00:00Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show.
00:30And the hope, baby, you provide, you both may always be satisfied, divine.
00:47This is Hamilton.
00:55Rated PG-13.
01:00Hi, I'm Cori Murray, Entertainment Director at Essence.
01:03And I'm so excited to be talking with the beautiful and immensely talented women.
01:08I had the pleasure of seeing them work, work, if they know that reference, on Broadway.
01:15This Broadway phenomenon changed the world, changed Broadway.
01:19It changed the world.
01:20And now it is going to be seen by everyone.
01:23So please help me welcome the beautiful cast, which is Renee Elise Goldsberry, Jasmine Cepheus Jones, and Philippa Sue.
01:31Please tell us, what can people expect from the film version?
01:35Well, I think the beauty of the film version is that in every shot, the way that Thomas Cale has brilliantly put this together is that you are witnessing every shot at the best, every moment in the show at the best possible angle.
01:55So you've got the best seat in the house constantly in every single moment.
02:00And, you know, I've seen the show live, and I've also been in the show.
02:05And what I can say is that, like, the experience of getting to see it on the screen and the way that it has been crafted and put together, it almost feels like a dream.
02:18Like, not only are you an audience member, but somehow you've also ended up on stage, or you've ended up looking down at the stage from an angle that nobody's ever seen before.
02:28It's really exciting. We got famous being this exclusive ticket.
02:34But in reality, we were always fighting being exclusive. We were always trying to invite as many people in as possible.
02:41We did a lot of things. We did ham for ham. We did, you know, we went on the Grammys.
02:46We did a lot with social media, trying to invite as many people into this celebration as possible.
02:52And this Disney Plus moment will be, I think, the moment we finally pull it off, when it's actually in your living room and you don't have to go anywhere to be a part of this party.
03:04Jasmine, can you tell us when you first realized that Hamilton was turning into something extraordinary?
03:10There are numerous times where it just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
03:16One of the biggest moments for me was after the album came out.
03:21And it wasn't word of mouth, really, anymore.
03:26Up until then, at the public theater, even when we went to Broadway, still it was like you had to go to the theater, you had to see it in order for you to hear it, in order for you to understand it.
03:38You know, what is this show? And as soon as the album came out, the cast album, everybody got a little piece of it, even though they didn't see it, they heard it.
03:50And that's when it really went to like this, almost like this big concert every night.
03:56And it just grew and grew and grew and grew and you just never know who was going to be in the audience.
04:03And I feel like every show that we did, even if we didn't feel, even if we didn't feel like 100%, it was always 100% just because we were so used to being on point because we never knew who was there.
04:16You knew that all of the audience was mouthing the lyrics.
04:23So you just have to stop looking at people at a point because they were like mouthing everything that you were saying and you were, you know, it just became the show that melted into pop culture in a way that theater has never been done before.
04:41And, I mean, that was a huge moment. I think it was the day after the album came out. It was a day and we were all like, oh my God, everybody knows the words already. Like how quick was, it was so quick.
04:55So tell me ladies, why do you feel now is the right time for Hamilton to be coming out on Disney Plus?
05:01We always thought we understood the significance of this wonderful phenomenon that we were lucky enough to fall into.
05:11But what we learned throughout time is that the world keeps changing and there's new relevance to this piece of art.
05:19You know, like any great song you listen to, you know, every time you tune into it, something new is going to hit you.
05:25Your experience of art is really more about where you are and what you need than the piece of material.
05:30And that's what's really special when they first decided to have it come out on this big Independence Day weekend.
05:37We thought it was like, hey, you guys, here's some theater on television.
05:41You know, theater is dark, but we need to remember our humanity and come together.
05:45We thought it was about that. And then somebody videotaped George Floyd being murdered.
05:51And and it suddenly was not as important to be hiding in our houses.
05:57We needed to go out into the street and and and and demand justice and try to start fixing some of the issues in this country that were bigger than a quarantine.
06:08And and then all of a sudden, Hamilton becomes relevant in a way that it gives ownership to all of the people in this country.
06:16It gives some it gives some entitlement to some different voices at the table to answer some of these questions,
06:23because you remember when you see us playing these forefathers and foremothers of our country that that our ancestors also built this country.
06:31And and we have some really important ideas about what needs to happen so that the great work they started is continued.
06:40And so I'm constantly learning from the show and I'm excited that some of these cries that we that that they sang in the birth of our nation are really relevant today.
06:54And they will be there on my lips and I'm hoping they will they will be on the lips of so many of the Americans that are are demanding justice in this country.
07:05And if any of the other ladies would like to add your thoughts on what do you find personally resonating about having Hamilton come out now, please, you can give me your thoughts as well.
07:17I think one of the important points of the show is no matter where you come from, no matter what background you are, that you have a voice and it's and it's OK to use it.
07:31And however you want to do that by voting, by by by by writing, by getting your friends together and and speaking out, I hope it inspires people to do so.
07:45And I hope it inspires people to put some, you know, some fire under their butt and, you know, and to use their voice to anybody who thinks that their voice doesn't matter because of who they are or where they come from or they're not a celebrity or whatever.
08:02I hope that this piece shows them that no matter your background or where you come from, that you have a voice and it matters.
08:11So use it.
08:12Yeah.
08:13And I think the only thing I'll add is that I I always am inspired by the fact that it was really messy for them back then, what they were trying to accomplish, what they were trying to build the America that they wanted to see.
08:33It was messy and very imperfect. And these people that we see in paintings and read about in history books and see in statues, they were imperfect.
08:45So I think it's important to remember that, you know, we can we can work through things that are difficult, that we can be excited about the challenge of needing to work together to build the country that we want to see.
09:04And remember that, you know, it's going to be messy and it's not perfect and that's OK.
09:11And that is a part of it. It's going to be difficult. But that is what we have to do.
09:16We have to come together and we need to make this country the country that we want to see.
09:21Thank you all so much. So I only have a few more minutes with you.
09:24So I've got to ask, what was your most meaningful experience related to Hamilton?
09:29Hamilton. I'll assure you guys mine. When I was sitting in the audience, I got to see it with Obama, President Obama for a matinee.
09:36I was I couldn't believe it. But the part, the 10 dual commandments, the fact that it was based off biggies, the 10 crack commandments.
09:46I was like, genius. Like, I was like, I'm done. I'm going to buy this right now. I love everything.
09:53But can you each share with me your most meaningful experience related to Hamilton?
09:58The answer changes because, you know, there were a lot. It was an embarrassment of riches.
10:05And you you you just reminded us of one of the most special ever, which is the opportunity to perform for our president.
10:14You know, that that like that needs to be what all art was, was, you know, performing for the king or queen and to be able to to for this show to be born in that administration and perform for them.
10:27Oh, my God. I'll be honest. Like I was way more nervous with Michelle than than Barack.
10:34And I and I love them both so much. But that was probably the most humbling experience of my life was playing this character, Angelica Schuyler, that is so patterned off of of a queen of that stature.
10:47And then to and think I did a great job on the stage that night and then meet her and be like, oh, that's what it really is.
10:54So that was one of many genius moments was getting to stand in her presence and be inspired a little bit more about celebrating the great women that that modeled what it means to be a woman in this country.
11:09You know, it's so crazy. I remember you just like put a memory into my mind.
11:15The first we were at the public theater. And do you remember there was all the secret service?
11:20Yeah. Yeah. Backstage. We were like, who?
11:24What? Who is here? Because like we would thank God we didn't know before she came.
11:30That was the first that was the first time. And she came first. Yes. She came before everybody. Yes. Everybody.
11:36With her mom. Yeah. With her mom. And I remember being backstage and there was all of this like secret service and like, you know, we're trying to get through a door and all of a sudden you'd open the door and they would just be like standing there.
11:49And we were like, what is going on? And like that. Yeah. That moment was like the start of, you know, performing for the Obamas or like going to the White House when it was Obama's last year and Chris Jackson singing one last time.
12:08Oh, my God. He's got a chill.
12:10Of him. And us all.
12:11The George Washington picture behind him.
12:13The George Washington picture behind him. Like it was, it was like there is so many moments, you know, but it's just like being in a musical that has like changed history while you're, you know, performing in front of a president that has changed history.
12:31You know, it's like, it's like, it's, it's like this cycle and it was just, we were there at the, at the right time when, when it was all happening.
12:41And like that, that's, you know, you realize, like, that's just such a, a, a beautiful, a beautiful moment, kind of like realizing you're in a, you're in this circle of history, you know, of, of firsts. So I don't know if answers your question.
13:00No, that did. That was a perfect answer. Thank you.
13:03Getting to experience all of that with these two ladies was to me, like literally we were like, you know, something big would happen and the end of the show, like, or whatever, something would happen during the show or someone would be there.
13:17And the first people that I would get to sort of like talk with were Jasmine and Renee dressing rooms were so close together.
13:25We shared, like, we each had our own dressing room. We shared a little hallway and the things that happened in that hall, the things we celebrated, the things we like were right about in that little hallway.
13:37Um, so, you know, that, that made it even more special was getting to, to see it through their eyes and experience it together.
13:44Oh, oh my God. Thank you all so much. And now we're all going to be able to experience Hamill together.
13:50Thank you so much. Congratulations. I can't wait to share this with my daughter. Take care, ladies. Bye.
13:57Take care. Bye.
13:59Bye.
14:20Bye.
14:50Bye.
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