Congratulations- The Song I Wish Made It Into Hamilton

 Some of our favorite musicals have cut songs, so on this once a month Hamilton journey for the tenth anniversary of one of my favorite musicals of all time, let's venture into that area. The Hamilton Mixtape features plenty of these cut songs, such as a Valley Forge number, a third cabinet battle, the open letter John Addams, and many great easter eggs among the remixes and amazing covers in this great album which I have covered before, and I am sure will talk about again.

Congratulations was set to take place during "The Reynolds Pamphlet" or in that general area of the show, where instead of a couple lines Angelica gets a whole song absolutely ROASTING Alexander. I guess this was removed because we couldn't have someone killing Alexander before Burr does and trust me, if words could, it would of all ended here. The lyrics cut so hard, letting him know the weight of his mistake, recounting her love for Alexander and her marriage she settled for, her cutting him off from support, supporting Eliza, and all with  great instrumentation. 

Lyrics such as "You invented a new kind of stupid, a damage you could never undo kind of stupid, an open all the cages in the zoo kind of stupid..", and "Eliza, is the best thing in our life, so never lose fact that you've been blessed with the best wife.". Also some great lyrics and instrumentations that call back to "Satisfied". I love this song and wish it was put in the show, I feel like it could of been placed in, or shortened and made a part of "The Reynolds Pamphlet". Perhaps it seemed that this ruined the pacing of the show, but I think it could of fit. 

This is a very short song and it would be fun to give Angelica a little bit more. Her big story elements seem to be pining for Alexander and then telling him to take a hike, but I wish the moment of her telling him off hit harder then just a couple lines. She of course sings along with the ensemble as many characters do when the character is not in the scene or even before they are introduced.  There is even recording of the Broadway actress of Angelica doing this song during previews before they moved up to Broadway so it was cut very late. 

This song just hits right, it is a break up song but from an outsiders perspective. It is someone being hurt on someone else's behalf, and has become a song from the perspective of a friend or loved one, standing up for someone who got hurt by love. This song has amazing lyrics, it may be short but it packs a punch. I love this song and love showing it to my friends. I love the words, the instrumentation, the flow of it, and it does not overstay its welcome. 

The lyrics are packed with anger but real emotion. Emotion I could see working in the confines of the show and the scene. Don't get me wrong "The Reynolds Pamphlet" is a fun song, it is catchy and I love singing along to the "never gonna be president now" lyrics. But I think this is just as good and could of fit alongside it, as a part of it, or even replacing it as a whole. That being said I think the best case scenario is just putting it back in the show, or making it part of the song. "The Reynolds Pamphlet" harkens back to "Satisfied" while not taking up as much space, and still delivers the same message in a shorter span, but I still very much enjoy this song. I am thankful it was placed in the mixtape and acknowledged as part of the shows history, because a song this good should be remembered. Who knows if we get a "Hamilton" movie it could be included in it, especially if it takes the "Wicked" route and is a part one and two. Or even included in the show proper perhaps, "Wicked" stage productions have been taking a couple cues and adding versions of songs we know from the movie. 

This song is amazing, go and listen to it. It is short but powerful, packed with emotion, great lyrics and is just a fantastic listen. The version in "The Hamilton Mixtape" is a great listen. I highly recommend it, this song works alongside "Burn" as not only calling Alexander out for his faults but showing him how much Eliza and even Angelica has given up for him and his dreams. Leaving not only with his mistake  but with a "congratulations", showing him that all of this could have been avoided. All of this could have been just a nightmare, but he refused to take a break, he refused to listen, and now his legacy has been redefined in a way that could never be undone. The song equivalent of "You have made your bed, now lie in it", and one that I love singing along to, every single time. 

The Wicked For Good Poster And The Rerelease

 

(Image Source: Discussing Film)

So it begins. I know there was news from Cinema Con about screenings of the movie, but I would rather trust my own judgement by seeing the film myself and sharing my thoughts here. This is the first piece of Wicked For Good shown to the public. The movie at the time of this post is six months away. Aside from this poster, it was announced that the movie is returning to theaters on June 4 with a first look at the trailer for Wicked For Good AKA Wicked Part 2, or to me Wicked Act 2.

Those who have seen the musical on stage or listened to the cast album know the meaning behind the title of this movie. I will reveal that later or when I cover the movie, since there is a large audience who does not know the plot and has only followed the movie. I do not know if I will see this movie on the big screen again or wait for it to drop online shortly after the screenings or some time after. I wanted to share my thoughts on the recent news and the poster.

I do hope the trailer comes sooner than later after the rerelease, my guess is one to two weeks beforehand and a longer trailer at San Diego Comicon. It is hard to want to see it again when the movie is readily available on DVD as well as streaming, only with a trailer to incentivize paying movie ticket prices. 

In terms of the poster, I think it looks really good. It symbolizes where the movie left us off at and shows how these two are still very much in different worlds. Glinda's mountain being covering in life and flowers, Elphaba's as a rocky mountain suited for what is deemed to be the villain of this story. The flying monkeys and yellow brick road showing that the Wizard Of Oz lore will be present in this movie as it was with the last. I also like how the poster for the first movie had them close together but this one has them worlds apart. This shows where they are in their lives and how the circumstances of the narrative drove a wedge in what was a very lovely friendship. 

The first poster imitating the Broadway classic poster, this one going in a direction that we have never seen before. There has already been press that the movie will go in different directions and even have new songs and this poster shows, that not everything will be the same as the stage show. The first movie adapted so much from the stage musical, and now we will see where the forks in the yellow brick road appear.

The costumes look great, looking like the classic designs we know, the stage costumes we know, and still standing out with their own special visual flare. 

This poster looks really cool, it has enough visuals that tie to the Wizard Of Oz, the costumes on both leads look great, and it captures the vibe the movie is going for. It looks good and has me excited to see more. And when there's more, I am sure to cover it. 

Is Mama Mia A Mothers Day Musical?

 Mothers Day is almost here and I was wondering to myself, "Is The Musical Mama Mia" a Mothers Day musical? Similar to how "Die Hard" is viewed as a yule tide classic, and so on with other movies, I wanted to test and see if this jukebox musical packed with ABBA music was a good watch for Mothers Day after brunch. I have seen the stage show adaptation of this show, but have yet to see the movie, or the sequel to the movie that is actually a prequel.

For those who do not know, "Mama Mia", is about Sophie, she is getting married and wants to find out who her biological father is. Three men come and so does the mom's friends, the mother has a resort and hijinks ensue. By the end of the show and talks of weddings, parenthood, young love, current love, and just plenty of ABBA songs, Sophie decides that all three men will be her fathers and that she wants to explore the world, The mom then decides to marry one of her ex's and everyone lives happily ever after. Sophie has friends who just disappear after the opening and become part of the ensemble, the characters just sing sometimes, and as mentioned just whacky shenanigans ensue when Sophie is not on stage. Certain characters will comment on events, sing an ABBA song and then go on their way.

The mother in this show sings a couple songs with her friends, talks about not wanting her ex's here and then sings about or talks their time with each one. They reminisce and towards the end of Act 2, she sings about her daughter being married and Sophie asks her to walk her down the aisle and that's nice. The conversations in the show are mostly to convey jokes, solve the mystery and talk about the mothers past love life. Donna, the mother is an ever present character but her bond with Sophie is not really addressed. The show talks about as mentioned relationships, love, life, and money. 

The setting is Summer and at an island resort that Donna owns, so beaches, cabanas, and fun resort locales are the setting of this show. 

So because this is more about Sophie, and it only focuses on her relationship with her mother here and there, and the mother gets a couple songs, some of them being about her past love life. The answer I will say is mostly no. I say this because even though part of the show is about her love life, the main plot is trying to find Sophie's biological father. The whacky shenanigans take center stage and it seems the plot is more so a backseat for the music which is good music.

Some jukebox musicals can showcase a musicians career such as "Beautiful", "On Your Feet" or "Tina". This show falls in the category of having an original plot but revolving it around the music, making it fit in a specific way or coming up with scenarios that allow the song to fit the emotion trying to be conveyed. In this show for example Donna feels sad, so her friends remind her that she has still got it by singing "Dancing Queen" and saying she still is the dancing queen. Taking a popular song and writing a story around it. 

Though there are a couple moments where Sophie acknowledges Donna as her most consistent parent, and Donna reflects on her daughter growing up. But those emotional moments are weighed down by impending wedding, love, being flirty, and any reason to sing ABBA music really. There are moments here that would make it a good Mothers Day movie or even a stage show, because I saw this live and I had fun. I accepted this for what it is, which is just goofy fun, and it was just that, a goofy, fun, night at the theater. I don't watch "Mama Mia" to feel deep emotions, or think about subjects concerning life and growing up. The parts that harken back to young love and past romances are sweet sometimes. 

Perhaps the second movie might be better since even though I have never seen it, I heard it is a flashback and is all about Donna when she was younger and falling into these romances. The Summer setting does not invoke the feeling of Mothers Day and it being on a resort invokes more of a Summer vacation feeling. It feels like a Summer musical that talks about Summer romances, a Summer Wedding, and doing fun stuff with friends. I may have to look into the second movie, and even the first as it has been a good long time since I saw this show on stage. The music is great, but it's ABBA so of course the songs are catchy and memorable. This is a fun show, just not a Mothers Day show, at least in my opinion. There are moments that lead to an argument being made that it is one, but there is so much that those moments are few and far between. 

That being said if you want a fun way to listen to ABBA songs without listening to ABBA, listen to the Broadway Cast album, I even pop it in from time to time, and enjoy it. No matter how often I hear it "Our Last Summer" will always be a downright jam for me. There are plenty of other great songs in the album too, it's a great selection. One that might help ring in Summer as we get closer to it, or remind us of Summer when the weather outside it is the opposite.