FAKE RONJAN!!

11/25/2015 · originally published on uselessanalysis.com

Hamilton is the best addition to American pop culture since The Wire

Yes, I said it, and I truly believe it.

About a month ago, my wife and I went to see the Broadway show Hamilton, most easily described as a hip hop musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. It has been virtually universally showered with praise: Billboard, for example, called it “the best Broadway musical in years” and named the soundtrack as the top rap album in 2015.

There’s not a lot I can say that can top that!  But I can discuss the ways that the show impacted me -- I’ve been listening to the soundtrack for a month straight (including right now as I write this), it prompted a lot of reading about the historical events that the show is based on, and I’ve been spreading the word just so I have more people I can talk to about Hamilton (please listen to it!). Consider this post to be my official love letter to the show and everyone associated with it.

Here are several pages worth of the reasons that I love Hamilton so much:

“The world turned upside down”
Hamilton is undeniably subversive, but it does so by and large without cynicism or irony. It all starts with the music, which is particularly relevant since Hamilton has basically no dialogue that isn’t on the soundtrack. As many others have written, it’s a game-changer that brings a contemporary style and swagger to the Broadway sound, ranging stylistically to cover the past thirty years of hip-hop and R&B. Given the subject matter of the founding era of America, it’s wonderfully anachronistic and extremely well-executed.

Hamilton takes it further by committing roles and talent to match this style. Black or Hispanic actors play the bulk of the lead roles, including Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. A lesser musical would have used this to poke fun at the material with sarcastic quips, but Hamilton generally avoids that territory (outside of a few on-the-nose slavery lines), preferring to commit to the roles earnestly.

Rather than shifting the focus of these characters to be “black Washington” and “Hispanic Hamilton”, we simply see Washington and Hamilton through a modern lens. And that’s how we end up with two tremendous rap battles between Jefferson and Hamilton with George Washington moderating. It’s the perfect marriage of classic Broadway and new ideas.

“History has its eyes on you” / “Who tells your story?”
Of course, subversion is nothing without a good story, and this is one of the best there is. It’s a fascinating look at the birth and toddler phase of the United States, the key players who were in “the room where it happens”, and a nuanced view of the different perspectives they had.

Many Americans fall into the trap of thinking of our Founding Fathers as these perfect, idealistic, monolithic freedom fighters. The truth is that they were flawed men who ardently disagreed on key issues, owned slaves while preaching freedom, and were able to achieve greatness through a combination of great ideas, hard work, and collaboration with each other and our allies abroad. Their impact is more transcendent if we view them realistically.

What I like most about Hamilton is that it takes this grounded perspective and then doubles down on it by telling a more personal story. Rather than an academic view of the key battles or the key meetings that took place, we see characters, personalities, families, and their respective development over time.

Sure, there are some embellishments here and there. Burr wasn’t actually the #2 in the Laurens-Lee duel, James Monroe played a much bigger role in exposing Hamilton’s affair than Jefferson or James Madison, and Philip Schuyler had many more children than the three daughters, including a son. But these are minor deviations that do nothing to detract from the greatness of this story.

We see Alexander Hamilton rise to relevance and greatness due to his ambition and attitude, and we see him destroy himself due to his ambition and attitude. We see an increasingly jealous and bitter Aaron Burr ultimately self-destruct in his bid to emulate Hamilton’s success. We see an imposing George Washington who is the only person able to hold together a diverse coalition of leaders. We see a swaggering Thomas Jefferson play the long game and ultimately build a Democratic-Republican dynasty out of the ashes of the John Adams / Alexander Hamilton flameouts. And we see a country begin to grow up. What a story.

“I put myself back in the narrative”
Hamilton tells another generally unknown story - the one about “the LADIIIIIEESS!!!” While women would not be able to vote for over a century later, they have always had their place in history, and the Schuyler Sisters do not disappoint us with their time on stage.

Eliza(beth) Schuyler Hamilton takes us through an emotional tour-de-force through her life. We see a young single girl looking for love, a mother-to-be pleading with her husband to stay safe at home, an angry wife upset with her husband’s dalliance with Maria Reynolds, and a mother and widow grieving two devastating dueling losses. Phillipa Soo nailed every moment when I saw her perform, bringing the audience to tears several times.

While you could argue that Hamilton fails the Bechdel test, it tells a centuries-old story without omitting the better halves of the men we all know and love already.

“My dearest, Angelica”
No, I didn’t forget about Angelica Schuyler; I actually have a major crush on her!

I love the combination of confidence, intelligence, and showmanship that my fellow Carnegie Mellon alum Renee Elise Goldsberry brings to the role. She shines brightest in every scene she’s in, most notably the melancholic “Satisfied” and the devastating “It’s Quiet Uptown”.

“America, you great unfinished symphony”
Beyond being a historical retelling of America’s founding, Hamilton manages to break through into modern relevance. The issues of racial equality, northern vs. southern priorities, the role of debt and Wall Street, and political factioning are just as relevant today as ever. If these issues were easy to understand and quick to solve, our founders would have figured them out. They are complex and require a constant critical eye on ourselves and our history to ensure that America progresses forward.

Perhaps this modern relevance is the greatest “theme” takeaway in Hamilton, as it’s even embodied in the dueling mantras of Hamilton’s “I am not throwing away my shot” and Burr’s “wait for it”. Hamilton and Burr ironically destroyed each other when Hamilton did throw away his shot and Burr didn’t wait for it, but the point I took away was that neither extreme is healthy.

America throughout history has vacillated between bold, decisive action and calculated inaction on different issues, and both approaches have had successes and failures over time. Finding that balance is key for each individual, group, and nation.

Some of the biggest topics that I found particularly relevant in today’s environment:

Democrats learned this the hard way when they sold a vision in 2008, then had nobody show up at the polls in 2010 because governing wasn’t easy. Republicans are seeing that now as non-establishment candidates have risen to the top because of a lack of confidence in establishment leadership who over-promised results despite the fact that a Democrat sits in the White House. You need both a vision and the ability to execute on it to truly make an impact.

“We just happen to be in the greatest city in the world … in the greatest city in the world!”
I wasn’t sure whether to lead this section with that line or “in New York you can be a new man”, but either way, I appreciate how very “New York” Hamilton is. Honestly, it feels like the kind of show that will lose something when it starts touring and you can see it anywhere else.

It’s not just the potshots against New Jersey (where “everything is legal”), though. It focuses on the New York-est founding father, it tells the story of the revolution from the perspective of the city, and it sells its own version of the Sinatra “make it anywhere” story.

I’ve personally lived in the Bronx for the past nine years and, over the years, I have come to love the passion and energy you only find in this city. Hamilton made me feel that love even more intensely. It’s that powerful.

“You built me palaces out of paragraphs”
We have come this far without once mentioning the writer and brainchild of the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda. What else is there to say? Hamilton the album sat atop the Billboard rap chart, and the musical will win virtually every accolade there is when the Tonys roll around. It’s an end-to-end brilliant piece of writing (unlike, say, this post!).

A few lines really stick out to me just on the cadence and rhyme alone. In particular:


Ultimately, everything I’ve written up to this point is a tribute to the original spark, vision, talent, and execution of Lin-Manuel Miranda. I can’t wait to see what he does next, and I really hope that “the man is non stop”!

“Don’t modulate the key, then not debate with me!”
I think that was the most music-oriented line in the script, but who really knows.

I remember and cherish a lot from Hamilton, but the music will be what stays with me. As such, here are a few quick hit thoughts on notable music numbers:


“I have the honor to be your obedient servant”
I think I’ve said every coherent-ish word that I can about Hamilton. I love it. I’ll never forget it. I’ll always be thankful for getting the opportunity to see it and for everyone who was involved in putting the production together. (Special thanks to Javier Muñoz, who played Alexander Hamilton the afternoon that I saw it. He was amazing, too.)

Go see it. While you wait for tickets to become available, listen to it.

-rj