We don’t talk about Bruno Madrigal (from Encanto) but we sure as hell do a full on musical number about him. Is singing different than talking? Just a weird question to think about.
If you know, you know. He lives in our heads rent free.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is one of the greatest creators on broadway and on screen. He made a masterpiece in “In The Heights” which is about the Washington Heights neighborhood of NYC and its residents who are experiencing changes in the community and personally. This movie is a classic tale of friendship, family and celebrating Latin heritage.
This is a musical that brings some fantastic original pieces along with great choreography to the big screen. Miranda’s music is like a fireworks display with big booming numbers with subtle tunes. I really liked this movie and the Latinx cast was fantastic. Anthony Ramos as the lead character was mesmerizing and told the story of The Heights that sucked me in. I recommend this movie to everyone whether you see it in the theatre or on HBO Max.
Last night I saw the movie version of the hit musical “Hamilton” and I thought it was a soaring experience. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius in every sense of the word. This very original presentation of the founding of America as told from the view of Alexander Hamilton who was a soldier and statesmen.
The cast of this movie including Daveed Diggs, Renee Elise Goldsbury, Phillipa Soo, Jonathan Groff, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Okieriete Onaodowan, Leslie Odom, Jr. Christopher Jackson, Anthony Ramos and many others brought inspired performances. Musicals are hard because they involve singing while moving and its almost athletic in how this cast brought the story to life.
Granted I am not feeling all that patriotic right now, so I looked at it from a story of people wanting to do something great, while struggling to do so. Seeing people of color tell the history of the beginning of this country was refreshing. Musically it was fantastic. Artistically it was top-notch.
There was triumph, tragedy and a good dose of comedy too. Any good production will have universal themes that can make one feel hopeful and even forward thinking. Really there are no spoilers to be told because the story is in history books and Hamilton follows what happened in the early days of America.
If you haven’t seen it on Disney Plus then I would encourage you to. There are many things to appreciate here. It’s very entertaining and worth three hours of your time.
Love is love cannot be swept asideĀ … And love, is love, is love, is love, is love, is love, is love, is love cannot be killed or swept aside….Lin-Manuel Miranda
Music Monday has returned after a small absence. This is a great one to return on.
Lin-Manuel Miranda and team have created a great musical about American History featuring Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Hamilton is great art in full display. I would love to see this musical but tickets are hard to come by and they are expensive which speaks to the demand for this Broadway show.
The Tony Burgess Blog 
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