The Founding Fathers Like Never Before
If you're at all interested in the world of musical theatre, you've probably heard (if not obsessively listened to the cast recording) of a new musical called Hamilton.
If you're not interested in musical theatre, you're likely a bit confused. Hamilton? A musical about the Founding Fathers, American history, and Alexander Hamilton? And they're rapping?
President Obama and his family have not only seen the show mutltiple times, but the Democratic National Committee held a fundraiser for the Democratic Hope fund at a special showing. The President had only good things to say about the musical:
"...it sounds initially like it would not work at all. And it is brilliant, and so much so that I'm pretty sure this is the only thing that Dick Cheney and I have agreed on - during my entire political career - it speaks to this vibrancy of American democracy, but also the fact that it was made by these living, breathing, flawed individuals who were brilliant..."
"But what's most important about [Hamilton] and why I think it has received so many accolades is it makes it live. It doesn't feel distant. And it doesn't feel set apart from the arguments that we're having today."
This 60 Minutes segment claims Hamilton is "being hailed as a theatrical game changer". Billboard claims that "2015's best rap album isn't by Drake, Kendrick Lamar or Dr. Dre - it's the cast recording of Hamilton, a vital companion to the most creative, most talked-about musical to hit Broadway this millennium" and says that "Hamilton's stage production should be required viewing for every American citizen".
So how is it that this musical, which features a multi-racial cast and songs that are atypical to a Broadway show, ends up blowing everybody's minds?
Jimmy Fallon is all about it.
Beyonce, Jay-Z, Missy Elliot, and Pharrell have all been seen attending the show.
(Photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
And it's already inspired parodies.
But what is perhaps most interesting is that all of us who don't have the chance to see the show can still experience it with the help of social media. For those numerous souls who try their hand at the lottery - an opportunity to win last minute tickets for $10 - the Hamilton cast began producing a string of videos which appear on their Youtube page called #Ham4Ham.
When the cast recording was dropped a little over a month ago, musical theatre geeks everywhere let out a collective whoop. Following its progress on Twitter and Youtube, for a while it seemed like all people were talking about. Hamilton is an important musical for many reasons, but most notable is its multi-racial cast featuring actors of color playing historical figures who were white. In a cultural context where people get irrationaly angry at the suggestion of black actor Donald Glover playing Spiderman or seeing a black actress play a character in the Hunger Games film that was in fact written as black in the book - this is important.
What does it mean for the future of casting in musicals? It's hard to say. Lin-Manuel Miranda - the playwright, lyricist, composer, and star of Hamilton - certainly isn't finished. His last musical In the Heights won four Tony awards, a Grammy, and was nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Hamilton is just getting started.
