Exploring the hype behind the Broadway hit 'Hamilton'

 “Hamilton: An American Musical” is a name recognizable to nearly every ear. Most Americans today are divided into two camps: those who don’t understand what all the hype is about, and those who would give their left arm to see the show on Broadway. The rise of “Hamilton” to worldwide fame is impressive considering the show only premiered off-Broadway in Feb. 2015. So how did Hamilton reach the critical and public success it has in such a short time period?

Lin Manuel Miranda originally got the idea for “Hamilton” when he picked up “Alexander Hamilton”, a biography written by historian Ron Chernow, in an airport. Miranda first decided to adapt the book into a hip-hop album entitled “The Hamilton Mixtape” and performed the now famous Alexander Hamilton rap at the 2009 White House Poetry Jam. He then developed his idea into a musical, which sold out at the off-Broadway Public Theater in New York City.

Ever since transferring to Broadway at the Richard Rogers Theatre in Aug. 2015, the show’s success has skyrocketed. “Hamilton” has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The show has also been nominated for a record-breaking 16 Tony Awards, including seven individual actors being nominated for their roles.

Does “Hamilton” deserve all of its praise? The show is certainly a phenomenon in how quickly it captured the hearts and imaginations of all different kinds of people and its level of critical success, especially considering the topic of the musical. Ten years ago, no one would have believed that the most popular Broadway show of 2016 was about one of the less well-known Founding Fathers.

What makes “Hamilton” so special is that it dabbles in many different fields but does not commit to one. The show combines rap, history and politics to form a musical that is not only about Alexander Hamilton himself, but also about how history is formed and what America has become.

Though the “Hamilton’s” titular character is the focus of the show, Hamilton’s perspective is by no means the only viewpoint explored by over the course of the play. The audience sees Hamilton as a great orator in the eyes of his friends, a greedy elitist in the eyes of his enemies and a hero in the eyes of his wife. Central characters—including Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson—all had different opinions of Hamilton and what he contributed to the founding of America, but the audience is ultimately left to form their own opinions of him.

The mechanics of “Hamilton” also make it stand out from other Broadway shows, as the show seeks to be more accessible to its audience than most any other show. The diverse cast seeks to more closely emulate the racial makeup of America today rather than in the eighteenth century, and almost all of the main roles are played by racial minorities.

The show also makes significant inroads into making the show available to those who would not normally be able to see it. A ticket to “Hamilton” on any given night requires having several hundred dollars sitting around, and the lottery that take place for tickets is the only affordable way to see the show. The live lottery that takes place every Wednesday features a #Ham4Ham show, where Miranda, often accompanied by guests from his show or elsewhere, gives a short performance to entertain those waiting to find out if they scored one of the coveted last-minute tickets.