Jamie Williamson
Alexander Hamilton’s a prominent figure in history, the face of the American ten-dollar bill, considered one of America’s founding fathers, is causing quite a stir in today’s modern America. Hamilton, a new hit Broadway show based on Alexander Hamilton’s life is taking America by storm with its unconventional approach to music theatre.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creator of Hamilton. Miranda came up with the idea for the show after reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton. Miranda thought Hamilton’s story sounded like a hip-hop origin story. After he read it, he found it written so well it got him off the island he was living on.
Hamilton is throwing everyone off with its heavy use of rap and hip-hop throughout the score. When you listen to the cast album you almost expect the songs would come from the radio. Using hip-hop to tell Hamilton’s story is a new and inventive way to bring life to the Broadway musical theater scene. Hamilton has opened a new door for hip-hop in musical theater.
Hamilton is unconventional because it features a very diverse cast to play a very white past. Miranda is telling America’s history with people who look like America today. It also does not take away from the story or history at all. If anything it makes the history seem more real and the struggle the founding fathers went through relatable to a younger audience.
This play will be a part of history, like the story it is telling. It has been featured on 60 Minutes and Lin-Manuel Miranda has been interviewed on The Tonight Show. This is all unusual for a Broadway show. It is definitely worth the time to look up the cast album and listen to the cast tell the story of Alexander Hamilton.