The scene is set. The final show with the man who started it all has passed. The view pans to Lin Manuel Miranda. He stands, sharing his final bows with other exiting cast members Phillipa Soo and Leslie Odom Jr. It’s humble, much like Miranda’s attitude is.
Suddenly, West Wing music starts to seep in from the orchestra. It’s a fitting tribute for the man who took a shot even when an idea now lauded seemed quite ridiculous.
This past weekend marked a significant turning point for the 11 Tony Awarded musical, Hamilton. Creator Lin Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator and titular lead, had his last day in the room where it happens.
What is it? Why is Hamilton so popular? How did it come to be? Debuting 2009 at the White House Poetry Jam, a younger, scrappy Miranda introduced his project as the Hamilton mixtape and performed the opening number as the character Aaron Burr. It’s the start of something big, receiving the Commander in Chief’s praise.
Lin Manuel Miranda then expanded this concept into a full-length musical, drawing on the life of largely ignored Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. This was a man so lost to history that the US Treasury had plans to take him off the $10 bill. This all changed when Hamilton: An American Musical opened at the Richard Rogers Theater on Broadway. Tickets sold out, and a lottery system was put in place to allow a lucky patron to get the much-coveted seats. It turned the world upside down.
But beyond just being an Instagram sighting of celebrities, authors, and politicians, Hamilton has been a tribute not only to its real-life moniker but history in general. Using hip hop as his language to convey the story, Miranda has ignited a passion in a younger generation, one that was so great that it drew the Rockefeller Center to finance a program that brings 20,000 11th grade NYC students to see the musical starting 2017, regardless of income, race, and gender. It landed the cast in the White House with an education curriculum tailored to match the events of the musical to the history of our nation (check hashtag #Bam4Ham) with students from Washington DC. It launched a conversation about ticket bots and how they took away from making the theater a place for all people by jacking up prices.
History has its eyes on what Miranda will do next. But don’t worry -- we won’t be really saying goodbye yet. He’s revealed that a PBS special will air this fall. And we’ll see his work on the new Polynesian Disney movie, "Moana," which sails into theaters in November.
