Hamilton, the biggest hit in recent Broadway history, tells the story of one of America’s less well-known Founding Fathers. Alexander Hamilton was an aide to George Washington (the nation’s first president), a writer, lawyer, and the founder of the U.S. Treasury Department. He also wrote many of the famous Federalist Papers, which advocated for the U.S. Constitution before it was formally adopted.
The musical is based on a biography of Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It was created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also played Hamilton the original cast. With Chernow’s help, Miranda translated the life of this complicated man into a theatrical hip-hop sensation. The show debuted in 2015 on Broadway, and was an instant success. It won numerous awards and tickets were notoriously hard to get.
The soundtrack of Hamilton is incredibly popular, and has allowed to show reach a much broader audience. This summer, a recording of the show was released by Disney+, offering many people the opportunity to see it for the first time. Remixes of the soundtrack, including many famous artists such as Usher and Sia, have also been released.
The musical begins with a number that introduces Hamilton and describes his childhood in the Caribbean. The audience meets Aaron Burr, who is sometimes Hamilton’s friend and sometimes his enemy. Burr and Hamilton work with George Washington to fight was seems like an impossible war against the British. The Schuyler sisters, Eliza, Angelica, and Peggy appear, and Hamilton marries Eliza, and becomes good friends with Angelica. Burr and Hamilton each become fathers amid the tumultuous formation of the new country. Hamilton is outspoken in his views and clashes with Burr, and another founding father, Thomas Jefferson, frequently.
Over the course of the show, Hamilton portrays complicated issues, including death, infidelity, honor, jealousy, and the many challenges of establishing a new country. The show’s basic narrative is historically accurate, although many details havesimplified or changed. Nonetheless, it is an excellent and very enjoyable introduction to an important moment in American history.
The show’s cast is also very intentionally diverse. The United States has a difficult relationship race, as a result of its inexcusable history of slavery and racism. Miranda reimagines[/simple_tooltip]the founding of America, which was organized by wealthy, white men, by having all the main characters portrayed by actors of color[/simple_tooltip]. In this way, Miranda remains true to the founding ideals of America – freedom, equality and justice– while acknowledging the nation’s many failures to live up to these ideals.
