(Hamilton:)
The musical Hamilton has been the winner of eleven Tony awards, the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, and the Pulitzer Award for Drama. Hamilton tells the story of one of America’s founding fathers who did not throw away his shot–Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton is known for a variety of different things such as his close relationship with Washington during the fight for independence, his intense rivalry with Thomas Jefferson, being the father of the Federalist party, his taking part in one of history’s first major scandals, and his legendary duel that led to his ultimate demise.
(‘Hamilton‘)
The creator of the brilliant production–Hamilton–is the award-winning actor, songwriter, and playwright, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights and Moana) was born in New York City in 1980. Miranda had, previously, written and starred in the musical In the Heights, which won several awards, before working on any other projects (Haynes). Miranda was later inspired “…by reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton.” He was able to turn it into “…a groundbreaking work that tells the story of the U.S. Founding Father with hip-hop/R&B musical forms and a black and Latino cast.” (Haynes). Lin-Manuel Miranda is considered to be a theatre and songwriting prodigy in the art industries, because he wrote a perfect score, lyrics, and book for the musical.
(Lin-Manuel)
Hamilton, is the number one musical of all times. The production has broken numerous records in nominations, top-grossing, and musical achievements. Hamilton earned a total of sixteen Tony nominations, beating The Producers and Billy Elliot–The Musical (each earning a total of fifteen Tony nominations); however, Hamilton only broke the nominations record since the musical was awarded with eleven Tony Awards, while The Producers hold their record with twelve Tony Awards (Paulson, Michael. “‘Hamilton’ Makes”). In addition, Hamilton’s cast recording broke musical records with its innovative use of the hip-hop genre in a musical to tell a story. The musical was able to “…[sell] over 54,000 albums since its Oct. 16. release, becoming the highest debuting cast album on the Billboard 200 in over 50 years. Additionally, the musical’s songs have been streamed more than 16 million times” and has been debuted in different categories (Towers). Finally, one of the records Hamilton was able to break was the amount of money Hamilton grossed. In only a week’s time, Hamilton grossed $3.3 million in Broadway. Hamilton is now “…the first Broadway show to gross more than $3 million for an eight-performance week. In 2013, “Wicked” grossed $3.2 million during a week in which that show had nine performances, one more than usual” (Paulson, Michael. “‘Hamilton’ Hits”). In addition, the musical set the record as the most expensive show on Broadway to attend (with tickets over $1,000), as well as one with the highest ticket demand–which make Hamilton the hardest show to get tickets to.
(Hamilton) (Richard)
How did this musical turn into an enormous success almost overnight? The musical has been remarkably successful because it tells the story of the historical figure, Alexander Hamilton, in such an ingenious way that the only word that in which it has been described is pure genius. One of the factors that appealed to audiences was its multi ethnic cast. Actors from all races, places, and ethnicities are casted for Hamilton. This feature appeals to a larger audience, since it is not an “all-white musical” like many others have been. However, the major contributor to its success is, obviously, its use of hip-hop music–as its main genre–to tell a historical story. Usually, musicals have the reputation their music being of a lively and jazzy genre; however, Hamilton has broken all rules and tradition by composing a “…score that features a variety of styles including hip-hop, R&B, pop ballads and rap” (Towers). This genre not only makes Hamilton the fastest-paced musical in history (Libresco) but it also captures a larger and younger audience, and because of its global success, people have been introduced to the world of theatre. In addition, more and more people are becoming interested in not only theatre but history as well. Hamilton is becoming a way for students to study and learn history in a fun, musical way that is, potentially, more effective because of its catchy tunes.
(Marcus)
(Schuyler)
Works Cited
Video of HAMILTON, the new musical about Alexander Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda at Public Theatre. Perf. HAMILTON Cast. YouTube, 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
HAMILTON’S AMERICA Extended Trailer PBS. Perf. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Barack Obama, Jimmy Fallon, and HAMILTON Cast. YouTube. PBS, 27 Sept. 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Hamilton: An American Musical. Hamiltonbroadway, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Towers, Andrea. “Hamilton Cast Recording Breaks Records.” Entertainment Weekly. Ew, 3 Nov. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Paulson, Michael. “‘Hamilton’ Makes History With 16 Tony Nominations.” The New York Times. Nytimes, 3 May 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Paulson, Michael. “‘Hamilton’ Hits a New High: The Most Money Grossed in a Week on Broadway.” The New York Times. Nytimes, 28 Nov. 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Robbins, Caryn. “Is HAMILTON the Fastest-Paced Musical in History? Check Out the Numbers!” Broadway World. Broadwayworld, 4 Dec. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Libresco, Leah. “‘Hamilton’ Is the Very Model of a Modern Fast-Paced Musical.” FiveThirtyEight. Fivethirtyeight, 5 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Binelli, Mark. “‘Hamilton’ Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Rolling Stone Interview.” Rolling Stone. Rollingstone, 1 June 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Haynes, Clarence. “Lin-Manuel Miranda Biography.” Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, 25 Jan. 2017. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Hamilton: An American Musical. Digital Image. Legal History Blog. Blogspot, 31 May 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
‘Hamilton’ Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Cast. Digital Image. Rolling Stone. Rollingstone, 1 June 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Lin-Manuel Miranda. Digital Image. The Kingkiller Wiki. Wikia, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Hamilton. Digital Image. Rolling Stone. Rollingstone, 1 June 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Digital Image. Eventsfy. Eventsfy, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Marcus, Joan, and Shane Marshall Brown. Hamilton the Musical. Digital Image. NPR. Npr, 6 Aug. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Schuyler Sisters. Digital Image. Twitter. Twitter, 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
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