Founding father’s story gets a modern retelling
“I’m obsessed with a hip hop musical about Alexander Hamilton” isn’t something I ever thought I would say.
The Broadway show in question, “Hamilton,” is already generating tons of buzz despite debuting only two months ago. I myself have listened to nothing but the soundtrack for the past week.
A trip to New York is pricey — although I have seriously considered going without groceries to get tickets — but the original Broadway cast recording has recently been released for purchase on iTunes and streaming on Spotify.
“Hamilton” is the brain child of actor, writer, composer and my new favorite person, Lin-Manuel Miranda. It all started when he picked up a copy of “Alexander Hamilton,” an exhaustive biography by Ron Chernow, on a trip.
While combining early American history with hip-hop may seem like a stretch, for Miranda, it was natural.
“That is part and parcel with the hip-hop narrative: Writing your way out of your circumstances, writing the future you want to see for yourself. This is a guy who wrote at 14, ‘I wish there was a war.’ It doesn’t get more hip-hop than that,” Miranda said in the New York Times.
At first, I was curious about the approach. What kept me listening was ear worm after ear worm of music and an engaging story.
Hamilton himself is portrayed as an ambitious man whose thirst for prestige and respect is unquenchable. He takes every opportunity — for good or ill — to better his position.
This show is by no means Hamilton and the Hamiltonettes. The supporting characters are as intriguing as Hamilton himself. This includes a sassy and stubborn Jefferson, a sweet and resilient Eliza Schuyler Hamilton and a scorned but painstakingly human Aaron Burr, who ultimately shoots Hamilton in a duel.
The music isn’t the only creative choice. Almost every member of the cast is a person of color (with the exception of Jonathan Groff, also known as Kristoff in “Frozen,” who plays King George). Miranda, a Puerto Rican, stars as Hamilton himself.
Miranda made a conscious choice to tell Hamilton’s story with the diversity and inclusiveness of modern America.
“This is a story about America then, told by America now,” Miranda said in an interview with the Atlantic, “and we want to eliminate any distance between a contemporary audience and this story.”
Growing up, Hamilton did not get nearly as much recognition in history classes as other founding fathers, such as Washington and Jefferson. In the song “History Has Its Eyes On You,” George Washington’s character foreshadows this.
“You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story,” Christopher Jackson, who plays Washington, sings.
This is a touching reprise in the finale — there are a lot of reprises — when Hamilton’s wife works for the rest of her life to ensure that her husband’s legacy lives on. It’s also the point in the show where I cry buckets of tears.
Whether you like theater, hip hop and R&B, history or an unconventional merging of the three, listen to “Hamilton.” You won’t be disappointed.