Hamilton, the musical, on Broadway
Seeing Hamilton, the musical, on Broadway
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I love a musical and now my daughter and I enjoy them together. This Christmas seeing Hamilton on Broadway was a very special treat during our cold trip to New York City.
Hamilton is a far cry from most musicals and has won TONS of awards like:
11 Tony Awards
8 Drama Desks Awards
4 Critics Awards
Pulitzer Award for Drama
1 Grammy
AND was nominated for a record breaking 16 Tony nominations.
Hamilton has only been around since February 2015 and a movie is already in the works. So, what is all the fuss about? Why is this musical such a hit?
Hamilton, the musical, breaks a lot of the rules which is going over really well with the hugely growing fan base – especially the younger audience members.
What ‘rules’ is Hamilton, the musical, on Broadway breaking?
Rule Number 1 Hamilton, the musical, is breaking – Use an all white cast.
Cast members are chosen for their ability to create the character which has nothing to do with their outward appearance.
Even though my daughter, 13, has the entire musical memorized, I went into it cold. I admit into it cold having not heard a single song. I admit I was slightly surprised to see a black man on stage as Thomas Jefferson, a very white slave owner from history, but that surprise melted away quickly and was replaced with the fantastic portrayal.
Whitewashing, a term used in the entertainment industry, to mean white actors and artists are chosen to play non – white roles. Whitewashing is on the way out and Hamilton, the musical, is leading the way.
Rule Number 2 Hamilton, the musical, is breaking – Avoid a grammar lesson.
The English teacher is me was giddy when a punctuation rule was part of the song in this award winning musical. Yes, we all know that Alexander Hamilton, was a gifted and prolific writer, but still – commas?
So, what in the world can you sing about – a comma? Well, Alexander Hamilton wrote his letter to his sister-in-law saying,
“My dearest, Angelica” instead of “My dearest Angelica” which had her all a twitter at his flirtation.
How does that one tiny comma change things? An English refresher…
My dearest Angelica,
comma after Angelica is normal…you would write the same thing to anyone
BUT
My dearest, Angelica
comma after dearest means she is the only dearest one
This grammar inspired part of the show has English teachers everywhere shrieking,
“See!! I told you commas were important!”
Rule Number 3 Hamilton, the musical, is breaking – Use the same musical style else uses.
Hamilton’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, used rap and hip hop beautifully. I’ll go ahead and say it, at the risk of sounding old, but rap is not my thing in general. I wasn’t at all sure I would enjoy the show. BUT, I couldn’t have been more wrong because the use of rap in this show is just amazing. I brings an energy and a vibrance to the story and makes the show really come alive.
The rap style of music really lets you get the story across, too, because you can cram in a LOT of words in this really fast style of music. How many words in this musical?
20,000
That is twice the amount of words in the average musical.
TWICE
A Recommendation Before you see the Show – Hamilton, the musical :
Listen to the music before you see the show. It goes by really, really fast in person and you might miss something. Enjoy the lyrics for the first song, Alexander Hamilton!
Click the photo to download the album and start listening now!
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence impoverished,
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
The ten-dollar founding father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away
Across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
Well, the word got around, they said, this kid is insane, man
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
Get your education, don’t forget from whence you came
And the world is gonna know your name
What’s your name, man?
Alexander Hamilton
My name is Alexander Hamilton
And there’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait, just you wait
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden
Half-dead sittin’ in their own sick, the scent thick
And Alex got better but his mother went quick
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin’ but ruined pride, something new inside voice saying
Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He started retreatin’ and readin’ every treatise on the shelf
There would have been nothin’ left to do for someone less astute
He woulda been dead or destitute without a cent of restitution
Started workin’, clerkin’ for his late mother’s landlord
Tradin’ sugar cane and rum and all the things he can’t afford
Scammin’ for every book he can get his hands on
Plannin’ for the future see him now as he stands on the bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
In New York you can be a new man
Just you wait
Alexander Hamilton
We are waiting in the wings for you
You could never back down
You never learned to take your time
Oh, Alexander Hamilton
When America sings for you
Will they know what you overcame?
Will they know you rewrote your game?
The world will never be the same, oh
The ship is in the harbor now
See if you can spot him
Another immigrant comin’ up from the bottom
His enemies destroyed his rep America forgot him
We fought with him
Me, I died for him
Me, I trusted him
Me, I loved him
And me, I’m the damn fool that shot him
There’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait
What’s your name, man?
Alexander Hamilton
Songwriter: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Alexander Hamilton lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Things to Know about Hamilton, the musical –
1) It took an entire year to write the first song which introduces Hamilton.
2) It took an entire year to write the second song as well.
3) Lin-Manuel Miranda took years to write the musical because
“every couplet (a section of song) needed to be the best couplet I ever wrote. That is how seriously I took it.”
Imagine if everyone took creations that seriously? Wouldn’t the world be a better place!
The beauty is in the details.
4) Miranda was creating a masterpiece and he knew it. He left no stone unturned in his research. The musical was inspired by the bestselling biography by Chernow.
In order to insure the historical accuracies of the show, Miranda hired Chernow as a historical consultant.
5) Miranda also read on the other key figures in the musical. He wanted to make sure to capture the personality of each person so he could get the historical details right.
The musical, Hamilton, wasn’t originally a musical at all! Hamilton was going to be a play and the music was just inspiration for it.
6) Miranda worked on the musical for 6 years.
In our “instant, fast paced, press a button and find anything you need right now” society I find this a refreshing example of how hard work sometimes takes time. This is a great opportunity to to explain to the kids not everything happens over night.
Hamilton, the musical, tickets can be expensive and hard to get BUT there is a chance to get them for just $10!
Sign up for the HAM4HAM lottery for your chance to win tickets for just $10. Get all the HAM4HAM information and dates here.
We LOVED the performance of Hamilton, the musical!
-sassy King George
-passionate Hamilton
-passive Burr
-over the top Jefferson
One of my favorite parts of Hamilton, the musical, is the very last song and all that goes with it. Read the lyrics to “Who lives, Who Dies, Who tells Your Story”, but it won’t mean nearly as much to read as it will if you hear it! Click the photo to purchase the music and start listening now.
Later, after Hamilton died, she gathers all of his writings, interviews people that knew him and ‘writes herself back into the narrative’. This song is about how she spent the last 50 years of her life, writing his story and making sure his words and ideas would live on. The entire musical ends leaving us, the audience, thinking….What legacy are you leaving behind? What are you doing with your time before it runs out? Who will tell your story when you are gone?
Read about the woman behind the man… Eliza Hamilton.
New York is a fantastic city to explore. Don’t miss a thing!
CLICK HERE Ray’s Pizza is the BEST pizza!
CLICK HERE See the Lions at New York City Lion
If you visit with the kids be sure to get your Kids’ Activity Travel Guide for Kids.
Happy Travels,
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
Thanks for sharing information about Hamilton.