On Broadway, on the field, and on the internet, Hamilton is making its mark. photos by Anja Oss
The musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton, written by MacArthur genius Lin-Manuel Miranda, revolutionizes musical theatre.
When Broadway playwright, composer, and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda went on a much needed vacation after his musical In The Heights finished its run on Broadway, he picked up a biography that would change both his life and the face of theatre. When reading “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow, Miranda started formulating a musical about the “ten dollar founding father without a father,” which is now dominating Broadway almost five years later.
The show centers on often overlooked founding father Alexander Hamilton, who Miranda calls the “original immigrant.” Orphan Hamilton came to the United States after living a destitute life in the Caribbean, seeking an education and a way to survive. He ended up becoming a decorated war veteran, the Chief of Staff Aide to George Washington, a primary proponent of the Constitution, founder of the Coast Guard and the New York Post, the first Secretary of State, the subject of the first public political affair, all prior to dying at the hand of Vice President Aaron Burr before his 50th birthday. What started as an abstract idea for a musical and an insane pitch has become the hottest ticket on Broadway. It is the perfect piece of history for a Miranda musical. The non-stop action and fluctuation in moods has gained the attention of many notable people including Beyoncé, the President and First Lady (who have seen it three times,) Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Oprah Winfrey. Hamilton’s popularity has the show sold out until January 2017. Anyone lucky enough to find tickets is paying upwards of one thousand dollars to be in the room where it happens.
Hamilton is the story of “America then told by America now.” Miranda practices colorblind casting, with people of all races and genders portraying historical figures. The idea asserts that in performing, a talented cast is better than a perfectly historically accurate cast. So much has changed since 1776, and, to Miranda, there is no reason not to proudly display the landscape of American diversity while entertaining audiences with the texts of history. He has said that in future casts he is open to the possibility of women playing the founding fathers. Since intelligence has no color or gender, Hamilton’s story can truly be told by anyone. This idea has certainly paid off and the show typically grosses 1.7 million dollars a week.
This diverse ensemble is revolutionizing theatre, with quick onstage changes between the United States founders, townspeople, soldiers, and British soldiers, with both men and women portraying all the roles. Many of the ensemble are trained in many different roles, like Andrew Chappelle who can understudy six parts aside from his role in the ensemble. The ensemble members are not the only versatile cast members in Hamilton; the show is also double cast in several roles. Marquis De Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, and John Laurens/Philip Hamilton are paired together to show the connections to Hamilton and their relationship to the revolution. The show also could not have happened without the collaboration of the cast, crew, and creative team behind it. The show was orchestrated by Alex Lacamoire and directed by Tommy Kail, who both worked with Miranda on past projects. David Korins designed a simple yet versatile two-story set with two rotating turntables on the stage that Andy Blankenbuehler incorporates into the choreography for the whole cast to participate in.
The first public performance of Hamilton took place in 2009 at the White House, where Miranda was asked to perform for the President. At the time, Miranda was not thinking of Hamilton as a musical, but rather a concept album about someone he thinks “embodies hip-hop: treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton.” The overwhelmingly positive response to such a strange and new idea, particularly by the President and First Lady, turned into the title song for the musical that had months of sold out previews at the Public Theatre Off-Broadway and opened August 5th, 2015, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway.
Miranda, 36, was exposed to a variety of music genres growing up, all of which are apparent in his musicals; they effortlessly mix classic Broadway themes with hip-hop. As a child living in New York, Miranda experienced rap, Latin American music, and Broadway cast albums, and his early interests all culminated in his first musical In the Heights. Heights is based on his neighborhood and the relationships made there in his early years, and combines salsa, rap, and Broadway-ballad styles to convey the histories and stories of the characters. Thomas Jefferson High School performed In the Heights in March of 2014, but before they performed, they were surprised by Miranda. The students came into a Saturday dress rehearsal to find that Miranda had read the article about their show and tweeted about people in Denver needing to go see it. Alum Jordyn Chappell, a sophomore at the time, said “I heard that he tweeted at us, but I didn’t really understand the magnitude of what had happened. The fact that he tweeted for everyone in Denver to see our production of In The Heights is absolutely mind blowing.” Many TJ students have been following Miranda ever since to see what he does next, and Hamilton has not disappointed.
Not only is Hamilton about a revolution, it is a revolution itself. The diverse cast and hip-hop orchestration is overtaking classic Broadway tunes. Miranda puts passion and perfection into everything he does (he took a year to write the song My Shot and was still adjusting lyrics up until the cast album was recorded) and it has paid off for both him and Hamilton. His talent was recognized as genius when he was one of 24 people awarded the 2015 MacArthur genius grant, which gives each recipient $625,000 to invest in their future projects. Hamilton also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama and is one of only nine musicals to win in the past 100 years. When the musical opened on Broadway it had a multi-million dollar advance on ticket sales and made $30 million during its time at the Public. It has made this season on Broadway much higher-grossing than it has been in the past. On May 3rd, 2016, its success was honored as it was announced that Hamilton is nominated for 16 Tony awards, breaking the previous record of 15 Tony nominations. It is expected to win many Tony awards on Sunday, June 4th, and knocked many other musicals such as George Takei’s Allegiance out of the running for the awards at all. The Broadway Cast Album won a Grammy for the Best Musical Theatre Album and the cast accompanied their win with a performance of “Alexander Hamilton” on the show. The album hit #1 on Billboard Rap Chart, and is the first cast album to chart at #1 on the Billboard pop charts since Camelot in 1961. The show and its cast continue making prominent performances, most recently with cast members appearing in interviews on late night TV shows. The cast is preparing for the Tony’s where they will be performing History Has its Eyes on You. “It’s going to be a very ambitious set this year. They’re going full out.” Commented head prop manager Eric Castaldo. “We are working on a set that’s going up in the beacon theatre, a specific set aside from the one we are using at the Rodgers. That’s under construction right now. I’m going over there this afternoon to do some set dressing, which is placing some artifacts. The set will load in this week and as we prepare that there’ll be a lot of logistics because we’re juggling the Tonys while doing the show. There’ll be big screen projection to help fill out the set as well as the important piece we’re bringing in, very big.” History will have its eyes on Hamilton during its performance as well as during the awards to see if it can break the record for Tony wins.
The show has made an impact on the current history of the country as well. In June 2015, the US Treasury department proposed replacing Hamilton on the ten dollar bill with a woman. As the musical gained popularity and brought publicity to the issue, the Treasury was forced to reconsider. On March 20, 2016, they announced their new plan to keep Hamilton the ten dollar founding father without a father and replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the twenty with the no drama freedom mama Harriet Tubman. The new bill is going to be unveiled in the year 2020.
As well as this tangible change in history, Hamilton is building the interest in musicals and history. The musical appeals across age groups and musical interests. Miranda realizes that getting all “hamilfans” to see the show is impossible, so he has made many efforts to broaden the show’s exposure. Every Wednesday there is a “Ham4Ham” show where cast and crew members and special guests perform a short show outside the Richard Rodgers. This also gets uploaded to YouTube for those who cannot attend in person. Before every show there is also a lottery for a pair of front-row tickets for $10 each (one Hamilton). One of the biggest age groups Miranda wants exposed to the history of Hamilton, as well as to the experience of live theatre, is youth. The Gilder Lehrman Institute is partnering with Hamilton, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the NYC Department of Education to create the Hamilton Education Program. New York City Title I schools were invited to see the musical on April 13th and to integrate Alexander Hamilton into their classroom studies. This incredible feat was made possible through a $1.46 million grant by The Rockefeller Foundation. This allowed 20,000 eleventh-grade students in New York to each pay just $10 to see the performance. The curriculum is available to students in every state now and Miranda hopes to bring more students to see the show soon.
Miranda also partnered with critic Jeremy McCarter to make the full text of the musical accessible to everyone. The culmination is the book Hamilton: The Revolution. It is full of pictures and inside jokes and fun notes, as well as Miranda’s footnotes on the writing. The book is available at bookstores and online, but is frequently sold out in stores and online as fans rush to get the script.
Because of its continued popularity on Broadway, a second show is opening in Chicago September 27, 2016. After that, a national tour is starting in San Francisco March of 2017 and moving to Los Angeles afterwards. A production starting in London in 2017 is also in the works. As well as these new productions, however, the Broadway production is going to continue to run as long as the interest remains high. Miranda is set to leave the cast on July 9th as well as Christopher Jackson who plays George Washington, but despite losing two leads, Hamilton is sure to keep its momentum.
Hamilton is not only the best on the stage, it is also the best on the field. The Hamilton cast, creative, and team combine to be make an undefeated softball team 55 strong that is the top of the Broadway Show League. The league is described as a tradition by Hamilton’s Castaldo, who has been playing in the league for almost 20 years. “It’s just a fun afternoon. We all get together, we all play some softball. It’s fun, it is a little bit competitive as you can see. As the season progresses and the more experienced teams filter down it gets even more intense. It’s a lot of fun. We have a good time,” said the veteran player. The shows also have a bowling league that starts again in September. Every Thursday, Broadway show teams face off in central park. On June 2nd, Hamilton faced off against the combined team from School of Rock and An American in Paris and won 8-2. “We’re in the city a lot and it’s a busy schedule of rehearsals and different show times so it’s great for everybody to get together and keep the family atmosphere of the show, to show camaraderie and spirit,” offered Castaldo.
This show is for the “young, scrappy and hungry” and helps people all over the world remember the foundation of the United States, a country that celebrates the diversity of people and ideas that bring positive change. TJ sophomore Malia McDorman had the privilege to see Hamilton over spring break. “Seeing Hamilton was the best entertainment experience of my life. Everything came together perfectly – the songs, the story, the acting,” remarked McDorman. The revolution that is Hamilton is continuing to reach new heights and hopes to not throw away its shot at teaching people about the founding of the United States.
The team is anxious to perform on live television once again at the Tonys, and the Hamilton team is working hard to translate the show to the Beacon theatre. Be sure to watch the awards ceremony on Sunday, June 12th at 7 p.m. Mountain Time because “there’s a million things they haven’t done, just you wait.”
