Hamilton

 

Lin-Manuel Miranda walks up to center stage. He breathes in deeply, then starts rapping about our founding fathers of America. Actually, more specifically, “the founding father without a father,” Alexander Hamilton. You probably wouldn’t expect those two phrases to be put together in a sentence, but the Broadway musical Hamilton has “blown us all away” and exploded into the limelight. This hip-hop musical is sold out until next year, and celebrities rave about it. You might be wondering, Why?  Why would people want to listen to songs which are basically my history textbook?  Well, Hamilton is more than that.

Along with telling stories of the founding of our country, Hamilton tells a story of pain and heartbreak. Sorrows and drama. Humor mixed with tears. In addition, it has people of color playing white roles. This is called racial diversity, or“color-blindness.”. Most of the cast is African American or Hispanic, and the lead role of Alexander Hamilton is played by the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Miranda is the creator of this piece of art, the creative genius behind the masterpiece of Hamilton. His early life was filled with show tunes and salsa. Involved in theater since a young age, he got his inspiration for Hamilton from a biography which he read on his vacation. The book he read “ended up changing my life” according to Miranda. He was certainly right about that. This musical has skyrocketed to success, with tickets sold out until next year. Celebrities including Idina Menzel, Kanye West, Daniel Radcliffe, and Beyoncé have raved about the show, and the President himself had a showing of Hamilton at the White House! If that isn’t amazing, I don’t know what is.

Many people find this mix of history and rapping to be a bit odd, but I think that Miranda does a wonderful job mixing the two into the art that is Hamilton. Each metaphor is meaningful and has a purpose. The tone of their voices, the simplicity and repetition of words at some points; there’s a meaning to all of that. Hamilton is an intricate mosaic, and each tile connects to the bigger picture of the way our country was founded. I’m hoping Mr. Miranda can drop a musical about Algebra soon, that subject really needs more charisma.

~Sanvi