Hamilton: Because Hip-Hop Theatre is a Genre Now

Through a singular show, an entirely new genre of musical theatre has been created
recently. Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, pushes the boundaries of what theatre geeks
around the world have traditionally defined as Broadway styled music, using hip-hop and rap
songs to recount the story of Alexander Hamilton and the founding of America. Miranda is
responsible for composing the songs, writing the lyrics, and even starring as Alexander Hamilton
in the Broadway production. With his young, hip, liberal demeanor, it is no surprise that young
peoples across the nation find him to be relatable. To give some background, he grew up in New
York in a minority Latino neighborhood, and became increasingly interested and educated in
music and acting as he grew up. In addition to writing possibly the most popular musical in the
country, he has since contributed to the writing of music in movies such as Moana and Star
Wars: The Force Awakens. And if his compositions alone havent made him popular enough, his
frequent activity on twitter has made his fans absolutely adore him, to the point where the
attitude towards him is almost cultish (1).

The target audience for Hamilton is not necessarily only those interested in history or
even musical theatre, rather the general audience of anyone interested in the message it has to
convey. Naturally, some people will be more attracted to the show initially than others, but the
musical is so unique that is stands out enough to be known by people who would not normally be
interested in it. The audience in general is bound to be younger (due to the hip-hop music) and
probably more liberal/progressive with their political views. The show could potentially appeal
to people of various cultural backgrounds as well, because of the extremely diverse cast. Mostly
however, Hamiltons fan base is centered in the US (which makes sense because it is about
America).

The culture which surrounds Hamilton is diverse in several ways. It integrates hip-hip/rap
culture with musical theatre and also integrates modern language and liberal ideals with the
historical view of the founding of America. The culture of fans is diverse in color and
background, due to the all-inclusive values that the show upholds. This is primarily displayed
through the casting choices, which create a relatable cast that represents various racial and
cultural aspects of America (for example, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were
played by black actors) (2), as opposed to a historically accurate cast (which would have likely
been all old white men).

The purpose of Hamilton is ultimately to present a more balanced perspective about the
founding of America, and specifically to tell the story of Alexander Hamiltons contributions. It
shows that what we learned in school about our founding fathers may not be the entire truth and
it glazes over the uglier, more human aspects of the story of Americas beginnings. It could
additionally be argued that Hamilton was written to tell the story of Eliza (Alexanders wife) and
the other women in the show who also played key roles in the establishing of our nation, but do
not get recognition, simply because they were considered to be lesser in society at the time.
Furthermore, its extreme popularity and presence in pop culture gets people more excited about
theatre and keeps the business growing and evolving in a culture where appreciation for the fine
arts seems to be dying.

Miranda was inspired to write this particular musical after reading the book Alexander
Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Obviously the show itself is set in the 1700s, therefore the costumes
and plot reflect that time period. However, the language, dance, and musical style of the show
are modern and progressive (for example, cursing is not uncommon in the dialogue of the show).
I suspect that the creation of Hamilton has something to do with the political unrest that is
occurring in our nation. The show deals with struggles in power and a misrepresentation of good
and evil in politics, themes which are extremely relevant today. All in all, Hamilton conveys to
the audience that all people (even people on different sides of the political spectrum) screw up
because we are human, but that all viewpoints have a right to be heard. It also seems that in
todays culture, the ideals this country was built upon have been largely assumed to be
extremely conservative and this assumption leads to disputes. Hamilton offers a perspective
different from what a history book teaches about how all of the people and all of the different
beliefs came into play in the founding of the United States. It shows a human side to the story
that many of us tend to view as a fairy tale with minimal conflict.

Despite all of the praise Hamilton gets from its fan base, there are constraints to the show.
For one, the nature of the show is an operetta (which means there are few spoken lines out of the
context of music), and the rapping can make it hard for an audience to follow the plot. There are
obvious constraints to the fact that everything has to rhyme as well. In general, the show it relies
heavily on technical aspects of theatre to convey the setting and plot, therefore listening to the
soundtrack alone may not provide the listener with a good feel for the show. Moreover, Hamilton
may only appeal to a limited audience. While most Americans may be familiar with it, certainly
not everyone enjoys it. Fans of rap music may find it cheesy and older generations may even find
it offensive or too liberal. Also, double-casting is used and that in combination with a colorful
cast may make it hard for an audience to determine which character is which and how they are
related. For example, the actor for Thomas Jefferson plays a different character in the first act,
and the three Schuyler sisters consist of three women of different races. Additionally, the use of
modern language (especially cursing) adds a level of personal interpretation from Miranda that
detracts from the historical accuracy, thus creating limitations on the credibility of the musical.
And finally, perhaps the largest constraint to Hamilton is that it is hard for the average person to
access. The price of tickets to see a live showing is ungodly and it is not available through
common sites such as Netflix or Youtube. I personally have only seen it because a friend of mine
shared her bootleg copy with me.

However, the message that Hamilton conveys (at least in my personal opinion) trumps
the limitations. To conclude, Ill to share a moment that stands out to me, occurring shortly after
the presidential election of 2016. Hamilton was putting on a performance on Broadway and the
new Vice President Elect, Mike Pence, was in the audience. After the performance, Brandon
Victor Dixon, a leading actor in the show, read a message to Pence (written by the entire cast)
which publicly conveyed the feelings of many Americans. It said, We are the diverse America,
who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect uswe truly hope
that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of
us. And most importantly, Were all here sharing a message of love, which in the end is a
perfect summary of what patriotism and the spirit of America should be.

(1)

(2)