Hamilton (10th Anniversary): Rewriting the game
In his book Look, I Made a Hat (2011), Stephen Sondheim talks about rap in musical theatre. He says, ‘of all the forms of contemporary pop music, rap is the closest to traditional musical theatre (its roots are in vaudeville)’. While Sondheim himself dabbled with rap in Into the Woods, he suggests that most musical composers lack the know-how to make it work – all except Lin Manuel Miranda:
‘Rap is a natural language for him and he is a master of the form, but enough of a traditionalist to know the way he can utilize its theatrical potential: he is already experimenting with it in a piece about Alexander Hamilton.’
Five years later, Hamilton took Broadway by storm. Miranda got the idea while reading a biography of the American founding father on holiday. As Hamilton was an immigrant who clawed his way out of poverty, earning respect with his strong will and ambition, Miranda felt his story represented the America of today.
As well as being the sole composer and lyricist, Miranda also originated the title role – and as Hamilton was a relentless writer and activist, the casting really couldn’t be better! In response to Hamilton's huge demand on Broadway, Miranda set up #Ham4Ham, a daily ticket lottery and street performance. When lockdown hit, the full show was released on streaming – a bold move for an ongoing Broadway musical. It was important to Miranda to make Hamilton widely accessible. That's why he decided to record the original production – and thank goodness he did! He’s also starred in Mary Poppins Returns, wrote the music for Moana and Encanto, and directed the film Tick, Tick... Boom! The man is truly non-stop.
I could wax lyrical about how incredible Hamilton is, but even 51 essays couldn’t do it justice (that’s from the show!) So if you wanna be in the room where it happens, don’t miss the phenomenon on the big screen as it celebrates 10 years.
And try not to weep too loudly at Satisfied. I can’t promise I won't.
Written by Josey Passey.
Showing at the Dukes from 26th - 28th September.
