Just a month after the 10th anniversary theater release of “Hamilton,” Renée Elise Goldsberry stars in the new documentary, “Satisfied.” While the documentary about her life has technically been out for just over a year now, it was shown in theaters from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 to share her story.
The film follows Goldsberry, who played Angelica Schuyler in the acclaimed musical, and the struggles she faced while working on the huge project.
The documentary shows how Goldsberry grew with the “Hamilton” musical from its beginning as a workshop all the way through its first full year on Broadway. The film included many videos Goldsberry took herself behind-the-scenes.
Within the first portion of the movie, there are many clips of her with her husband and children. Goldsberry talked about how it was a bit of a struggle with her family at home, but that theater was always her dream, so she never regretted anything.
The documentary became a tearjerker almost immediately, as Goldsberry, in a sit-down interview, talked about her difficulties with motherhood. I almost cried when she started talking about this because it is a struggle so many women go through. She discussed how she had about five prior miscarriages before giving birth to her son, and then later on, her daughter.
Though her children were still young during her time on “Hamilton,” she refused to let it stop her from achieving her dream. Goldsberry had been on Broadway before, but never on a show as large as this.
During the creation of “Hamilton,” though, Goldsberry was extremely unsure as to whether or not she was going to be officially cast as Angelica. They finally gave her the role for off-Broadway, which was such a large hit that it quickly moved to Broadway.
Naturally, she was excited to be given the role, and it was a shock to learn how stressed out she was over it. In my mind, I can hardly imagine anybody else as Angelica Schuyler, and I have seen the play in recent years. It is crazy to think there was ever a chance she would not play one of the most pivotal roles in her life.
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The documentary continued to discuss how Goldsberry was not even sure she would make it to the Broadway stage after working on it off-Broadway and rehearsing on the bigger stage. She had learned at the start that she was once again pregnant, and she just knew that if the baby came to term, she would not be able to let it go.
It was another obstacle in her path, as Goldsberry had finally gotten the huge role she was looking for, but another one of her big dreams was happening at the same time. Unfortunately, she learned a few weeks before she was going to drop from “Hamilton” that she had lost the pregnancy. It was clearly a rough time for her, but she also got to continue along with her biggest dreams of all, being on the Broadway stage in a role that was basically shaped around her.
A little further into the documentary, Goldsberry talked about a time when she started to feel overwhelmed with the amount of work she was doing every day without being able to see her family as much as she wished. So, she decided to take a break and visit her family in Texas.
This section also became another sad moment to watch, as she went to visit her theater teacher, who gave her the first big role she had. It was amazing to be able to see Goldsberry reconnect with this prominent figure in her life at a time when she needed to be reminded that all this work was going toward her overall dream.
I loved watching every second of this documentary. It was interesting to be able to hear Goldsberry talk about everything she was feeling and going through during her time working with “Hamilton.”
The play has had such a large impact on the musical scene, and continues to do so to this day, and she had a huge part to do with that. It was amazing to hear Goldsberry talk about her trials and tribulations, but also say that she never once regretted the decisions she made along the way.
I would recommend this film to anyone who is a large fan of “Hamilton” and Goldsberry’s character because it gives so much more context behind everything. Her story is extremely inspiring, especially when it is seen alongside the stories of everyone else in that original cast.