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Renée Elise Goldsberry opened up about the moment she first heard one of Hamilton s most popular tracks — and explained her decision to borrow the name of the song for her new documentary, Satisfied.
Speaking to PEOPLE at a special premiere screening event of the filmed version of the original Broadway production on Sept. 3, Goldsberry, 54, said the moment she first heard “Satisfied,” she “cursed out loud.”
“I heard a demo of [Lin-Manuel Miranda] singing it, and I just cursed out loud because I’d never heard anything so fast and brilliant, and it’s just a brilliant piece of theater,” she says of the song, which she performed as character Angelica Schuyler in the historical rap musical.
“It’s a brilliant storytelling piece of music, and I love it so much that I re-recorded it for my own album,” she adds. “Who does that? Who makes a remake of their own song? I do. And the beauty of it was because it’s perfect in this musical, and it’s also perfect as a standard.”
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According to Goldsberry, “Satisfied” held such a special place in her heart that she borrowed the song’s name for another very important project — her forthcoming documentary.
“Satisfied is a documentary, it’s a celebration and really a tell-all about how it felt to have a family as a person who was trying to have a career in the theater industry,” the Tony winner explains.
“I tell it against the backdrop of making Hamilton the musical, and so you get to see this Hamilton family be born and you get to see us at work. And then you also get to see some of the challenges and some of the sacrifices that came just trying to do two things at the same time,” she shared. “And the point of it is to encourage everyone to ask for both.”
The Girls5eva actress shared that the documentary — which details the process of getting Hamilton on its feet while Goldsberry simultaneously struggled toward motherhood before welcoming her son Benjamin in 2009 with husband Alexis Johnson — feels like her “biggest moment.” The two went on to welcome a second child via adoption, daughter Brielle, in 2014.
“I’m grateful that I ended the juggle and the balancing act of children and work and ambition and theater with feeling satisfied,” she says.
Satisfied premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival.
“I didn’t invent it, but I think it was really smart to use the name,” Goldsberry says. “I’m so grateful that Lin-Manuel Miranda loaned it to me yet again.”
Elsewhere in her conversation, the star also spoke about the live taping of Hamilton returning to theaters. The filmed version of the stage production is being released now in honor of the hit Broadway musical’s 10th anniversary, following a previous streaming release in July 2020.
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“It is unbelievable to be a part of this moment,” Goldsberry says.
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She continues, “To be here for the premiere of a film with my entire company, with my family, with you, with all of this press, with this celebration 10 years later, the opportunity to watch this movie for the first time with the people that made it, not only the people that are in it, but the people that worked on it, the people that edited it, the people that lit it, the people that directed it. It’s a dream come true.”
