Strategic Costume Choices

In the play Hamilton: The Revolution, the producers decide to dress a diverse cast in the uniforms of the Continental Army and the attire of founding fathers to introduce an incongruity in the typical perception of the past. The discrepancy between the traditional view of the 1700s and the image presented on stage encourages the audience to reflect on the immense amount of change that has occurred over two centuries.

Reflecting on groups of people from specific time periods requires the mind to consider both large and small details associated with them. Images of common technology, popular artists, and typical fashion trends surface when we attempt to visualize a group of people from the past. Chapter 14, Paul Tazewell and the Fashion of Revolution, discusses how Tazewell played upon the common perception of the Revolutionary Period when he made costume decisions. Sketches of costume choices on pages 114-115 reveal that he chose to authentically dress the females in long dresses with corsets and dress the men in trousers with knee high boots. The result was a visual of the past that matched the audience preconceived perception of the past. Tazewell also decided to authentically dress the characters in appropriate battle dress. Chapter 14 notes the distinctness of the uniform: “the actors came on stage wearing blue coats with red trim and brass buttons: unmistakably the uniform of George Washington’s Continental Army” (113). Tazewell uses clothing to create an accurate historical scene, but the characters are only dressed authentically from the neck down.

Tazewell strategically interferes with the typical perception of the past by presenting the characters as modern from the neck up. Although it is historically inaccurate, the diverse cast of “black and Latino men; young men and women” wear the uniforms of the continental army and the attire of the founding fathers. They do not, however, wear the headdresses we associate with the Revolutionary Period such as powdered wigs and military head gear. The image of Washington with a black skin head and James Madison with long natural African American hair does not fit the typical perception of the time. These details effectively disturb the historical accuracy of the scene and incite an emotional reaction of “euphoria, disbelief, desperation” from the audience. The discrepancy between the traditional mental images of the American revolution and the image presented on stage yields such a response because it is so jarring. Chapter 14 notes the “mind altering experience” of watching people from “communities that have seen their freedom infringed for hundreds of years, win freedom for us all” (113). Through costume strategy, Tazewell is able to effectively rewrite history and allow a diverse group of people the opportunity to take part in the establishment of our country.