According to an article in The New Yorker, the show is "an achievement of historical and cultural reimagining". The costumes and set reflect the period, with "velvet frock coats and knee britches. The set ... is a wooden scaffold against exposed brick; the warm lighting suggests candlelight".[2] The musical is mostly sung and rapped all the way through, with little dialogue isolated outside of the musical score.[194][16][195]
Casting diversity
Miranda said that the portrayal of Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other white historical figures by black, Latino and Asian actors should not require any substantial suspension of disbelief by audience members. "Our cast looks like America looks now, and that's certainly intentional", he said. "It's a way of pulling you into the story and allowing you to leave whatever cultural baggage you have about the founding fathers at the door."[196] He noted "We're telling the story of old, dead white men but we're using actors of color, and that makes the story more immediate and more accessible to a contemporary audience."[197]
The pro-immigration message of Hamilton is at the forefront, as the show revolves around the life of one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, and how he made his mark in American politics as an immigrant. Instead of being characterized as a white person, Alexander Hamilton's immigrant status is referenced throughout the show, along with the virtue and prowess of Hamilton ("by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter, by being a self-starter", described in the show's opening, and later stating "immigrants, we get the job done"), in order to foster a positive image of immigrants.[198] Alongside this, the casting of Black, Latino, and Asian American leads allowed audiences to literally view America as a nation of immigrants, and illustrate the "complex racial history and identity of America."[199] "Hamilton is a story about America, and the most beautiful thing about it is ... it's told by such a diverse cast with such diverse styles of music", according to Renee Elise Goldsberry, who played Angelica Schuyler. "We have the opportunity to reclaim a history that some of us don't necessarily think is our own."[200] Miranda has stated that he is "totally open" to women playing the Founding Fathers.[201] Casting for the British production featured predominantly black British artists.[202][203]
Historical accuracy
Chronology and events
Although Hamilton was based on historical events and people, Miranda did use some dramatic license in retelling the story. Here are the most prominent examples:
- In "Aaron Burr, Sir", Alexander Hamilton is depicted as having come to the United States in 1776; he came in 1773.[204] In the same song, Hamilton meets with John Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, and Marquis de Lafayette shortly after arriving in New York. While it's true that Hamilton met Mulligan early during his time in New York, he only met Laurens and Lafayette after becoming George Washington's aide-de-camp.[205] In addition, Lafayette did not come to the United States until after the war had started.[206]
- In "My Shot", Hamilton describes himself as an abolitionist. Hamilton generally opposed slavery, but scholars have disputed if he could be described as an abolitionist. Despite once being the president of the New York Manumission Society, the fight against slavery wasn't considered a "mission" to him. His business dealings sometimes involved him in it; his father-in-law, Philip Schuyler, was a slave owner,[207] as was George Washington.[208] In the song "Stay Alive", Laurens says that he and Hamilton wrote essays against slavery; Hamilton didn't write any essays against slavery.[209] There is also some evidence that Hamilton could have owned slaves himself.[210]
- While Angelica did have a strong relationship with Hamilton, it was exaggerated in the show. During "Satisfied", Angelica explains why Hamilton is not suitable for her despite wanting him; in particular, she states, "I'm a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich. My father has no sons so I'm the one who has to social climb for one." In actuality, Angelica had less pressure on her to do this: by 1780, Philip Schuyler actually had fourteen children, including two sons who survived into adulthood (one of whom was New York State Assemblyman Philip Jeremiah Schuyler); Philip Schuyler's fifteenth and last child, a daughter, was born in 1781. Angelica also eloped with John Barker Church three years before she met Hamilton at her sister's wedding, when she was already a mother of two of her eight children with Church.[211] In addition, in "Take a Break", Angelica mentions that Hamilton put a comma in the wrong place in a letter to her, writing "my dearest,...". In reality, it was Angelica who did that. Hamilton noticed, and asked about it, with seemingly a bit of flirtatious hope in his question. Miranda stated that "[he] conveniently forgot that" for two reasons: because it is stronger dramatically if Angelica is available but cannot marry him;[212][213][214] and, according to Hamilton: The Revolution, "in service of a larger point: Angelica is a world-class intellect in a world that does not allow her to flex it."
- In Act I, Aaron Burr's role in Hamilton's life is overstated, and much of the early interactions between the two men in the show are fictionalized (Miranda even explicitly notes that "Aaron Burr, Sir" is a fictional first meeting between Hamilton and Burr in Hamilton: The Revolution). For example, while Burr was present at the Battle of Monmouth, Burr did not serve as Charles Lee's second in his duel with John Laurens as seen in "Ten Duel Commandments"; Lee's second was Evan Edwards.[215] Hamilton also never invited Burr to his wedding as seen in "The Story of Tonight",[216] and never approached Burr to help write The Federalist Papers as portrayed in "Non-Stop";[217] in Hamilton: The Revolution, Miranda calls the scene "Another great What if? Historically, we know that Hamilton asked other people to contribute to The Federalist Papers: Madison and John Jay agreed, but Gouverneur Morris declined. I extended that into this fictional scene, wherein Hamilton invites Burr to write [The Federalist Papers]."
- In "A Winter's Ball", the character of Aaron Burr says that "... Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after [Hamilton]", to which Alexander Hamilton replies: "That's true!"[218] In Hamilton: The Revolution, Miranda clarifies that it is false: "[It] is most likely a tale spread by John Adams later in life. But I like Hamilton owning it. At this point in the story he is at peak cockiness." Hamilton researchers Michael E. Newton and Stephen Knott say that they have failed to find any evidence for the story; Newton notes that the sexual connotation of tomcat as a womanizer did not exist in the 18th century.[219][220]
- And in Act II, there are multiple inaccuracies throughout Hamilton's decline, potentially due to time constraints and the show's narrative arc. Most prominently are the examples listed here:
- While it is true that John Adams and Hamilton did not particularly get along, an incoming president's ability to choose their own cabinet technically makes it impossible for John Adams to fire Hamilton as told in the show. Hamilton himself tendered his resignation from his position as Secretary of the Treasury on December 1, 1794,[221] two years before Adams became president. However, Hamilton remained close friends with Washington and highly influential in the political sphere until publishing a pamphlet criticizing Adams during the election of 1800, an event referenced in "The Adams Administration".[222]
- In regards to the creation and reception of The Reynolds Pamphlet, Jefferson, Madison and Burr did not approach Hamilton about his affair after John Adams became president; it was actually James Monroe, Frederick Muhlenberg and Abraham Venable in December 1792.[223] Monroe was a close friend of Jefferson's and shared the information of Hamilton's affair with him. In summer 1797, journalist James T. Callender broke the story of Hamilton's infidelity; this is why the impact of The Reynolds Pamphlet's publication is exaggerated in the show. Hamilton blamed Monroe, and the altercation nearly ended in a duel that Aaron Burr prevented;[224] with nothing left to do, Hamilton then published The Reynolds Pamphlet.[225]
- "Take a Break" revolves around Angelica joining the Hamiltons in America for the summer and preceding this with a letter about it to Alexander himself; no such events took place in real life.
- In the same song, a nine-year-old Philip Hamilton claims, "I have a sister, but I want a little brother"; Philip already had two of his five younger brothers when he was age 9: Alexander Hamilton Jr. and James Alexander Hamilton. Miranda jokefully notes in Hamilton: The Revolution, "And, boy, did he get little brothers! Five of them, actually, and two sisters."
- In "Blow Us All Away", George Eacker and Philip engage in a duel before the events of the 1800 presidential election; in said duel, the show has Eacker fire on Philip after seven paces. In reality, the duel occurred in 1801, with Philip Hamilton dying on November 24; furthermore, both men refused to fire for over a minute before Eacker shot Philip in the hips.[226]
- In "The Election of 1800", Madison tells Jefferson that he won the election in a landslide. The final vote count in the House of Representatives was 10 votes for Jefferson, 4 votes for Burr, and 2 blank ballots, meaning a division of 62.5% of the votes were for Jefferson against 25% for Burr.
- Finally, it was not the presidential election of 1800 that led to Burr and Hamilton's duel. Burr did become Jefferson's vice-president, but when Jefferson decided not to run with Burr for reelection in 1804, Burr opted to run for Governor of New York instead; Burr lost to Morgan Lewis in a landslide. Afterward, a letter was published in The Albany Register from Charles D. Cooper to Philip Schuyler, claiming that Hamilton called Burr "a dangerous man and one who ought not be trusted with the reins of government", and that he knew of "a still more despicable opinion which General Hamilton has expressed of Mr. Burr".[227] This led to the letters between Burr and Hamilton as seen in "Your Obedient Servant".
Critical analysis and scholarship
The show has been critiqued for a simplistic depiction of Hamilton and vilification of Jefferson. Joanne B. Freeman, a history professor at Yale,[228] contrasted the show's Hamilton to the "real Hamilton [who] was a mass of contradictions: an immigrant who sometimes distrusted immigrants, a revolutionary who placed a supreme value on law and order, a man who distrusted the rumblings of the masses yet preached his politics to them more frequently and passionately than many of his more democracy-friendly fellows".[229]
Australian historian Shane White found the framing of the show's story "troubling", stating that he and many historian colleagues "would like to imagine that Hamilton is a last convulsion of the founding father mythology".[230] According to White, Miranda's depiction of the founding of the United States "infuses new life into an older view of American history" that centered on the Founding Fathers, instead of joining the many historians who were "attempting to get away from the Great Men story" by incorporating "ordinary people, African-Americans, Native Americans and women" into a "more inclusive and nuanced" historical narrative in which Hamilton has a "cameo rather than leading role".[230]
Rutgers University professor Lyra Monteiro criticized the show's multi-ethnic casting as obscuring a complete lack of identifiable enslaved or free persons of color as characters in the show.[231] Monteiro identified other commentators, such as Ishmael Reed, who criticized the show for making Hamilton and other historical personages appear more progressive on racial injustice than they really were.[231]
In The Baffler, policy analyst Matt Stoller criticized the musical's portrayal of Hamilton as an idealist committed to democratic principles, in contrast to what he characterized as the historical record of Hamilton's reactionary, anti-democratic politics and legacy.[232] For example, Stoller cited Hamilton as a leader involved in the Newburgh conspiracy (a potential conspiracy against the Continental Congress in 1783); his development of a national financial system which, in Stoller's view, empowered the wealthy; and his use of military force, indefinite detention, and mass arrests against participants in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791.[232] Stoller cited history writer William Hogeland, who, in 2007, criticized Chernow's biography of Hamilton on similar grounds in the Boston Review.[233]
In 2018, Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical Is Restaging America's Past was published. Fifteen historians of early America authored essays on ways the musical both engages with and sometimes misinterprets history.[234]
Theatre scholars Meredith Conti and Meron Langsner have both published written analyses of the place of firearms and dueling in the musical.[235][236]
Writer and essayist Ishmael Reed wrote and produced the 2019 play The Haunting of Lin-Manuel Miranda, which critiques Hamilton's historical inaccuracies.[237] The play, directed by Rome Neal, had an initial run in May 2019 at Nuyorican Poets Cafe and was produced again in October 2019.[238][239]
Use in education
KQED News wrote of a "growing number of intrepid U.S. history teachers ... who are harnessing the Hamilton phenomenon to inspire their students".[240] The Cabinet rap battles provide a way to engage students with topics that have traditionally been considered uninteresting.[240] An elective course for 11th and 12th graders on the musical Hamilton was held at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York.[240] KQED News added that "Hamilton is especially galvanizing for the student who believes that stories about 18th century America are distant and irrelevant" as it shows the Founding Fathers were real humans with real feeling and real flaws, rather than "bloodless, two-dimensional cutouts who devoted their lives to abstract principles".[240] A high school teacher from the Bronx noted his students were "singing these songs the way they might sing the latest release from Drake or Adele".[241] One teacher focused on Hamilton's ability to write his way out of trouble and toward a higher plane of existence: "skilled writing is the clearest sign of scholarship—and the best way to rise up and alter your circumstance."[242]
Hamilton's producers have made a pledge to allow 20,000 New York City public high school students from low-income families to get subsidized tickets to see Hamilton on Broadway by reducing their tickets to $70 for students, and the Rockefeller Foundation provided $1.5 million to further lower ticket prices to $10 per student.[243][244] The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History created a study guide to accompany the student-ticket program.[243][244]
Through a private grant, over the course of the 2017 school year, nearly 20,000 Chicago Public School students got to see a special performance of the show, and some got to perform original songs on stage prior to the show.[245]
The website EducationWorld writes that Hamilton is "being praised for its revitalization of interest in civic education".[246] Northwestern University announced plans to offer course work in 2017 inspired by Hamilton, in history, Latino studies, and interdisciplinary studies.[247]
In 2016, Moraine Valley Community College started a Hamilton appreciation movement, Straight Outta Hamilton, hosting panels and events that talk about the musical itself and relate them to current events.[248][249]
