Immigrant, writer, war-hero, Secretary of the Treasury, man on the ten-dollar bill, and Founding Father; Alexander Hamilton has become a household name to both Broadway and history enthusiasts through the contemporary works of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hamilton: An American Musical, bridges the divide between the original face of The United States of America and the modern face of our nation.
With the use of Ron Chernow’s biography, “Alexander Hamilton”, Miranda developed the story of our country’s founding, into a modern-day discussion.The Founding Fathers of our nation were elite, property-owning, white men who fought for their independence from Britain and wanted to form their own central government.
The cast of Hamilton is diverse in a sense that it successfully portrays the melting pot that is our nation today- African-Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, Pacific Islanders, and Asians. Miranda purposely cast actors of minorities to reflect the ever-changing face of our nation. To showcase the story of the founding of America in the show, Miranda wrote and composed all of the music in the hip-hop genre. Miranda’s decision for little-to-no spoken word in the musical and to replace it with rap formed a new reputation for Broadway and for hip-hop itself.
His use of creativity, wit, intelligence, and purely-genius raps, introduces a new way to view historical events. Not only does this allow for society to learn about the great feats of Alexander Hamilton, but for all of our Founding Fathers and Mothers as well.
