If you have not heard of the hit musical" Hamilton" by now, you are probably living under a rock or alone on a deserted island for the last year or so.
Inspired by the "Hamilton" biography by Ron Chernow, the musical, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda who also plays the starring and title role, tells the story of Alexander Hamilton from when he first arrives in America to his rise to power, eventually leading to the famous duel with Aaron Burr that resulted in Hamilton's death. The show has been critically praised as well as won numerous awards including a Pulitzer Prize. The show has even received the most Tony nominations a single show has ever had in the 70 years the Tony Awards have been occurring. According to an article in Business Insider, the show has earned about $500,000 per week on average. Tickets are almost impossible to get as they can be sold for hundreds and even thousands of dollars per ticket online, and the only way to possibly get them at a lower price is to enter the "Hamilton" lottery online or from outside the theater and hope that your ticket is chosen. Lin has created a revolution (no pun intended) when creating "Hamilton."
The show has no doubt been very successful, but what exactly is the reason for its success? Not since "Rent" or even "The Book of Mormon" has there been such a love or worldwide obsession with a Broadway musical. There are about 55 different musicals on Broadway currently. "Hamilton," however, has been able to rise to the top because of a few very important things.
One of the biggest aspects of the show is diversity. If you know anything else besides the title and/or story of the musical, you probably are aware that the show features almost all people of color cast. Lin Manuel-Miranda, whose family is Puerto Rican, felt that he wanted to have the show represent America’s diversity today, while telling the story of America’s history. Miranda also wanted to create more jobs and roles for people of all different ethnicities and backgrounds including Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, etc. Due to the diverse cast and publicity/praise that this has brought "Hamilton," it is just one of reasons that "Hamilton" has become such hit with people of all ages, races, backgrounds and more.
Another reason for "Hamilton's" success is the music. Besides the diverse cast, the show’s music has also been changed from something you would traditionally hear in a Broadway production. While shows like "Rent," "Hair," "American Idiot," "In the Heights," "Memphis," etc. have succeeded in creating stories through music in a non-traditional Broadway sense, "Hamilton" is one that has used mixes of hip-hop, rap, and pop to bring history to life. It could almost be compared to a more adult version of "School of Rock" if the subject was Alexander Hamilton and American history. The songs are new, fresh, and unique not only to musical theater and Broadway, but also to show tunes in general. Lin is no stranger to incorporating rap and/or hip-hop into musicals as his previous musicals "In the Heights" and "Bring it On" feature songs in those genres. However, "Hamilton" is one of the first, if not the first to have such a modern variety of music genres in a Broadway production, especially when dealing with a musical based on 1700s and 1800s U.S. history. The "Hamilton" album not only won a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, but is also currently one of the top ten albums on iTunes.
The last reason that "Hamilton" has made such a stride and has received such a positive reaction from people is the fact that anyone can love this musical. "Hamilton" is a musical that every person from every race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality, education, etc. can love. The character’s actions in the show are historically accurate (besides maybe the occasional rap or dance number) and can be used as a teaching tool for young viewers to grandparents. In fact, Lin-Manuel Miranda has even offered free tickets to students at public schools in New York City so that the musical can be used to help better their education and learning of American history, as it relates to what they are learning in school. The soundtrack is available on various different platforms including CD, iTunes, and Spotify. Miranda even hopes to one day film the live show and sell it on DVD like some other Broadway shows have in the past. "Hamilton" has become an inspiration and brought joy in people, and with a predicted tour date of 2017–2018, the musical will most likely continue to create more and more fans from now and years to come.
