Hamilton 's Renée Elise Goldsberry on what protesters have in common with the Founding Fathers
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As a nation, we will never be satisfied.
That's what Hamilton star Renée Elise Goldsberry, who played the intellectually vibrant Angelica Schuyler in the original Broadway cast, feels is a major through-line between the hit musical and the protestors taking to the streets in recent months.
While sitting down with PeopleTV's Couch Surfing, Goldsberry elaborated on the resonance of Hamilton's streaming debut during this current moment and why the show has always been bigger than a mere theatrical production. "It was a movement. I believe that it will continue to be," she said. "It's coming out in a very unique time that I don't believe that is an accident. I don't believe that we're pulling statues down at the same time as we are finally able to give access to everybody [to] these Founding Fathers and Mothers."
Joan Marcus
Goldsberry elaborated on the cast and production team's dedication to humanizing, rather than valorizing, the figures at the heart of Hamilton. "[Director] Tommy Kail always used to say our job is to take the bronze off of them and show the real humanity of these people, show their bravery, show the risks they took, show that they are exactly the same as the people that are in the street right now crying for justice," she said. "They're exactly the same. Even if they're not an 18-year-old Black girl saying, 'Say Her Name.'"
The actress not only drew parallels between the ideals of our nation's founders and those of today's activists, but took care to detail how the show is also important for showing the failed promise of this country's beginnings: "[We] show the hypocrisy and show how great the dream was and show how much there still is to do."
Watch the video above for more. Hamilton is now streaming on Disney+.
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