HAMILTON | WHAT'D I MISS | Full Performance - Musical Theatre Coach Reacts

Summary

Marc Daniel Patrick delves into the "What'd I Miss" scene from "Hamilton", showcasing Daveed Diggs' vibrant portrayal of Thomas Jefferson. Patrick highlights the clever musical choices that reflect Jefferson's disconnect after returning from France and praises Diggs for his energy and charisma. Despite some vocal limitations during live performances compared to the cast album, Diggs' unique style adds brilliance to the theatrical experience. Patrick also emphasizes the song's humorous elements and the intentional hypocrisy in Jefferson's character, making it a standout moment in the musical.

Highlights

• Daveed Diggs' portrayal as Thomas Jefferson in 'Hamilton' is both energetic and charismatic. 🎭
• The song 'What'd I Miss' uses a jazzy blues tune to symbolize Jefferson's outdated state upon returning from France. 🎷
• Patrick discusses the humor and irony in the lyrics, especially in terms of Jefferson's narrative of freedom. 🤭
• Diggs' performance is noted for his timing, inflections, and vibrant stage energy, overcoming some vocal limitations. 🌟
• Mark Daniel Patrick appreciates how the song sets up Jefferson for mockery while maintaining the truth of his character. 🎨

Key Takeaways

• Daveed Diggs shines as Thomas Jefferson with his charismatic and energetic performance. 🎭
• "What'd I Miss" cleverly highlights Jefferson's disconnection from American changes with a jazzy blues tune. 🎷
• The song introduces historical irony and humor, pointing out Jefferson's apparent hypocrisy. 🤭
• Daveed Diggs' live performance may differ from the cast album but remains impactful due to his stage presence. 🌟
• Marc Daniel Patrick appreciates the creative team's approach to Jefferson's character, encouraging mockery yet staying honest. 🎨

Overview

In this detailed exploration of the 'Hamilton' song 'What'd I Miss', Marc Daniel Patrick zeros in on Daveed Diggs' performance as the flamboyant and charismatic Thomas Jefferson. The musical cleverly uses a jazzy blues tune to underscore Jefferson's return from France and his outdated views, contrasting sharply with the rap and hip-hop elements associated with other characters.

The segment is filled with humor and historical irony, especially in how it portrays Jefferson's narrative of freedom while alluding to the existence of slavery. Patrick points out the clever layering within the lyrics that allows audiences to both laugh at and reflect on Jefferson's stance. He relishes the hypocrisy written into Jefferson's lines, accentuated by Diggs' spirited delivery.

Despite noting some vocal limitations when comparing live performances to the cast album, Patrick emphasizes the importance of Diggs' energy and stage presence, which are crucial to his portrayal. The vignette illustrates the brilliance of Lin-Manuel Miranda's composition and the cast's ability to bring historical figures to vibrant life, with Diggs leading the charge in this memorable number.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:00: Introduction and Comments The chapter begins with a discussion about the American Revolution, expressing a nuanced view that while the revolution brought freedom from British rule, there remained many people within the country who were not truly free. This introduces the idea of the complexities of freedom in post-revolution America.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Setup of the Song The chapter titled 'Setup of the Song' discusses a line from the musical 'Hamilton', specifically from the song 'The World Was Wide Enough'. It references a viewer's comment about the impactful line 'What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you will never get to see.' The chapter explores the meaning of this line, noting its use by Hillary Clinton in one of her Democratic convention speeches, and reflects on the concept of legacy as preparing or setting things up for the future.
• 03:00 - 09:30: Performance and Analysis The chapter reflects on the impact of our lives and the choices we make, pondering how we will be remembered in a hundred years. The narrator highlights the importance of a well-phrased line, indicating its significance despite not mentioning it in a previous video. A comment from a viewer named Emma is also acknowledged, expressing excitement and anticipation for future content, specifically another video related to Hamilton.
• 09:30 - 10:00: Final Thoughts and Goodbye In this chapter titled 'Final Thoughts and Goodbye', the speaker reflects on the complexity and significance of storytelling, hinting at a future analysis of an important song from a show. Initially planning to delve into a significant number from the show, the speaker decided instead to present an alternative video that had been highly requested by their audience. The speaker also recalls a memorable scene from the first act where Hamilton converses with Lafayette, suggesting a thematic continuity of promising return or conclusion.

HAMILTON | WHAT'D I MISS | Full Performance - Musical Theatre Coach Reacts Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 yes the american revolution they're free from the british uh but there may be some people a large amount of people living domestically that aren't exactly free uh one of them you just referred to as a lamb in your previous line whoops hello everyone i'm mark daniel patrick thank you so much for checking out the channel and let's get right into some comment shout outs from last week's video which
• 00:30 - 01:00 was the world is wide enough from hamilton if you haven't seen that video i'll throw that one up top please go watch that video as well our first comment comes to us from ryan who says what is a legacy it's planting seeds in a garden you will never get to see and it's it's such a good line isn't it um i think hillary didn't hillary clinton i think used that at one of her uh democratic convention speeches um and it's it's so true right that's all we're really doing is is planting or or laying the seeds of of
• 01:00 - 01:30 our lives and and who knows in a hundred years how we're gonna be remembered or or how people are gonna reflect back on on the choices we've made but i just felt like i had to highlight that one just because it is such a good line and i didn't mention it in the video which i should have but this is just such a uh yeah it's such a good line so i had to cover that there thanks so much ryan our next comment comes to us from emma who says i've never been so early to this channel well what are you waiting for emma now i'm expecting the next hamilton video is
• 01:30 - 02:00 who lives who dies who tells your story whoops uh yeah if i was smart at all maybe that would have been the video i would follow up with this week but we will get to it i promise you it is an important number possibly the most important number of the show um so we will get to that one i do promise you that however this week i decided to go with another video that is heavily requested on this channel now what i've always loved about the setup to this song is in the first act hamilton says to lafayette i'll see you on the other side
• 02:00 - 02:30 and of course lafayette played by david diggs never sees hamilton again for the entire show but on the other side of the intermission we get this this is david diggs with what did i miss 1789 how does the bastard orphan immigrant decorated war vet unite the colonies through more debt fight the other founding fathers till he has to
• 02:30 - 03:00 forfeit have it all lose it all you ready for more yeah not so fast someone came along too resistant pissed him off until we had a two-party system you haven't met him yet you haven't had the chance cause he's been kicking ass as the ambassador to france but someone's gotta keep the american promise you simply must meet thomas [Applause]
• 03:00 - 03:30 thomas [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] france is following us to revolution there is no more status quo but the sun
• 03:30 - 04:00 comes up and the world still spins i helped life i got drafted and i said i gotta go gotta be in monticello now the work at home begins so what did i miss what did i miss continue my home sweet home i want to give you a kiss
• 04:00 - 04:30 i've been in paris meeting lots of different ladies i guess i basically missed the late 80s i traveled the wide wide world it came back to this so right at that line it's it's so uh it's so unbelievably clever that lin gives uh jefferson a you know this this jazzy blue sort of tune um because it just signifies how behind jefferson is right he's been gone for so long so he's kind of missed uh so much of of what's happened in the united states uh so you know the
• 04:30 - 05:00 the rap and the hip-hop that that we see from everyone else jefferson is so far behind that so he gets that that bluesy jazz number but it's just so clever to throw that that curveball into the score like this and and to give it to this character [Music] there's a letter on my desk from the president i haven't even put my bag down yet sally bill am darling won't you open it it says the president's assembling a cabinet and that i am to be the secretary of state great and that i'm already saying it approved
• 05:00 - 05:30 i just got home and now i'm headed up to new york [Applause] looking at the rolling fields [Music] [Applause] i just have to stop for a second and say the the absolute hypocrisy that they throw on to jefferson here is is quite amazing i mean like so first of
• 05:30 - 06:00 all how he sings his line of looking at the rolling hills and can't believe that we are free yes the american revolution they're free from the british uh but there may be some people a large amount of people living domestically that aren't exactly free uh one of them you just referred to as a lamb in your previous line so i love the the hypocrisy that they throw on top of jefferson in this number and david obviously just just eats it up perfectly my friend james madison red in the [Music]
• 06:00 - 06:30 and face we're engaged in a battle for our nation's very soul can you get us out of the mess we're in hamilton's new financial plan is nothing less than government control i've been fighting for the south alone where have you been france we have to win
• 06:30 - 07:00 [Music] i guess i better think of something to say okay just before they get to that i do have to make one quick comment i'll do this i'll do this quickly this is one of the few times where the creative team behind hamilton
• 07:00 - 07:30 has has set you up in a position where you can sort of mock your character so you'd never want to come into a character no matter how evil how good whatever they are you're going to want to play the truth of that character and get to the human being behind whoever you're playing but in this instance though everything is set up for you to mock this character as much as you want uh and david is is just absolutely taking it for a walk here in this number and that's exactly exactly the tone you want behind it mr jefferson
• 07:30 - 08:00 [Music] i love that hamilton just comes in and just basically starts singing his own song on top of on top of jefferson's it's not the same melody it's nothing he just comes in sings his own tune [Music] [Applause] so what did i miss
• 08:00 - 08:30 [Music] ah so good defeat digs and so look so he's got he's got a decent tone overall in terms of his singing voice it he's a bit of a limited vocal range i will say but it's not a big deal uh he does so well with his his timing and his inflections uh to be able to sort of speak sing most of this song um which is exactly what's intended that's that's perfectly fine um i will say maybe compared to the rest
• 08:30 - 09:00 of the cast he he lacks the the the stamina of a traditional broadway performer right where if you listen to this song on on the cast album he sounds a hundred times better than he sounds here because to be able to uh you know the the small little quirky dance steps that he's doing and his movement around the stage he does it does affect his singing voice which is quite apparent compared to anyone else in the cast but you know you hire david for a role like this for his energy and charisma on stage uh not for a beautifully sung piece so i
• 09:00 - 09:30 think he's absolutely perfect for this role uh a perfectly earned nomination as well um and that's just such a fun number all right that's all the time we have for this video thank you so much for watching don't forget to leave me a comment of what you thought of this video and what you'd like to see in the future until next time i'm mark daniel patrick and thanks so much for watching [Music]
• 09:30 - 10:00 you