| But it's ultimately the right series of setups & payoffs for the protagonist | |
| Last Edit: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:32 pm EDT 07/05/20 | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 01:21 pm EDT 07/05/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Angelica in "Hamilton" - Delvino 11:32 am EDT 07/05/20 | |
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| First off, FULLY agree about the importance of setups and payoffs. Thing is, I actually feel like I get enough payoff from Angelica in the show as it eventually became. If she hadn't delivered such a delicious kiss off in "The Reynolds Pamplet" and returned for "It's Quiet Uptown," I probably wouldn't have felt that way. I'll make a broader argument, though. By editing and placing things where he does, Lin-Manuel Miranda arranges things far more interestingly for his protagonist. Say what you will about playwriting, but that's the arc that matters most. To begin: - He certainly took a major gamble by presenting Angelica front and center in "The Schuyler Sisters," which sets up an expectation that she's our romantic interest for Hamilton... - But then flips the focus to Eliza, rather unexpectedly for "Helpless," which -- in the theater, made me feel like maybe Hamilton was ending up with the wrong girl... - Only to be IMMEDIATELY followed by "Satisfied," which was a SUPER ballsy choice, because not only does it put two love songs back to back, but makes my loyalties return to Angelica... And in doing so, I'm not terribly invested in his relationship with Eliza. Which makes it FAR more easy to empathize with Hamilton when he continually chooses to take own 'shot' over loyalties to her. We'll see him do that every time he returns to Washington, when he eventually has an affair, when he allows his own pride to send him into a duel with Burr. Yes, we need to care what Eliza wants and thinks. But If this show had put Eliza front and center when we met the women, and kept her there, I really don't think I'd be able to cheer for the protagonist to get what he wants. And if we don't want the protagonist to get what they want... well, game over. To your question: if our thoughts in Act 2 drift back to Angelica, we wouldn't feel the central tension between Alexander's loyalty to Eliza vs. his loyalty to America and his hunger to make history. We need to feel that tension and be somewhat glad that he acts selfishly to make America a better place. And so, I think cutting "Congratulations" was the right call. It might not give us quite as rich of a payoff for Angelica in Act 2, but it keeps our focus where it needs to be for the primary plot's setups and payoffs to work. - GMB |
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