Episode 52: Hamilton and Evita

Cinema in Context

Musical political figures. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss the Disney+ distributed, live-filmed presentation of Hamilton and Evita (1996). We begin by discussing Madonna, her cultural influence and her performance in Evita. We criticise the adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows to film, including Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar, but also highlight the ways that Evita fix aspects of the stage musical in the film. The conversation then moves into a discussion around Hamilton and our experience with the musical before watching it. We compare the Lin-Manuel Miranda show with the work of Shakespeare, and then the work of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Our conversation then moves into a discussion of the female characters in the two shows/films. We then discuss the way Hamilton explores race representation, captures the heart of its story through its cast and how it is a metonymy for wider America. We also discuss the representation in Evita, including its cast's previous work, like Jonathan Pryce in Miss Saigon.