review of the Musical Theater Hamilton

One of the founding fathers of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, is the subject of the American musical Hamilton. Miranda Lin-Manuel wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the musical Hamilton. Hamilton was undoubtedly influenced by Ron Chernow’s 2004 bibliography of Alexander Hamilton, which was published in historical journals (Adam). The public theater hosted Hamilton’s inaugural Off-Broadway performance in February 2015, and all of its performances there were completely sold out. Hamilton moved on Broadway in August 2015 and began performances at the Rodgers Richards Theater. Hamilton’s positive welcome on Broadway helped it to generate strong box office sales. In the year 2016, Hamilton won 11 awards and some of these include the best musical theater album Grammy Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Pulitzer Award (Adam). Hamilton was first performed in Chicago at the Private Bank Theater as a rehearsal in September 2016 before it was officially performed the following month. Hamilton’s first national tour commenced on March 2017. Miranda Lin-Manuel confirmed on the 14th of February 2017 that a film adaptation of Hamilton is in the works. This particular paper will review Hamilton, thus, note the collaborative success of the designers, directors, as well as the actors. It will also argue that indeed Hamilton is a milestone in musical theater history.

Review

The collaborative success of the designers, directors, and the actors

From watching the videos and listening to the recordings of Hamilton, it can be acknowledged that the musical is an achievement of the reimaging of both the American culture and history. The wooden set and the costumes which are mainly comprised of knee britches and velvet frock coats reflect the creativity, intelligence, and vigor of designers, directors, and the actors of the musical, thus, the result is a musical with a lot of Historical accuracies. It can be acknowledged that prominent White figures in the American history, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Hamilton are portrayed by Hispanic and Black actors in the musical. This is a quality that many musicals lack and it does not require any suspension of disbelief by the audience as it makes Hamilton’s Cast look the way America looks now, as well as, any other country in the world, thus, giving the musical an international appeal. According to Miranda Lin-Manuel, Hamilton’s casting diversity acts like a magnet that pulls each and every individual watching it into the story by allowing them to forget any type of cultural baggage they may have about the Founding Fathers.

It must take a lot collaborative effort and creativity for the designers, directors, and actors of the musical to come up with something that would tell the story of dead White men using actors of different races, for example, the Blacks and the Hispanics, and tell that story very well. This is a quality that makes the Hamilton musical more accessible and more immediate to the audience of the contemporary world. The Hamilton musical also came at a time when the question about immigrants in America had been fueled by the Trump Campaign. The musical has a pro-immigrant campaign as it mainly focuses on the life of Hamilton who as an immigrant struggled to make a mark in American politics. It should be said that the most beautiful part of the Hamilton musical that other musicals lack is that it tells a story of America, however, it tells that story with both a diverse cast and a diverse style of music. To some of the Black and Hispanic actors who portray White men in the musical, it has given them a chance to reclaim a history that some of them do not necessarily think is theirs.

Hamilton is indeed a milestone in musical theater history

Beyond all reasonable doubts, the Hamilton musical is a milestone in musical theater history and this can be proven by its box office sales, as well as, the numerous nominations and awards it has managed to add as jewels to its crown. When it opened on Broadway, the Hamilton musical had a multimillion-dollar advanced ticket sale. It was the 2nd highest grossing show in Broadway coming second to the Lion King before the 6th of September 2015. As of September 2015, most of its Broadway engagements have always been sold out. Some of the awards and honors the musical has managed to acquire in 2015 in the Lucille Lotrel Award include the outstanding director, musical, and choreographer honor. In the Outer Critics Circle Awards, the musical has managed to acquire the Outstanding New-Off-Broadway, Books of Musical, and New Score honor. In the Drama Desk Awards, the musical has managed to get the Outstanding Musical, Featured Actress in a Musical, Director of a Musical, Music, Lyric, and Book of a Musical honors. Some of the greatest awards the Hamilton musical has achieved in the year 2016 include the Pulitzer Prize and the Broadway.com audience awards. In 2017 the musical has managed to get the Kid’s Choice Award. In total, the Hamilton musical has managed to acquire close to 35 awards and this makes it a milestone in musical theater history.

Conclusion

The Hamilton musical is indeed one of the greatest musicals in the world. In general, it has managed to get many awards than other musical in a time span of 3 years. The cast and how they work together to tell the story of Hamilton who is one of the founding fathers, reflects the collaborative effort, creativity, and vigor of the entire team. The actors get the opportunity to embrace a history that they did not identify with before as actors of color get to portray White people in the musical and this has given the musical an international appeal that other musicals rarely enjoy.

Works Cited

Adam Feldman. Hamilton just won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and yes we wrote this headline in advance. 2016. Web. June. 26, 2017. https://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/hamilton-just-won-the-pulitzer-prize-for-drama-and-yes-we-wrote-this-headline-in-advance-041816