Annabeth Crittenden, Campus Carrier Entertainment Editor
When one thinks of historical figures destined to star in Broadway musicals, Alexander Hamilton may not be the first choice. Or second choice. Or possibly even one hundredth choice. However, in 2008, composer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda decided to chronicle the life of the man behind the $10 bill in a musical that has quickly risen to extreme and unprecedented popularity.
As a theater major myself, I am always on the watch for new and exciting musicals. So, when the soundtrack for “Hamilton” was released I began listening right away. I was immediately enamored with the musical styling and began talking about the music to my non-theater friends. To my shock and pleasant surprise, the soundtrack was already circulating throughout campus. But how can a musical about the life and times about Alexander Hamilton be doing so well in mainstream pop culture?
There are several reasons. First, the music of “Hamilton” is far outside the musical norm. While the majority of musicals share the same typical style, “Hamilton” is told almost entirely in hip-hop or rap. According to the show’s creator, Miranda, in an interview with the website Grantland, “[‘Hamilton’] would have to be 12 hours long, because the amount of words on the bars when you’re writing a typical song — that’s maybe got 10 words per line. Whereas here we can cram all this in the margins.”
This genre of music allows hip-hop to enter Broadway once more — a feat that has only been accomplished around three times in musical history, one of these instances being Miranda’s others show “In the Heights.”
Yet Miranda wanted to bring the spirit of hip-hop and rap into the story of the founding father. He discovered the idea while doing some light reading on Alexander Hamilton while at a beach vacation. Upon reading the first chapters of the biography, he was floored that no one had written a musical about Hamilton’s life and swore to do just that. Miranda was positive that hip-hop was the only vernacular to tell Hamilton’s story.
“The hip hop narrative is of writing your way out your circumstance,” Miranda told CBS News on March 8.
The New York Times of Feb. 24, 2015 agrees, “Like the quintessential contemporary rappers, Alexander Hamilton was a poor immigrant kid from a broken home, feverish to rise and broadcast his voice.”
While the choice to make hip-hop the understood sound of the revolution brought new light to Hamilton’s story, it also allowed the soundtrack to debut on Billboard’s Top 200 as No. 12. The soundtrack also debuted at No. 3 in Rap, No.1 in Cast Albums and No. 5 in Top Album Sales. The only other musical to rank this high was the 1996 album of “Rent.”
The musical styling sits well with the millennial generation as well.
“It’s such an important show – it makes U.S. history accessible to people who have typically been marginalized from it (especially young people and people of color) and blends so many different musical styles in such an authentic, effective way,” sophomore Siobhan Mulligan said. “It doesn’t use rap and hip hop as a gimmick; it combines them with 18th century sounds to create a musical form that’s honestly the only way to tell Alexander Hamilton’s story – he wrote and did so much, only the lyrical density of rap can convey it.”
However, aside from the music, there are other ways that “Hamilton” has reached critical acclaim. Aside from the character of King George, the cast is comprised almost entirely of non-white actors. According to the Odyssey from Oct. 19, “The cast up on stage looks like the American public today.” Portraying well-known characters such as George Washington, Aaron Burr, and Thomas Jefferson as alternate races conveys a powerful point. America’s past and future belongs to people of every color.
“The characters are so multidimensional and the story is incredible,” sophomore Jacquelyn Bruun said. “I can listen to the soundtrack for hours and learn something new each time.”
When writing his show, Miranda wanted to portray the unfortunate circumstances of Hamilton’s life that he overcame to be the man remembered by history. The show details Hamilton’s past and the idea of rising from nothing, a theme that is prevalent and apparent in the millennial generation, and especially in the hip-hop and rap songs that are popular today.
Through his songs and casting, Miranda wants to prove that anyone and anything can be great, no matter the circumstances. And the show is proving just that.
It opened to raving reviews off-Broadway, winning Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical over musicals that were actually on Broadway that season. It transferred to Broadway over the summer and was an immediate success. It is already sold out until February.
Resale ticket prices average around $350, sometimes reaching $2,000 and hundreds of people line the square daily, attempting to win the Broadway lottery for $10 tickets. These lotteries feature entertainment called Ham4Ham in which “Hamilton” cast members welcome their fans and perform songs, skits and parodies before the results of the lottery are announced. Although hundreds are turn away each day, the cast still attempts to entertain their fans.
Miranda and the cast of “Hamilton” are even working to give the millennial generation the chance to see their musical. They have just released a grant allowing 20,000, New York high school and college students the chance to see the musical for $10, through a partnership through the Rockefeller Foundation.
“Works like this don’t come around very often, and when they do we must make every effort to maximize their reach,” Judith Rodin, Rockefeller Foundation president, said in a statement to the NYC Department of Education.
However, those unfortunate ones who do not live in New York must be content with streaming the soundtrack through Spotify and watching the limited clips available on YouTube.
Some of the last words Hamilton sings before he dies, “I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me / America, you great unfinished symphony,” detail his sincere wishes for both his country to be great and for him to be remembered.
And Miranda and his cast are fulfilling Hamilton’s last wish eight shows a week as they honor and respect the work of the founding father.
