Lately on social media, I have seen several people uninterested and almost hating on "Hamilton," the historic musical about a historic figure, but with a twist. Most of these people, however, have not only never seen the musical but are focused on the race aspect of the musical.
Most people are calling "reverse racism" depicting the white Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, stating that if someone were to do that to Tiger Lily or any character from "The Color Purple," there would be an outrage from the respective racial cultures (some people forget that Native Americans have been fighting this for years).
While, yes, it is a seemingly risky take on historically white characters, it makes sense while the whitewashing of Tiger Lily does not. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of "Hamilton," stated in an interview for CBS Sunday Morning that "this is the story of America then, told by America now. It looks like America now."
In fact, several people are not calling it monumental, citing that this time in history will always be white and that they are not the first to try to paint the founding fathers as against slavery, no historical people of color of the period are portrayed, and pointing out that you have to shell out major bucks to see the musical if you can even get tickets (I went to their site on May 17, 2016 and tried to get tickets for the show on January 29. 2017 and found that it had already sold out; this was also the latest date offered on the website).
These people seem to forget the cultural impact "Hamilton" is making. They've broken the Billboard record for highest debut on the chart in years, won the Pulitzer, broke "The Producers" and "Billy Elliot's" record Tony nominations, and is the main reason we might have four PoC's winning the acting categories for a musical at the Tony's. Not to mention, this is a musical that is touching the younger generation and making them interested in the arts and history again. While it may not be as ground-breaking as some might want to make it, it sure does deserve the hype.
