Hamilton: An American Musical retells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. With the aid of hip-hop and rap, Lin-Manuel Miranda dramatises Hamilton’s struggles and contributions during the American Revolution and the formative years of the United States. It is praised for its breaking of Broadway conventions, compelling characters and their interactions, beautiful musicality, and the progression of its plot. There are many that see this musical masterpiece as Hamilton’s true autobiography. However, it is not an accurate telling of historical events. Hamilton: An American Musical intentionally alters the truth of Hamilton’s tale as it misrepresents the historical figures of America’s birth, falsifies a romantic interest between Angelica Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, alters details of certain distressing events, and paints the main antagonist, Aaron Burr, as a villain.
Hamilton: An American Musical twists the truth of Hamilton’s story as the portrayals of the characters are superficially inaccurate to their true resemblance. The events of this musical take place throughout the late 18th century to the early 19th century. At this time, minorities – specifically African Americans – were involved in slave labour and those in political and societal power were Caucasian (Chernow, 2004). Several characters featured in this show with such power include George Washington, Thomas
This musical helped me gain confidence because I could relate to a character more than I ever have before, his success reassuring me. Alexander Hamilton was similar to me because he argued for what he believed was right, stopping at nothing. Mediocrity could not satisfy Hamilton and he rose from his circumstances as an orphan immigrant to make an impression, later heading the treasury of the United States in its formation. Listening to the soundtrack of Hamilton inspires me to take a stand and make the most out of my life, no matter what challenging circumstances I face along the
One of the most controversial aspects of Hamilton is also one of the most essential aspects which achieve’s Brecht’s alienation goal– the casting. Hamilton is known for its diverse casting in which the only featured character who has been played by a white actor is King George III (which has its own controversy of how the only white person in the musical plays the villain). The effect of having people of color play the founding fathers and other
Before the Revolutionary War had occurred, many people were coming to the new colonies to start a new life; one of the people was Alexander Hamilton. He had come to the colonies after impressing people in the Caribbean and who then sent him to America to get a better education (“Alexander Hamilton”). Hamilton was an important figure in American history, but very few today remember who he was and what he did. Alexander Hamilton took a stand against traditional government by writing against and battling the British, fighting for the new U.S. Treasury, and arguing for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
As history is commonly viewed as dull and boring, Miranda changes this perception through the integration of popular music styles, rap and hip-hop, into the musical. While all of the facts are historically accurate, the audience is exposed to the debates through articulated rap battles and charged emotions are expressed through songs. The songs are also accompanied by choreography, which is a writing idea that is taken and exaggerated to an emotional state that is physicalized. Through these methods, the public gets an easier understanding of motives behind certain actions, such as Aaron Burr shooting Alexander Hamilton at a duel, as well as an clearer comprehension on what happened in history. Through rap and the hip hop style, music is used to keep history current, and provide stories the audience hasn’t heard before. In effect, Hamilton has inspired kids who weren’t good at history to look at a different perspective of the characters. In the musical there is no protagonist nor antagonist. Instead, all of the characters are portrayed as flawed, especially Hamilton, as he not only owned slaves, but was the center of the first political sex scandal in the United States. This allows the audience to know the characters on a realistic level, and acknowledge the fact that although Hamilton is one of the nation’s greatest founding fathers, he is also a man capable of
In the song, “The Adams Administration” it consists mainly of Burr, Madison and Jefferson discussing how Hamilton will no longer be a public figure when they ruin his reputation. We learn the events prior that will add to Hamilton’s backlash. The public are already hesitant of his actions due to “Adams fires Hamilton” and “Hamilton publishes his response” which is a public display of his hatred for Adams. It shows how Hamilton has a short temper since he made a private argument into a public discussion. Burr, Madison and Jefferson hope that Hamilton will have another outrageous outburst, which will leave Hamilton humiliated and out of power. A small part of the song talks about how the Federalist party is destroyed, “Adams, the only
Tickets to see Hamilton: An American Musical on Broadway are sold out until mid-2017 and prices for a ticket reach up to $1,000. The hip-hopera sensation is sweeping the nation, from old people to children alike. “It is the story of America then told by America now,” explains its writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show brings up current topics set in old settings and makes them new again. One would hardly think a hip hop musical about a founding father would be something to be considered worthy of literary merit, but I would go as far to say that Hamilton is just as worthy as The Color Purple and Invisible Man. It combines the old with the new, is written very intelligently, brings the story to life, sharpens the audience’s awareness of life,
Throughout time, art has changed the way people perceive history. Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Hamilton has had a strong influence how people view one of the Founding Fathers and the era he lived in. Before Lin Manuel-Miranda took on the task of producing a musical for Hamilton, people had an idea of who the Founding Fathers were and what they stood for. However, Manuel’s take on Hamilton wanted to present American history in which people of diverse cultures and women share the same spotlight with the Founding Fathers. In the musical, Manuel thought it was important for Hispanics and African-Americans to play as the Founding Fathers, so it reminds the audience American history is not composed of one race. Although critics, like Nichols, believe "superficial diversity” of the play’s casting results in a failure to
America has long been considered a great, powerful country. From its beginning, the United States had the potential to be something revolutionary. The idea of a democracy was, in the 1700’s, strange. While many men are regarded as key elements in the birth of America, one man stands out, despite his sometimes being overshadowed by fellow Founding Fathers. Alexander Hamilton was an immigrant, soldier, and the first Secretary of the United States Treasury, among his other contributions to America. He had dreams for his adopted country and was highly determined to see them to fruition and create a new, remarkable nation. Alexander Hamilton embodies the characteristics of an epic hero because he was a great warrior, he was capable of great deeds of strength and courage, and he is a national hero.
Oftentimes people have a difficult time connecting with history. They do not see the relevance between something hundreds of years ago and today’s issues. The Broadway musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda does a great job of bridging that gap. Many of the issues that were faced in the time period of Alexander Hamilton are also faced in the world today. An example of this is politicians riding the fence on important issues. A main character in the play is criticized greatly for doing this just as people are currently. In Miranda’s Hamilton, characters are faced with issues and are asked to take a stand just as political leaders are today.
Hamilton has created a revolution. Hamilton: An American Musical is a musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical is based on a book written by Ron Chernow about Alexander Hamilton’s life. The story narrates the founding of the United States. The show is being called a revolution due to its language. Lin-Manuel Miranda is being called this generation’s Shakespeare. They both use modern language to reach their audience. In this case, the language is Rap and Hip Hop. Most broadways show reach fame, Lin-Manuel Miranda manages to capture the attention of not only broadway fans but also captures the attention of non-broadway fans.
The musical “Hamilton” is the most sought after musical in years. It is the first seen rap musical and it has received the most ‘Tony’ awards and nominations in Broadway history. Hamilton premiered off Broadway in 2015 and soon moved to Broadway to stun the world with it’s incredible everything, from plot to casting. For best albums, Hamilton was second ranked in Billboard magazine and has got endless supply of recognition for the ingenious play written by the phenomenal Lin Manual Miranda. Hamilton is currently the most popular sensation on Broadway because of the music with its creative lyrics and hidden messages, it’s stellar performance and the perspectives it gives us on the people that founded our county. (on the people that shaped our past and developed our future).
Your Obedient Servant is one of the last songs in the musical Hamilton: An American Story. This song is based off a set of interactions between the title character, Alexander Hamilton, and his antagonist, Aaron Burr. It follows the Song, Election of 1800, in which Hamilton openly supports Thomas Jefferson to become president instead of Burr after the electoral tie between the two candidates. The tension that has been growing throughout the entire musical has climaxed at that point and then the infamous duel is set. All the letters that are written to each other during the song are ended with, “your Obedient Servant,” to add humor and also a reference to the actual series of five letters sent in 1804. While this makes for fantastic theatre, it is not completely accurate. Part of what makes Lin Manuel Miranda’s writing so compelling is that he takes Aaron Burr and makes him more dimensional than the man who killed Alexander Hamilton. However, the actual exchanged letters that the song is based off of show the tension breaking by a small incident, not directly relating to the presidential race, and do not actually set the terms of the duel.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton divulges the human need to have a purpose and the transformative journey in obtaining it. The musical follows one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, from the time he was a young boy to the successful creator of the national banking system. Hamilton encounters many challenges, both environmental and internal, in his lifetime, while also acquiring long-time foe, Aaron Burr, in America. Alexander Hamilton’s character develops as a hard-working, honest man that transforms into a conniving individual in order to pass his legislation and scale up the political totem pole. Aaron Burr’s jealousy of Hamilton’s progress instigates a transformation in his quietest character.
Legacy is the story you leave behind that future generations will know about. Hamilton: An American Musical was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed on Broadway. This musical is a modern interpretation of the life of one of the founding fathers of the United States, Alexander Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda expresses the theme of having to work hard to build your legacy, so your story is told throughout the performance. This Broadway show uses the literary devices of tone, allusion, and repetition to execute the theme of legacy.
There are many characteristics that could impact one’s life in a negative way causing them to lose everything in life such as selfishness, messiness, untrustworthiness, self-righteousness, or ego. In the award-winning musical, Hamilton: The Revolution, by Lin-Manuel-Miranda, the character of protagonist, Alexander Hamilton may be described in many ways. However, one character trait stands out among the rest. The main character trait of Alexander Hamilton, self-righteousness, shaped everything about his life: how he grew up, how he dominated in debates, and even how he fell from grace. Hamilton always stuck by his ideals, not caring whether it affected other people. These traits led him to lose and gain