no but guys think about how cool an ASL staging of Hamilton would be
“talk less, smile more”
Lafayette combining ASL with French Sign Language
In “Farmer Refuted” Ham and Seabury go from simply trying to block their audience’s view of each other’s hands to actively slapping each other’s hands down mid-sentence
King George doesn’t deign to sign. He has the ensemble sign for him and gets pissed at how with each reprise there seem to be fewer and fewer ensemble members there to translate.
everybody’s name signs corresponding with their musical leitmotifs
apparently the ASL word for “helpless” can also be used to mean “speechless” in some contexts
during “Helpless,” if you look closely, you can see some of Alex and Angelica’s conversation from “Satisfied” being signed in the background
LOOK AT HOW BEAUTIFUL THE SIGN FOR “WAIT” ISÂ
 THE GLORY THAT IS “GUNS AND SHIPS” IN ASL
everyone breaking apart to sign their own parts in “Non-Stop” in a beautiful visual explosion like I am dying just thinking about this
AGGRESSIVE CABINET BATTLE SIGNING
“The Room Where It Happens” being all about being shut out of conversations and decisions, there’s some new subtext to “hold your nose and close your eyes” because you can’t sign while holding your nose and you can’t watch others sign while closing your eyes
Phillip not being able to complete the “sept huit neuf” with Eliza because his hands are going limp as he dies and Eliza actually screaming
Burr’s signing in “Your Obedient Servant” getting more and more angry along with his writing, the syntax of which also changes until “Weehawken. Dawn. Guns. Drawn.” matches up exactly with Burr signing the words–he’s sick and tired of translating every thought into perfect English, he’s tired of signing less and smiling more, he is 100% done with this shit
during Ham’s final “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory,” it’s not just the music that drops out, it’s the English translation. that’s right, y’all, HAMILTON’S FINAL MONOLOGUE IS ONLY IN ASL
at the end of it, he sets down his pistol prop and makes the ASL sign for “gun” AND RAISES THAT SIGN INTO THE AIR
WHEN ALEXANDER AIMS AT THE SKY, BURR IS STILL HOLDING HIS PISTOL, SO HE CAN’T SIGN HIS “WAIT”–HE HAS TO SCREAM IT WHILE THE ENSEMBLE SIGNS FOR HIM
for all the emphasis put on “who tells your story” and “being a part of/erasing myself from/putting myself back in the narrative,” there isn’t much explicit mention of speech and I think that’s beautiful
I have way too many feelings about this fictional production okay
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