The Hamilton movie on Disney+ finally brings the hit Broadway show to a massive audience that had never had the chance to see the show on stage. However, among those who couldn't afford the expensive tickets or could not make the trip to New York City, there's another group who benefits from the Disney+ release, the original cast themselves. They have never been able to see themselves perform, and Christopher Jackson, who plays George Washington, found himself taken with a specific moment in the show which he always found very personal, which he was surprised to see got captured on film.
CinemaBlend's own Corey Chichizola spoke with Christopher Jackson ahead of the Disney+ release of Hamilton and the actor spoke about one moment in the show, which can be seen in the image above, where Washington is downstage with his back to the audience. It turns out, this moment held special importance to Jackson while he was doing the show, and he didn't realize until he actually saw the film that the moment was part of the film. According to the actor...
There’s a shot that catches me, a camera looking downstage, in one of the few moments where I felt alone. Which was right before ‘Right Hand Man.’ It’s two bars long where I’m grabbing my sword that’s hanging on this hook. But it's an intensely personal and alone moment that I always cherish in the doing of the show. But he caught it, and it was so unexpected. And I loved it. I forgot there was a camera there for the filming.
The moment during the song "Right Hand Man" takes place moments before the character of George Washington is introduced to the audience. In the moment, attention isn't on Washington but on the character of Aaron Burr, played by Leslie Odom Jr. Burr is front and center, so in many cases, the crowd probably doesn't even notice Washington yet, which gave Christopher Jackson his personal moment alone.
But that's the beauty of Hamilton on Disney+. It doesn't simply give us the performance, it captures it in ways that even being in the theater cannot. We get close-ups of the performers that the front row can't see, showing the real emotion the actors put into the performance. The camera can give us these angles, like the one that shows us Washington here, that we might otherwise overlook. Whether you've seen the show before or listened to the soundtrack 1000 times, there's still reason to see Hamilton as a film because it's still a unique experience.
There's some question as to whether or not Hamilton will be able to compete for awards as a movie. These sorts of details are a big part of the argument why it should be able to.
