Hamilton is such a great show; everyone should take the time to watch it. (FreePik)
“Hamilton”, the musical about one of the founding fathers of our country and who served as the first U.S Secretary of Treasury from the years 1789 to 1795.
As a skeptic myself, when looking at the possibility of the musical theater world combining rap and musical theater together it seems unfit.
In fact, I had only just gotten around to watching “Hamilton” just last year, as I had known about its contents yet never really felt the need to take a look at the musical.
I’m not much of a history person and a lot of the time entertainment films tend to reduce more of the complexity of historical film productions or they’re just plain boring.
But before watching, I should’ve known that I would’ve become obsessed with theatrical piece as its writer and creator was lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranada who also created “In The Heights” in 2005, which also had rap elements implemented throughout just like “Hamilton”, and co-wrote songs for the Disney animated films “Moana” and “Encanto”.
Something that a lot of people might not know who have and haven’t seen the musical and is one of the reasons why “Hamilton” might be a life changing musical is the fact that Miranada worked on this project for seven years, just taking him a year alone to write the second song “My Shot”.
Going back to the rap element of the musical, I think it’s one of its core features that makes it listenable; the lyrics aren’t as “goofy” and are more rhythmic while still advancing the plot of the musical.
I think what also adds to the appeal is that you can basically watch it without actually having to buy tickets to see it on stage, though that would be way better.
What I like so much about this piece is that when the cast is singing/rapping, they express themselves with such aggressive emotion.
This is one of the reasons why musical theater pieces are such a great blend of different styles that is hard for the average person, it’s an accumulation of singing and acting that not everyone can perfect.
What’s also great about the musical is that Miranda didn’t dumb down the history in confidence that the audience will grasp most if not all of the concepts being presented.
Mainly shown within the second act where it’s a lot about political machinations, over dramatized cabinet battles, and issues during that time such as public finances and foreign policy.
Some criticism that I’ve seen surrounding the musical is how it’s almost idolizing these historical figures, the founding fathers, who were slave owners and outwardly racist.
These concerns and criticisms are very valid, but I think it’s important to note that “Hamilton” is not being used as a history lesson to actually teach people.
As much as it’s a legitimate complaint to say that it doesn’t do enough to criticize the founding fathers for not freeing slaves, “Hamilton” still reprimands them several times throughout the musical.
This is shown prominently when Thomas Jefferson is called out by Alexander Hamilton for his support for slavery which he says in the first “Cabinet Battle”, “A civics lesson from a slaver, hey neighbour, your debts are paid ‘cause you don’t pay for labour”.
Since Hamilton was historically a poor immigrant, he never owned a slave and was one of the few who fought for the abolition of slavery, so this isn’t some “woke” concept that Miranda is trying to implore on the musical, it’s just a fact.
But it’s a fair argument to say that the musical should have embedded slavery as one of the important parts of the theatrical piece.
So it’s clear that Miranda did a fantastic job of researching and making sure he displays most historical parts of the show accurately yet still dramatized with it still being a musical.
I think everyone should watch Hamilton, not only does it give a new perspective on history but it’s also a beautiful way to acknowledge some of the darker parts of history.