Whitewashing History In Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton

In 2015 American Playwright Lin Manuel Miranda took Broadway by storm with his hit show Hamilton. Hamilton: An American Musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the American Founding Fathers, in a modern way through Hip-Hop and Rap music. Miranda helped tell the story in a way that depicts what America looks like now, full of diversity. The cast makes history with men and women of color playing characters who were all white. There’s an African-American Vice President Aaron Burr, a biracial George Washington and a Chinese-American Eliza Schuyler-Hamilton. Was Miranda making a point by having these historical white figures as people of color and different ethnicities while the only white feature lead on the stage is that of King

As history is commonly viewed as dull and boring, Miranda changes this perception through the integration of popular music styles, rap and hip-hop, into the musical. While all of the facts are historically accurate, the audience is exposed to the debates through articulated rap battles and charged emotions are expressed through songs. The songs are also accompanied by choreography, which is a writing idea that is taken and exaggerated to an emotional state that is physicalized. Through these methods, the public gets an easier understanding of motives behind certain actions, such as Aaron Burr shooting Alexander Hamilton at a duel, as well as an clearer comprehension on what happened in history. Through rap and the hip hop style, music is used to keep history current, and provide stories the audience hasn’t heard before. In effect, Hamilton has inspired kids who weren’t good at history to look at a different perspective of the characters. In the musical there is no protagonist nor antagonist. Instead, all of the characters are portrayed as flawed, especially Hamilton, as he not only owned slaves, but was the center of the first political sex scandal in the United States. This allows the audience to know the characters on a realistic level, and acknowledge the fact that although Hamilton is one of the nation’s greatest founding fathers, he is also a man capable of

Lin-Manuel Miranda, a person who has won countless awards for his music, creating the Broadway hits In The Heights and Hamilton The Musical is influential. One of his quotes is, “History is so subjective. The teller of it determines it.” Clearly, his words show people that they can do great things, and change history. You just need find the will to want to make things change, and you can do it. A second quote says, “What's incredible about 'Hamilton,' and the reason you can't get a ticket, is because everyone's responding to it. Everyone is seeing a bit of themselves in it.” This means that in something amazing and gigantic about people who lived 200 years who shaped our country, people can find themselves in it and tell themselves ‘I can

The musical “Hamilton” is the most sought after musical in years. It is the first seen rap musical and it has received the most ‘Tony’ awards and nominations in Broadway history. Hamilton premiered off Broadway in 2015 and soon moved to Broadway to stun the world with it’s incredible everything, from plot to casting. For best albums, Hamilton was second ranked in Billboard magazine and has got endless supply of recognition for the ingenious play written by the phenomenal Lin Manual Miranda. Hamilton is currently the most popular sensation on Broadway because of the music with its creative lyrics and hidden messages, it’s stellar performance and the perspectives it gives us on the people that founded our county. (on the people that shaped our past and developed our future).

An American transplant from the Caribbean was Hamilton and Miranda’s family came from Puerto Rico. Lin-Manuel spent many days at his father’s offices where he had previously worked as an advisor to New York City mayor Ed Koch, while Hamilton once served as advisor to George Washington. Their linked history with political worlds and a penchant for using words to reach people helped Miranda relate to Hamilton while reading Chernow’s biography of the historic figure. He felt the connection and knew there was potential for “extraordinary drama” (Mead) in his story. With that first connection, Lin-Manuel Miranda began to construct a 21st century version of a piece of the American Revolution. Weaving past and present by connecting the two with modern-day musical genres and a mix of actors to represent current American society without sacrificing historical accuracy, Miranda has created “the first real hip-hop musical” (Hiatt) that brings history to life in a most entertaining way and is “transcending Broadway to become a full-on phenomenon.” (Hiatt)

This musical tells the story of Alexander Hamilton - one of the founding fathers of the United States of America- who was an immigrant from the Caribbean. It is important to note that the creator of the musical is Lin Manuel Miranda. Miranda plays Alexander Hamilton and he is Latino. This tale takes place in the late 1700s and the early 1800s. Now, if history class has taught me anything about this time period, it’s that the men in this story were

Hamilton has revolutionized not only people’s view on history, but the musical industry by turning the world of musical theatre upside down. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s play, Hamilton, is written to explain one of our founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton’s life, but is told from a different perspective than history gives us. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first idea of creating a play on Alexander Hamilton sparked when he was only in high school and writing a paper on Hamilton and Burr’s duel. After reading a biography on Alexander Hamilton and working on it for a few years, he sang something that would later be put into the musical at the White House. It is told through hip-hop and rap unlike any other Broadway show.

The show Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, would be a great tool for teaching US History, namely from 1776 to 1800. The musical follows the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers. Act I focuses on his pre- and mid-revolution life, while Act II details the remainder of his life, post-revolution. Not only does it provide a lot of valuable information on Hamilton, but it has plenty of information on other key individuals such as Aaron Burr, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. In addition, it presents the information in a unique, entertaining way with the usage of music that appeals to today’s youth. In short, this musical is a fun and interesting perspective on the beginning of America and many students would

Oftentimes people have a difficult time connecting with history. They do not see the relevance between something hundreds of years ago and today’s issues. The Broadway musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda does a great job of bridging that gap. Many of the issues that were faced in the time period of Alexander Hamilton are also faced in the world today. An example of this is politicians riding the fence on important issues. A main character in the play is criticized greatly for doing this just as people are currently. In Miranda’s Hamilton, characters are faced with issues and are asked to take a stand just as political leaders are today.

It is nearly impossible to ignore the frenzy surrounding Hamilton and upon watching the show or listening to the soundtrack, you cannot help but immerse yourself into the passion and depth of the telling of this man’s story. Acknowledging Lin-Manuel Miranda’s use of the hip-hop genre is absolutely necessary when delving into just how this musical has changed the lives and minds of so many. Rap was undoubtedly necessary in bridging the gap that connects the world of musical theatre to the sound that surely defines our current American culture. When we look at the story told by Miranda, the hip-hop medium is necessary in portraying the urgency of Hamilton’s situation. We too often take for granted how hard fought every aspect of our nation’s

Though the US is among the most culturally diverse nations, racial stereotyping is still evident. While assessing various Hollywood films, one can visibly observe racial stereotypes. Characters of ‘color’ (as they refer to non-Caucasian characters) are not significantly presented in the mainstream television and film shows (Lester, 2011). Numerous non-Caucasian characters are often given stereotypical roles that include maids, immigrants, prostitutes and other criminals. This applies to characters of African American, Hispanic, Irish, Jewish, and Middle Eastern origins.

The music, precise choreography, outstanding staging and overall performances of Hamilton are one thing, but how the story is told is another. The narrative itself is about an immigrant (Hamilton) who comes to America for a better life after going through an enormous amount of struggle. After working hard, he betters his life and creates the national banking system, the Coast Guard, the New York Post and changes the political landscape. As the musical says, “Immigrants, we get the job done!” — a reminder that Hamilton was not white. And that brings us to the casting of people of color in roles of people who were historically white.

When I was initially getting into Hamilton, I was also taking AP United States History and the historical context of the play assisted me in remembering key events in the revolutionary period. I had fun studying for the AP test alongside my friends as we sang along to Hamilton during our study sessions. My only wish was that there more musicals about important figures in U.S. history that could help us with the 500 years worth of history we were reviewing. Whenever I listen to Hamilton I feel like I’m in my element doing two things that I love, singing, and learning about history. What strikes me the most about Hamilton and the cultural phenomenon it has created is the fact that if you set your mind to it, anything is possible. I think about how Miranda read a book about a man whose only historical significance was being the first Secretary of Treasury, and eight years later, there is a record smashing hit that now hold the record for most awarded play, just because of an

The play “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda brings the founding fathers back to life-with a lot of hip-hop. It all started when Miranda, a writer, composer, and performer, was asked to perform at the White House centered on “the American experience.” The White House expected him to perform something based on his own Latin- American experience, but Miranda had something else in mind. Few months’ prior, Miranda was on vacation with his girlfriend when he started to read a biography on Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Miranda was seized by the story of Hamilton. He was instantly inspired to create a work chronicling Hamilton’s life. He started to see Hamilton’s relentlessness, ambition, intelligence, and stubbornness through his own

Do plays the way they were written. As a more and more progressive society has emerged within the world of the arts, a more progressive mindset has been involved when casting a production. Plays and Musicals have both started to adapt a “color blind eye” when casting a production. Whether it be a hit musical like Hamilton, or a classical piece such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet, more and more companies are turning the other head to casting based on race.