What do you get when you cross hip-hop and rap music with American history? Hamilton. “Hamilton” is a well-known musical about the life of the Founding Father on the 10-dollar bill: Alexander Hamilton. It tells the forgotten story of the man who helped America achieve independence and ratify New York’s constitution. The musical, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, tells American history through different perspectives and deals with battles and losses as well as love and friendship.
Alexander Hamilton was born in the 1700s in Nevis, a small island in the West Indies, where he was living with his mother until she died. From here, he goes to New York and that is where the story in the musical begins. Aaron Burr, the man who shot Hamilton, narrates the story which is an artistic approach as the antagonist also represents his views and thoughts throughout what happens in the musical. I believe this represents Burr’s remorse as he tries to make the audience believe he is not the ‘villain’ in the story because he knows that history will make him seem to be.
Although the story follows a man who lived 200 years ago, some topics discussed throughout relate to the present day inequality in society and the current political situations. For example, some of the lyrics in songs refer to the vilification of foreigners which resonates in today’s society. As Hamilton was an immigrant, he was given fewer opportunities in New York, but he took advantage of what he did have and became the first US secretary of the Treasury. This musical not only teaches American history through music but also encourages young people to learn more about history.
After much praise from American audiences, “Hamilton” was brought to the West End. The musical includes no dialogue as it is entirely sung which makes it distinctive. The actors in the musical have impressive vocals and the acting and singing by the chorus and ensemble make it more exciting to watch.
Overall, if you are someone who appreciates musicals whether it be the acting, staging or singing I would urge you to watch ‘Hamilton’ at the Victoria Palace Theatre in Central London. I would also highly recommend it to any history enthusiasts or people who enjoy hip-hop and pop music as both these things combined are what make it one of the greatest musicals of this decade.
Violeta Palekar Fernandez
