The ongoing revolution

Hamilton the musical combines two revolutions of different generations. One is the American revolution for independence, while the other is the musical revolution of hip-hop on Broadway. The American revolution is the history of our country; a country of immigrants fighting for freedom from an oppressive British king. Therefore, Lin-Manuel Miranda makes an innovative decision to tell this story with a music genre that always expressed a desire for freedom from suppression: hip-hop and rap. Oddly enough, this untraditional mode of music proves a very effective way to express the great yearning of our country to be free and independent.

The founding fathers fought to create a new democratic country; thus, Miranda recounts this history through a new type of Broadway musical. With the emergence of rock and roll, theater needed to adapt to include this new genre. Now, this mode of music is integral to many plays. Similarly, hip-hop and rap have taken root as the music of the new generation. Therefore, the preceding effects would be to incorporate them into Broadway and legitimize them as real and artful musical genres. The plot of Hamilton recalls the foundations of America, meanwhile the music in the play “is laced with these shout-outs to the traditions that birthed it” (94). The founders and listeners of hip-hop come from a diverse background, so these shout-outs to the 90s rappers display that “history can be told and retold, claimed and reclaimed, even by people who don’t look like George Washington and Betsy Ross” (95). By retelling the history through modern music, Miranda makes Hamilton a relatable figure. He personalizes a figure, who in textbooks seems abstract and far away from today’s generation.

Furthermore, the race of the actors playing Hamilton and the other figures proves unimportant, for the performance is “independent of time, where people of many races and backgrounds dance together” (40). The play is set in 1776, but performed in 2015. These time periods differ greatly from each other. Miranda seeks to recount history accurately but with a modern voice. The actors most able to perform his songs happen to be black and Latino, which technically is a historical inaccuracy given that the founding fathers were white. Nevertheless, Tommy succinctly justifies the inaccuracy explaining, “This is a story about America then, told by America now” (33). Miranda did not create this play to criticize America’s misdeeds or lack of diversity. Rather, he reconnects the present with the past with a play that “combined tradition and innovation so seamlessly” (174). The past greatly impacted our world today; therefore, it is important to recognize the connection between the two. This play does not gloss over Hamilton’s mistakes nor diminish his accomplishments. Instead, Miranda illustrates a historical figure to a modern audience in an identifiable way. We all can relate to some aspect of Hamilton regardless of race. It is as if Miranda is trying to convey to the audience that Hamilton was a real person; he is not just an abstract figure we read about in texts. Like many of us, he came from a humble background and he wanted to succeed. He was an immigrant, a soldier, a politician, an activist, a husband, and a father. We can all identify with some part of Hamilton and his life.

By personalizing history and relating it to a modern audience, Miranda is inviting everyone to partake in American tradition. America is not just the history of white people. He is not denying the dark past of slavery on America and the frequent attacks against immigrants; rather, Miranda emphasizes the significance of immigrants in American history. Miranda portrays the past through the “rebellious” music of today in order to capture the importance of American history for all people. America was built and founded by immigrants. By telling the story through hip-hop and rap as well as having a multicultural cast, Miranda accentuates the parallels between the revolutionary ideas of 1776 and the ongoing fight to extend those same democratic principles to all people today. The same values that Hamilton tried to uphold and instill are the same ones that people today fight for through music, debate, and other forms of expression.