Unit 1 Part C: Arts Review

For my Arts Award Unit 1 part C, I have chosen to review Hamilton, a musical on Broadway that I went to see with my aunt on the 27th of March. An incredible mix of dancing, rapping and singing, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I really loved the show.

These are some photos from just before the beginning of the show.

Set in the late 1700s and early 1800s, Hamilton follows the story of Alexander Hamilton, an American founding father who rises from poverty to become one of the most influential figures of his time. Almost all of the show is sung or rapped, with an average of 144 words per minute and the cast album lasting 2 hours and twenty minutes (the whole show is around two and a half hours long). Although I loved every minute, a moment that stood out to me particularly was when Aaron Burr (Jay Perry) sang Wait For It. The way Perry moved around the stage was so graceful and controlled that I couldn’t help but get mesmerised by the performance, not to mention the hauntingly beautiful way he sang it.

Aaron Burr played by Leslie Odom Jr in the Disney Plus recording of Hamilton

However, one small thing I didn’t like was when the actor playing George Washington’s microphone broke, and he had to shout into the audience for around a minute until his scene ended and the backstage crew could fix the issue. This made it difficult to hear him and also slightly ruined the feeling and tone that the scene was meant to have. However this was just one small blemish in the performance, and didn’t take away too much from the show.

Although I had watched the film of the musical on Disney Plus, I hadn’t gone to see the show live before, and found that this made for an interesting experience as I knew the words and was used to the way the actors in the film say the lines, but also enjoyed the ways the Broadway actors added their own style and character to the songs. I also really liked sitting with an audience and seeing something that hadn’t been edited or had scenes retaken multiple times, and being able to laugh or cry with a group of people all experiencing the same emotions at the same time.

The theatre from outside just before we entered, and the stage inside.

I shared my review with another person doing Silver Arts Award, and they wrote out what they thought of my review. This is attached below:

Feedback on my review.

Overall, I really loved every minute of the show and would rate it 4½ stars out of 5. Despite minor faults such as a microphone breaking, I greatly enjoyed the way the actors brought the performances to life and was very sad when it ended. If I could I would love to see it again as I feel it would be very interesting to see it another time and catch any details I missed, but am so happy that I saw it on stage and know that it's an experience I won't forget.