Disney Plus’ decision to add Hamilton to their platform this weekend has already produced a lot of excited reactions, even if there has been some debate over censorship in the production. Being able to enjoy Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning musical at home has certainly given people a boost during lockdown, especially on the July 4th weekend. However, some fans can’t get over Jonathan Groff’s spitting as King George III.
More specifically, during his numbers, Groff’s precise enunciation means that he’s, well, doing a lot of spitting. Given where we are at the moment with social distancing, it makes sense that people are reacting more unusually than they might have last year to Groff’s performance. Indeed, the response on Twitter has even been enough to get Miranda himself talking about it:
King George's spit drool is truly transgressive in 2020, mercy me #Hamilton
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 3, 2020
Other fans were similarly intrigued by just how much spit Groff seems to generate when performing:
https://twitter.com/SNIIXXX/status/1279163954934304770
Me watching Jonathan Groff perform during Hamilton. #HamiltonFilm pic.twitter.com/SJcvXj0Fyv
— ⌜ kelvin ⌟ (@plvtties) July 3, 2020
the amount of spit that just left Jonathan Groff’s mouth during “You’ll be back” #Hamilton pic.twitter.com/f1VWU8YU38
— Jose (@jose_guevara__) July 3, 2020
watched hamilton and let me tell you…i cannot explain the way watching jonathan groff spit all on himself when singing "and no don't change the subject" in you'll be back made me feel
— alison (@alicheneyy) July 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/ThatRomel/status/1279770996623327239
might watch hamilton in the shower to get the full experience of jonathan groff spitting on the front rows. what do you think @Lin_Manuel?
— Finn (@bfinnafl) July 5, 2020
https://twitter.com/meanlittleasian/status/1279785447191969793
Some people, however, have stepped in to explain just why Groff has an unusual amount of spit:
https://twitter.com/fran_amura/status/1279182374832672768
It’s worth pointing out that viewers were also appreciative of Groff’s general talents, in a role as King George that arguably still ranks as the definitive performance in the musical’s history. Praise for Groff included the following:
https://twitter.com/SamEisenberg32/status/1279246995828473856
https://twitter.com/_jesuiscalme_/status/1279230812886614016
Since appearing in Hamilton, Groff has played several strikingly different roles, including over two seasons of Netflix’s Mindhunter as investigator Holden Ford, and a reprisal of his part as Kristoff in Frozen II. As well as continuing to appear on stage, Groff is currently involved in The Matrix 4 as an as-yet-unnamed character, with the sequel expected to arrive in 2022.
Meanwhile, it’s a great time to check out Hamilton on Disney Plus, with the theatre recording doing well to capture the excitement of a live performance, ridiculous levels of words-per-minute and all. Given that live theatre likely won’t be returning for a long time, and even then with long waits or steep ticket prices to contend with for Hamilton, the Disney Plus version is the closest most people will get to seeing it performed.
