Thomas Kail’s Hamilton is an effective and deeply moving recording of the stage production, capturing so much of the energy, evocative and highly theatrical staging, and thoroughly compelling performances that are only part of what’s made it such a phenomenon. Of course, with all the hype, it has a lot to live up to – more than any work of art can possibly be burdened with – but it still manages to be thoroughly engaging. It’s refreshing to see the ways that writer Lin Manuel Miranda allows the United States’ founders to be fully human – petty, vain, idealistic, naïve, and very wrong sometimes. And the way the play interrogates the idea of who gets to shape our narratives – of a nation’s history or even a person’s history – adds more thought and nuance to its layers than many of our modern musicals. Even though the financial side of a recording like this is highly impractical on a wide scale, it would be nice to see this open the door for more theatrical recordings-on-film to make their way to the general public. Increasing accessibility to this art form through digital technology may be imperfect, but there’s something beautiful about increasing accessibility to productions that people would never be able to see due to geographic, physical, or financial limitations.