN ELIZA MENTIONED THE ORPHANAGE- NEVER FAILS TO MAKE ME SOB AHH.
My dad literally was like “you okay?” Bc I was sobbing like a damn baby, then I ranted to him about the entire last song lol
Yeah Those songs get me in the feels😢
“Most disputes die and no one shoots” is the biggest lie the musical tells you
42:10 - the YESSSSSSSSSS I screamed outloyd when you announced *the next musical* was heard the next street over.
Legally blonde is SO UNDERRATED.
the colors of the ensemble is considered 'parchment'. Not because they're dead, but because they're part of the story. As they assume their characters their clothes change. So much history we weren't taught in schools. The end of the show when their voices join together is a nod to our "official" slogan- "out of Many, One". Loved your reactions!!
Jonathan groff was probably there in the bows, he just wasnt in the king outfit since he does ensemble during some parts i believe
He is there in the ensemble outfit. He stands between lafeyette/jefferson and mulligan/madison.
Glad that all three of us cried instead of me being alone
my favorite comment about hamilton is how its not just alexander hamilton's story -- its eliza hamilton's story --- aaah so good
like say what you will about Hamilton and Lin but you can't deny how well written it is as a form of art
Me: I've seen and listened this musical so many times I'm not gonna cry
Also me: *absolutely destroyed sobbing during the entirety of Elisa's part of who lives who dies who tells your story*
Btw2, The orphanage Eliza Hamilton founded is STILL active and working.
I can't think of that many people who could be said to have created an institution that lasted through the centuries helping others.
Did anyone else notice that this might be the only song that Eliza says she isnt satisfied? She says i lived another 50 years and its not enough....
Today, Hamilton may be over...
but the Vengeance Saga has just been announced
IT HAS?!
Eliza appeared on stage and they sung her name and I immediately burst into tears in anticipation of the emotional devastation i was about to face.
There is a animatic by Ziksua called "Eliza's final song" that has the letter that Hamilton wrote in the beginning before transitioning to "Who lives, Who dies, Who tells your story" and is read by eliza and is beautiful
P.S.: It's a shortened version of the actual letter Hamilton wrote Eliza as a goodbye
Last comment, I swear, but Mortius, they didn't change OFF stage. If you watch the choreography, focus on the background after Jefferson and Adams give their praise of Hamilton, they come down to the stage, and they are not trying to hide it, the ensemble members help them change into the cream coats of the dead characters. According to Chernow's book, Eliza tried for years to get Alexander's story told, but no biographer was ever able to get through the mountain of his papers.
Oh boy, I forgot how hard the "WAIT" in The world was wide enough and the whole Who lives, who dies, who tells your story hits me. I was sobbing without any controllike Mortius.
I'd love to see Casper's reaction to Hamilton in 7 minutes
Ooh OMG yes. I would love that. And maybe them reacting to first burn and congralutions
Lin was inspired to write hamilton after reading the biography on vacation and realizing A.Ham’s life truly reflected the hip-hop/rap journey experience so it would fit a hip-hop musical
Every damn time. The orphanage... And it's instant tears😭😭😭
Also one last thing, the world was wide enough, is actually based on something that Burr said later in his life, but the interesting thing about it is, burr doesn't ever seem to show remorse for what he did to Hamilton, and that quote is representative of the only time he even remotely came close to feeling sorry about it, (and it's not even like burr could justify it by saying that the point of a duel is to kill your opponent, people were killed in duels, but it usually wasn't the point of the duel, usually it would end before anyone shot just like the play says, and most of the time if they did shoot the other person would take a non-fatal wound) there is a separate rant to be had about a duel that happened Hamilton's lifetime, Hamilton helped expose something called the Conway cabal, it was some sort of plot to overthrow George Washington as general of the Continental forces, Thomas Conway is called to a duel over this affair, and he is shot directly in the mouth, but he survives (you remember the quip from Hamilton in reference to Charles Lee, where he said that "John should have shot him in the mouth, that would have shut him up" yeah that' was apparently based on the words of the person who shot Thomas Conway, history is wild sometimes man,) sorry for the side tangent, there are just so many fun Easter eggs in this play that after I talk about one another strikes me in the head and I feel compelled to share it. Edit: okay so looking up what actually happened to Thomas Conway, he is a medical miracle, I told you the part about him getting shot in the mouth, but it gets even crazier, it apparently went out the back of his head and lodged itself in his hair (And Thomas Conway somehow managed to live another 17 years, hopefully he was able to live comfortably, because the prospect of surviving something like that in the 1700s is kind of terrifying to contemplate, first off I don't even see how it was possible for them to treat him and even if they could keep him alive I don't see how he wouldn't have lived every day in agony, I really need to find more in depth information about this man)
The turntable was made famous by Les Miserables, it’s used in many shows, Come From Away is another you should check out with one!
Edit: 27:50 this feels more important for the moment but i have never noticed that through out the it looks like eliza is wearing her normal blue dress, but as she walks up to take alex/lin's hand the lights change from the blue hue that was one her to the normal light color and it shows eliza in a white dress (the color that is shown to represent death in this story), that is such a crazy detail, maybe I'm seeing it wrong but thats what it looked like
-
Also
15:44 that situation casper explains where its like a prophecy where you know no matter what thats how it ends but you're just hoping that some how some way it'll change in the end reminds me of one of my favorite books from when I was in highschool called "They both die at the end" it's set in a world where there is this company that is able to know the exact day when someone dies and they call them a day before and tell them they will die by the next day, and the whole time you're reading it, you're getting attached to these two characters (both guys) who end up finding eachother in during their final day (they both got calls saying they will die by the end of that day, hence the name of the book), and they end up falling in love and you hope so much that some how everything will be okay, it is such a heart wrenching book that follows multiple stories and protagonists infact those two aren't the only characters we follow, it actually a really interesting book and from what i hear it has two sequels now "the first to die at the end" (that ones a prequel) and a new one coming out soon that im not sure if it has a set name yet, anyways ik that series isn't for everyone before anyone gets on my case for it, but how casper was describing that scene heavily made me think about it
Thanks for covering this amazing show! A fun fact for the end of the play: the line “I should have known the world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me” was actually taken from a letter Burr wrote to a friend (I forget who) later in his life when he was reflecting on how his life changed after this moment.
Lin has also said that Eliza is the only character who does not rap because she was the one to outlive everyone else and doesn’t need to rush getting her words out, because she is lucky enough to have more time. 🥲
"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" is my favorite song of this musical. To know all she did and we barely know any of this from real history class. (I'm in my fifties.)
I got to see Hamilton in person for my nineteenth birthday, by then it wasn't the original cast but it was still incredible. and I'm with you, never leave before all the bowing and such.
Hamilton is standing in the spot his son was shot, using the guns he loaned his son for HIS duel. He's fiddling with the trigger, maybe wondering if this was the gun that shot Phillip or the gun Philip was holding when shot.
Hamilton was wearing his glasses as he'd just come from writing his last letters to his wife, father, and others. He probably didn't even think about leaving them on.
Two things- My high school had a moving stage. But it was different. The front half ( we called it the pit) moved up and down . Which might be something completely different and more common...But I remember being so fascinated with it especially when we would use it .( I was in the theatre magnet , choir , orchestra so we used it quite a bit ).
2nd - I understand . It's how I and I'm sure a lot of people felt about The Big Bang Theory ( TBBT) and Young Sheldon (YS). Watching YS you knew at the end that his dad was going to die because it already spoke on it plenty of times in TBBT but even when it happened it was so heartbreaking especially because the character in YS was much more likeable than they made him to be in TBBT... anyway I digress.
I enjoyed the breakdown of my favorite musical ❤!
I wrote my comment before finishing the video to see you come back and talk about the Pit lol . I guess it is more common than I thought, I know our high school was the only one around the surrounding schools that we had visited.
Maaaan, i know they said they'd do first burn and congratulations already but i really hope they also do ten things one thing, i think the insight it gives into Hamilton's thought process is very good and I'm kinda sad they cut it
Part of why life expectancy was low was infant and women dying in childbirth, that will skew the numbers, not necessarily because ppl didn't live as long
With them being in white at the end, it allows them to play both characters without need for costume change!
It's crazy how this show blew up after I went to see it. I will always be grateful i went into it blind. The best thing my school ever did for me. We even had a private Q and A with the cast (OG) after the show
Hadestown makes great use of the revolving stage
Mmmm my favorite use of the revolving stage.
I’m with you, Mortus. Who lives who dies who tells your story has me in tears and I listen to this like once a week
Most Broadway theaters have TV monitors facing the stage (like on the mezzanine/balcony) with a camera on the conductor so he can conduct both the music and a capella pieces to keep tempo. ♥
While we don't only know Alexander's story because of Eliza, we would not know it without her.
It's very cool to get the take of someone who wasn't born in this country and grew up with this history. The Hamilton/Burr duel might just be THE most famous duel in American history because a former Vice President shot and killed a former Secretary of the Treasury; the idea that 2 men who had gotten to those particular heights of political power would seek to kill each other is kinda shocking. Interestingly, Hamilton's own writing claims he intended to throw away his shot rather than try to kill Burr, but the guns he used had a hair trigger that made them much easier to fire, so no one knows if he changed his mind or if he accidentally shot when he raised the pistol.
Btw, the actual rules of dueling say that if you intend to purposely miss your opponent, you don't raise the gun towards them at all (precisely BECAUSE guns were so unreliable). Instead, you aim to the side and point the gun at the GROUND as the safest option for all parties.
When Eliza mentions speaking out against slavery, Chris Jackson made the decision to bow his head, a sign of shame because George Washington was a slave owner.
While it doesn't take away how incredible these performers are, a good portion of the time, there are screens in eye view of the stage that show the conductor so that the cast can see what they are doing without having to look down. It's still very difficult, especially with a rotating stage that might take you out of view of those screens, but I thought it should at least be mentioned.
LMM points out that the musical is named "Hamilton", and that it does not only tell the story of Alexander Hamilton but also Eliza Hamilton. Also he was on vacation and saw a book on the biography of Alexander, it was light reading for him
0:16
Today we are finishing off hamilton.
That phrasing though.
38:19 They had a spy on the inside so skilled that even audience members didn't catch him.
yk I was thinking... the first song ends with Alexander *Hamilton* front and center, surrounded by the cast. The last song ends with Elizabeth *Hamilton* almost in the same position. I think that reinforces the idea that HAMILTON is about the both of them... the HAMILTON marriage.
No matter how many times I see this, the ending of this Musical will always make me emotional! I am really happy to view you both react to the ending! I would recommend checking out "Hamilton in 7 minutes" by RANGE music as it summarizes the musical in acapella and it is such a fun listen!
I love the version of the story lin goes with here because it gives it so much more emotion. But it is still unclear what happened during the dual and if hamilton's shot hiting the tree was on purpose. The shots were also within a couple seconds but they dont know who actually shot first. But both guns were shot.
If Casper likes learning about US History from musicals, the 250th Anniversary of the Dec of Ind is coming up….and 1776 is a great show to cover it!!! There is a musical movie with many of the original Broadway folks
31:30 oh, Jonathan was there but he looks so normal without the whole King George get up that we just don't notice 🤣
Jonathan Groff changed outfit. He stood between Jefferson and Madison
Thank you, Moritus, for saying the house lights came up for Eliza's cry. That makes me look at it differently. Previously I thought it was representing the moment he died.
13:23 In My Shot Hercules Mulligan does this same choreography, and so does Hamilton! At this point in the choreography Hamilton is saying “see, I never thought I'd live past twenty where I come from some get half as many” he got double that, dying at 43, but he still wanted more time, he mainly raps since one of his fears (seemingly) is running out of time. Also I love burr sm, and the moment he screams wait makes me so emotional for no reason at all
You could make an argument that Eliza Hamilton is the title character. She is the one who lived, and she told the story. That is why she is last song.
14:43 I'm doing my final investigation project for school about this musical, so I've looked too much into its lyricism. This note isn't about the theme it's going to be about so it will be left out, so I wanted to share it in here:
In "Aaron Burr, sir", the first meeting between Hamilton and Burr, Burr says to Hamilton "Can I get you a drink?". And here, once Hamilton is gone, he says "I get a drink", completely mortified. It could have been completely accidental, but there's something that screams inside of me when I hear the "same sentence" with one less person because they aren't there anymore. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well, I might have lost my sanity after the 10th rewatch with the most excrutinity I could muster😅
I'm very happy that I was able to witness the formation of this beautiful friendship from the beginning (I discovered Mortius' channel with Epic, then watched all the episodes since Casper joined). I`m so happy when I see a post from OAR, can't wait to see more from you two.
And I am one of the people that Casper mentioned - I`ve been here from the first episode, patiently waiting to see the songs with you because I never watched or lisened to Hamilton before. So Mortius was my Hamilton guide as well. Thank you!
Would love if you guys could watch the animatic for who lives who dies who tells your story. It drew so much tears from me
This was such a cool series, so much fun watching your interactions