Hamilton: A Broadway Smash, Smashing Expectations
by Kathryn Bloch
Open up your wallet. Look at a ten-dollar bill: most people don’t give the man on it, Alexander Hamilton, any second thought or consideration. This is not the case for Lin-Manuel Miranda, playwright of In The Heights.
Upon reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, Miranda felt inspired by the life events Chernow described. That is when Hamilton was born in early 2014, and after a year of writing and rehearsing the musical made its Broadway debut at the Richard Rogers Theater in New York City. In a single year, Hamilton has quickly become the most sought-after ticket in recent years.
Being that I am from a small town in Illinois, my chances of seeing Hamilton in its Broadway run, with its original cast, or in any form at all is slim. That is where the cast album, which made its Billboard Top 200 debut at number 12 in October 2015, comes in.
From the opening number, Alexander Hamilton to Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?, the triumph and tragedy of Hamilton’s life is displayed in over 40 tracks. The strongest theme in the show is that of the legacy one leaves when they die, and this stays with the listener long after Hamilton is over.
One of the biggest reasons for Hamilton’s prolonged success on Broadway are the genres Manuel used to relay the story: hip-hop and rap. These genres are practically unheard on the Broadway stage, but that is what brings originality to a story that is as old as the United States.
Hamilton is also atypical in the way that it has cast the country’s founding fathers, and in the way it plans to cast future runs in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Though the show is about historical figures who were white, the cast of the show is pre-dominantly filled with people of color. The show also has plans to possibly cast women in the roles of Aaron Burr and the first President of the United States, George Washington.
In an interview with the New York Times, Miranda explains the casting decisions made for Hamilton. “Our cast looks like America looks now, and that’s certainly intentional,” said Miranda. “It’s a way of pulling you into the story and allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you have about the founding fathers at the door.”
In addition to casting people of color, the show also has plans to possibly cast women in the roles of Aaron Burr and the first President of the United States, George Washington.
In the spring of 2016, Miranda and other creators of the show received scrutiny after putting out casting calls calling for “non-white” actors and actresses. Some called the show non-inclusive, and this caused Miranda to revise the casting call shortly after.
As tickets for the show rise in price, and become increasingly scarce, Miranda has found ways to get more people into the Richard Rogers Theater. The cast has put on shows exclusively for high school students in AP U.S. History, dubbed EduHam by Miranda and others.
Before the cast of Hamilton performs in these shows, the student audience has the opportunity to perform their own raps, skits and spoken word pieces in front of their peers and members of the cast. These shows give the chance for students who may not have a platform otherwise to perform and show their passion.
Hamilton has given a new context for a story that most have forgotten, and that some have no knowledge about. So the next time you pull out a ten-dollar bill, will you remember the ten-dollar founding father?
