Disney to distribute and release HAMILTON film with OBC in Oct. 2021- Page 4

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 10:34am

The comments from other cast members (and other Broadway actors) on Betsy’s post are fascinating.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 10:45am

bear88 said: "I don't know how the filmedperformancewill do with the general public, who probably will have different expectations for a movie, but I'm happy they're doing it this way. I always was skeptical about a film adaptation, because Hamilton just seems like such a theatrical experience "

If we know anything about Disney, releasing something one way once does NOT mean they are done mucking about with it...

[binau]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 10:49am

LizzieCurry said: "
The comments from other cast members (and other Broadway actors) on Betsy’s post are fascinating.
"

What are they saying? And I don't mean to be disrespectful but who exactly is Betsy and what role did she play in Hamilton?

[trpguyy]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:09am

qolbinau said: "LizzieCurry said: "
The comments from other cast members (and other Broadway actors) on Betsy’s post are fascinating.
"

What are they saying? And I don't mean to be disrespectful but who exactly is Betsy and what role did she play in Hamilton?"

Betsy was an original ensemble member and principal understudy.

 

Jon Rua: It isn’t the same without you. Truly. Very fully true. 

 

Ariana DeBose: Speak your truth sis. Our legacy is complicated. Your voice matters it always has. And I love you. 

 

Hope Brooks (Betsy’s replacement): I stand behind you 100% they were wrong for this. Period. 

 

Sydney Harcoury: The way you were treated haunts me. I find myself often remembering the stories you told me, the stories we shared. The truth can not be erased. Words matter. I love you. 

 

Javier Munoz, retweeting Lin’s announcement: This is exciting. It’s been so long! This time capsule is such a gift. However, Betsy Struxness is not in this film & she was an original cast member as well. I mention this because I watched her pour her guts into creating her ensemble track & her absence should be noted❤️

[copathetiic]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:14am

I still find it interesting that Emmy Raver-Lampman, the only other OBC not in the movie, has been completely silent about this

[seaweedjstubbs]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:19am

I mean......what would she have to say? Unless she was “done wrong” like Betsy apparently was, why would she comment?

[copathetiic]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 11:21am

I’m curious as to what actually happened to Betsy, especially after reading Sydney James Harcourt’s comment.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 2:12pm

n2nbaby said: "poisonivy2 said: "When this was being filmed wasn't there some scuttlebutt that one of the OBC had refused to sign a release so this couldn't be released? Tell me I'm not dreaming that this happened?"

If I remember correctly, the issue was with Leslie, who ended up doing the recording."

After reading an article where he all but states he would be re-signed because he was irreplaceable, I wouldn't be shocked if he had changed his mind because they point blank said they would use another actor for his role in the recording.

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 2:58pm

Ooh. More of the cast speaking out. How interesting.

I think maybe they are alluding to the royalties fight they had when saying “how you were treated” to Betsy.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 3:00pm

The fight for profit sharing is only a piece of it

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 3:15pm

Also check out the comments on her (public) facebook post. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157637255511068&set=a.10151635281746068&type=3&theater

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 3:49pm

trpguyy said: "The fight for profit sharing is onlya piece of it"

So what else happened? 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 4:58pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "OBC cast-member Betsy Struxness had evidently called out or left the production prior to its filming, and she has LOTS to say about that:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Ho5NnBcMp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link"

Sydney’s comment is VERY striking and makes me more curious about what happened with Betsy.

Just something of note, Betsy hasn’t been on broadway since leaving the show and I’m curious why that is. She had like a pretty solid run of going from one show straight to another, so it was odd that she wasn’t able to find work right after Hamilton. Or maybe it was her choice not to pursue broadway anymore?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 5:02pm

LizzieCurry said: "Also check out the comments on her (public) facebook post. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157637255511068&set=a.10151635281746068&type=3&theater"

Colin Welford’s comment is interesting....

“I’m very sorry to hear this Betsy. You were an amazing presence in the original cast. I currently have a federal law suit against the Hamilton organization, after similarly giving them my best work for over three years. Work for which I was praised, only to be ‘edged out’ while my name was allowed to be smeared. Words do matter.”

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 5:35pm

His case seems to have no parallels with hers: https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2019/12/2/20992012/colin-welford-hamilton-musical-director-sues-producers-chicago-federation-musicians

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 6:55pm

The filmed version of Miss Saigon is my current gold standard by which I judge filmed stage productions. I hope this is as well filmed as that was.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 7:03pm

jimmycurry01 said: "The filmed version of Miss Saigon is my current gold standard by which I judge filmed stage productions. I hope this is as well filmed as that was."

I hope it’s better. Miss Saigon didn’t have enough wide shots and they cut part of “What a Waste.”

[sparksatmidnight]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 7:16pm

So many people making a mountain out of a molehill. What is Lin Manuel Miranda supposed to do? Say "original Broadway cast except Betsy Struxness" at every interview? Take a leaf out of Cry Baby's studio recording?

[NoName3]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 7:41pm

Didn't the 2016 PBS documentary "Hamilton's America" include clips from the filmed stage version?  Not B roll footage but clips from the pro shot full show being discussed here.  The documentary is  no longer available on the PBS site but I think there is a short trailer on youtube.  It was about the creation of the show.

Updated On: 2/4/20 at 07:41 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 8:10pm

I'm a little bit torn on this. On one hand, I've been in the ensemble of shows before, and I know how irritating it can be to be treated like you aren't part of the cast.

But another part of me feels like this is this is a bit overly semantical, and a bit of an overreaction. I think it's very common for people to use the term "original cast" to refer to the original principals only, and/or to refer to the MOSTLY original cast. Hell, to use a more extreme example: I saw Next to Normal on Broadway after Aaron Tveit had left, and even still, I usually say I saw the original cast. Because I saw most of them, and from an audience perspective, it still felt like seeing the original cast. And Gabe is a much more important and noticeable role than Betsy's ensemble track.

For another type of example, think about The Ferryman, which replaced a large portion of its principal cast partway through the run. And even though a decent handful of original cast members stayed - including some important principals - people still referred to it as the "replacement" cast. Because enough of the important roles had been replaced. 

So in my mind, for people to nitpick about the term "original cast" because of one ensemble member...I don't know. I guess it feels a bit...much? Even though it's technically true, it's not really in the spirit of what the term "original cast" connotes, or how it's most frequently used. 

I'm sure Struxness' contributions to the show were important on the creative side of things, and many of us die-hard theatre fans may even remember her as a stand-out from the ensemble. But at the end of the day, her performance was a much smaller piece of the puzzle than any of the principals. So to continue with the metaphor: even if we're missing one piece of the puzzle, we can still see the image, and many might consider the puzzle complete, for all intents and purposes. 

I can see how she might find it a bit creepy that they try to copy her "look" with the replacements. And from her comments, it sounds like maybe this is just the last straw in a long series of incidents that have made her feel erased from the legacy of the show. So I can sympathize with that. But if we just look at this incident on its own, I don't think its unfair of them to call this the "original cast." 

Updated On: 2/4/20 at 08:10 PM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 8:38pm

I wonder if it's because this particular OBC has widely been considered irreplaceable. To this day everyone still says that if you didn't see Daveed Diggs' Madison/Jefferson you didn't see the role at anywhere near its potential, etc. So when everyone from the OBC is retweeting/plugging/expressing excitement about the movie I can see why an ensemble member might feel hurt. 

With that being said I know actors who worked as swings in big Broadway shows and they accept that they're not really considered part of the OBC. 

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 2/4/20 at 8:42pm

J Broadway nailed it...brilliantly said.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/5/20 at 9:11am

Does anyone remember what Sydney's comment was?  It wasn't in the link provided.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/5/20 at 9:17am

DottieD'Luscia said: "Does anyone remember what Sydney's comment was? It wasn't in the link provided."

 

trpguyy copy-and-pasted it further up on this page. Here it is again:

Sydney Harcourt: "The way you were treated haunts me. I find myself often remembering the stories you told me, the stories we shared. The truth can not be erased. Words matter. I love you." 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/5/20 at 9:22am

^This makes it sound like there's a "story" over her leaving the show - that it's NOT just about her not being their during filming.  (Maybe she tried to be, and they wouldn't let her????)

 

If it IS just about not being in it and them using the phrase OBC, then I agree, it's mostly silly.  (I can understand her being personally hurt - but not to the point of making a big deal over it!