kottke.org posts about musicals
Lin-Manuel Miranda Breaks Down His Biggest Hit Songs (Like "My Shot")
In this video, Lin-Manuel Miranda shares how he came up with some of his most iconic songs from In the Heights, Hamilton, Moana, and even Star Wars (he wrote a cantina song for The Force Awakens). I can sit and listen to creators talking about how they came up with their best work pretty much forever. But honestly the reason I'm sharing this is this incredible detail about the "whoa whoa whoa" bit in "My Shot" (at ~7:35):
And then the "whoa" is based on the AOL startup dial sound, because I wanted it to feel like his words are connecting with the world and they're reverberating out into the world. And I associate that with the first time I signed on to the internet and you hear [simulated modem noises]. It's the AOL dialup octave.
Well, I'll never listen to that song in the same way again. For spry minds, inspiration comes from everywhere. (via the spry minds at open culture)
A Musical Theatre Coach Breaks Down Jonathan Groff's Performance of "You'll Be Back" in Hamilton
My two favorite performances in the Disney+ version of Hamilton are Renée Goldsberry's Angelica Schuyler and Daveed Diggs' twin roles as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. But perhaps a close third is Jonathan Groff's turn as King George III. Ever since we watched the show a few weeks ago, my kids and I have been walking around the house breaking into song and talking a lot about what was so mesmerizing about Groff's performance.
So, I was excited to run across this video of musical theatre coach Marc Daniel Patrick breaking down his performance of "You'll Be Back". Yes, he covered the spitting but I found the discussion of how he held specific members of the audience with his gaze for extended periods much more relevant in understanding what made that performance work. I particularly loved how still Groff held his body and the rest of his head as his lower jaw pistoned up and down like a ventriloquist dummy's singing the "da da da dat" parts. The audio is funny enough, but his possessed mandible makes me laugh every time I see it.
Patrick made a similar video analyzing Phillipa Soo's performance of "Burn".
Marc Daniel Patrick
Hamilton: now in book form
posted by Jason Kottke Apr 13, 2016
The Broadway musical Hamilton is having a bit of a moment right now. Ok, not really. Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit has seemingly had one loooong moment since he performed "Alexander Hamilton" in front of the President and Mrs. Obama at the White House in 2009.
The show is sold out1 until who knows when, the original cast album went gold and won a Grammy, and they're doing spin-off productions in Chicago, LA, and SF — all this scarcely more than a year since Rebecca Mead wrote up Miranda and Hamilton in the New Yorker.2 Bernie Sanders took in the show last week. And this week, a book about the production of the play came out.
Hamilton: The Revolution gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages — "since before this was even a show," according to Miranda — traces its development from an improbable performance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here.
Add to that a flurry of articles (several from the NY Times, which has a dedicated staff of 162 reporters on the beat) that came out in the past week or so: Why Hamilton Matters, Lin-Manuel Miranda: By the Book (he's never finished Infinite Jest), 'Hamilton' and History: Are They in Sync?, A Hamilton Skeptic on Why the Show Isn't As Revolutionary As It Seems, and The C.E.O. of 'Hamilton' Inc. How much bigger can this thing get?
Update: And now Miranda has won a Pulitzer.
Hey, if anyone's got a ticket and wants to take me, I'm free literally any time/day/year. Hahahaha. No seriously, email me. Hahaha. (No, really. AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR YOU UNGRATEFUL MOTH ↩
You know who else Mead wrote up in the New Yorker many years ago?! Hint: it's not actually Hitler this time…↩
Rebecca Mead
Cinema of Attractions
posted by Tim Carmody Aug 11, 2010
When I posted the Nicholas Brothers' tap routine, I invited readers to send along even-more-amazing dance displays. Ryan Cooper delivered:
Old movie musicals from this era have a very distinct kind of female sexuality that still makes me feel all tingly, like the first time I saw Julie Newmar in her underwear in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Update: Higher-quality video, h/t @nevaneva.
Ross Sisters
Goin' Dot Com! - The Musical
posted by Jason Kottke Aug 04, 2005
Goin' Dot Com! - The Musical. Back in the day, some friends of mine and I used to joke about doing "Dot Com, the Musical". I believe someone even wrote a song.