Stuff You Should Be Watching (Or Listening To): Hamilton

I know this is about “watching,” but with Hamilton the musical, that’s tricky. But you should definitely listen to it, and you should watch it if you have the geographical privilege and the money (or the kidney to sell to get the money, I guess?).

I know, I know, EVERYONE (it seems) has been yelling about this, and I was hoping to hold off on listening to the music until I had a chance to see it, and then I saw what ticket prices were like for AUGUST and went, well fuck it and hit buy on iTunes, and haven’t turned it off since. How I haven’t been singing in the office is a testament to my name to my professionalism.

Or my fear of looking like a total dork.

Hamilton is a Broadway musical based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, one of the writers of the Federalist Papers, and general all-around badass. You might think that a musical where one conflict centers around “Will Hamilton get his federal debt consolidation plan through Congress?” seems odd, but look, we have musicals based on all sorts of things you might not think make sense, like a million page book about the agony of living in France when you’re poor and France is having difficulty keeping a government going. Or a book of random poems about cats, for fuck’s sake. This makes as much sense on paper as anything else, so… it’s all in the execution, right?

Yes.

What makes this fun and a ridiculous amount of amazing is that the music and tone is very modern: rapping (in a French accent for the Marquis de Lafayette, which, oof), R&B, and hip hop. The story is historical, but also super timely: an immigrant comes to New York to better himself and is told to keep his shit together, uses words and protest and revolution to enact change, puts his stamp on how this country functions, and then dies (mostly as a result of two people not being able to keep their shit together).

The music is incredibly catchy, and there are things woven into the lyrics that are total commentaries on how things work now. “Immigrants get things done” and Burr (Oh, Aaron Burr, why you gotta be such a pissant?) talking about openly campaigning for President in 1800 (Hamilton: “That’s new.” Burr (through a gritted teeth smile): “It’s pretty draining.”).

On Genius, there are annotations for almost every line, discussing the musical theory or the historical context. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer/composer, has contributed to some of the annotations, and seriously, the man is brilliant. (He also is currently playing Hamilton, and that man’s voice. Lord almighty)

The first act is the Revolutionary War and fuck the British and how big a can of whoopass are we opening in Yorktown? The second act begins with- no shit- Thomas Jefferson coming back from France, singing “What did I miss?” and then NO SHIT, Cabinet meetings performed as RAP BATTLES. RAP. BATTLES.

I love politics, and I was on the edge of my office chair over this issue of “Will the federal government assume state debts?” WHICH I KNEW HOW IT ENDED. I TOOK AP US HISTORY. If I was on pins and needles despite knowing the facts and allll the spoilers, then that’s art.

There’s even commentary on the role of women in the historical narrative and what’s considered important and how that defines what we think we know.

I can’t even with this.

Then there’s Burr telling Hamilton and his buddies:

“Geniuses, lower your voices
You keep out of trouble and you double your choices
I’m with you, but the situation is fraught
You’ve got to be carefully taught:
If you talk, you’re gonna get shot!”

What makes this more poignant, as we’re in this time of Black Lives Matter and respectability politics and “If you just don’t drive/walk/shop/exist while Black, you won’t get shot, really,” is that the cast is deliberately racially mixed. Lin-Manuel Miranda (who wrote the whole thing) is of Puerto Rican descent and plays Hamilton. Leslie Odom Jr. plays Aaron Burr,  George Washington is played by Christopher Jackson, and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton is Phillipa Soo- none of these actors are white, and that was kind of the point when Miranda was putting the show together. He wanted to present a story how America was founded presented by how America looks now, and he’s said in interviews that if you cast this show so it looks like the Founding Fathers, you missed the point.

Why does this matter? Because representation in art matters. It can and has changed how people view the world and the place of minorities in it. When all the art that is available for consumption is primarily white, cisgender, and straight, it’s hard for people who are those things to recognize the normalcy of people who are not white, cis, and straight. More importantly than the comfort (or not) of the majority, though, is allowing the art to be a mirror: when you’re a black kid, and all you see of people who look like you in art is criminals and the occasional background artist, it absolutely has an effect on what you expect you can do. Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in Star Trek has been instrumental in bringing minority astronauts to NASA. Seeing a Puerto Rican man as the hero in an American story like this is HUGE.  Seeing a black man stepping up and saying “I’m George Washington,” and everyone on stage just accept it as a given is huge. Seeing yourself in a story helps shape who you see yourself becoming. Seeing people who are not you in a story broadens your mind.

My friend Mark Oshiro was lucky enough to score a ticket recently, and I want to share his review with you. He’s Latino, and gay, and has loved Broadway but often felt alienated and othered by the nature of what gets on Broadway. From his review, which is spoilery, but there it is:

And I saw how the very nature of Hamilton forced people to talk about race and history and music in ways they’d probably never would have without it….as a creator who sometimes worries about my stories being too brown and black, too queer, and too much of what I wish I had growing up,Hamilton tells me to throw that anxiety away and tell the story I want because that story matters.

I know Lin-Manuel has talked about hoping to get the Original Broadway cast filmed before contracts expire, and I hope, pray, BEG that Fathom Events jumps on this potential cash cow and live-streams a performance into movie theaters. There are so many people who can’t get to New York or drop $400+ for a ticket, but who want to see it. Yes, tours will happen, and you bet your ass I’ll be there.

Lin-Manuel also told a story about Joe Biden coming to a performance of Hamilton and being there the same time as James Burrows, the guy who directed every episode of Will and Grace. And Joe Biden, former senator and current vice president, has openly credited Will and Grace with changing his mind on the issue of gay marriage. ART MATTERS. Windows and mirrors matter. We can’t make the world better if we don’t understand how the world works. Art is how we, as people, process truth and present it to the world. And that’s what makes this show so special, and that’s why it’s taken the world by storm.

To quote the score itself: Look around, look around. How lucky we are to be alive right now.

 

Comments are Closed

  1. ChrisK says:

    SQEEEEE! Hamilton is sooo soo good.

    If anyone is interested but can’t to pay for it, I recommend checking your library’s website to see if they have a Hoopla subscription. If so, it is FREE to borrow on Hoopla!

    Hoopla is a library service that has free movies, audiobooks, music and graphic novels. Everything is always available, unlike many library services, but there is usually a monthly limit on what you can check out. It is how I have been introducing some of my patrons to Hamilton. Especially since the album is $20.

  2. Chuk says:

    i just wanted to let you know that the Hamilton soundtrack is also on Amazon prime music so you can stream the whole album for free if you’re a prime member! The show and music is absolutely wonderful. One of my favorite lines from the musical: “because immigrants get it done!!” I never thought of Hamilton, one of the founding fathers as an immigrant from the West Indies and it’s world view changing!!!

  3. bookworm1990 says:

    As am actress of color, Lin-Manuel makes me so emotional. He literally makes my profession better and makes a positive impact on society. He is living brilliance.

  4. denise says:

    I want to see this. I wrote a paper on Hamilton in school. This show looks so cool.

  5. Joy B says:

    This soundtrack was my only music for 3 weeks. I also fell down the genius rabbit hole for days. #obessed

  6. Mara B. says:

    Okay I’m putting this comment on both of today’s Hamilton posts because this video is awesome and everyone should see it. When Hamilton was still mostly a concept album Miranda was invited to perform at the White House where he did an early version of the opening number in front of the Obamas, it’s great. http://youtu.be/WNFf7nMIGnE

  7. patricia says:

    I have been excited about this musical since 2009, when Lin-Manuel gave a sneak peek .

    It is so hard to write a musical, let alone one that completely changes everything. Genius.

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