Hamilton the Musical: Review
Introduction
The musical, Hamilton came to Disney+ on July 3rd, 2020. It is the live Broadway version of the musical, which was filmed in June of 2016 in New York City, starring the original Broadway cast: Lin-Manuel Miranda (Alexander Hamilton), Leslie Odem Jr. (Aaron Burr), Christopher Jackson (George Washington) Daveed Diggs (Marques de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson), Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan/James Madison), Philippa Soo (Eliza Schuyler), Jonathan Groff (King George III), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds), and many more.
Review
Due to lockdown and with America in the middle of a quarantine due to Coronavirus, it was recently announced that Broadway was not going to be having live performances until the beginning of 2021, leaving people unable to experience live, professional theatre. Which is why Lin-Manuel Miranda partnered with Disney+ to have the live Broadway musical Hamilton accessible for all people.
The story of this high-energy musical follows the life of America’s first treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton. The musical was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Thomas Kale. When making casting decisions, Miranda wanted some of the actors playing the roles to be people of color. When questioned about this to Miranda, he said “Why not make the Founding Fathers resemble what America looks like today. Today, America is filled with people of all races. All of which are unique.” Miranda also says how, “It takes on a different meaning when you see Black and brown performers telling the origin of our country.”
One line in the musical that gets a thunderous applause every time it’s said is at the beginning of “The Battle of Yorktown.” Lafayette and Hamilton both say, “Immigrants, we get the job done!” Lafayette is a Frenchman in the show and Hamilton immigrated to the colonies from the Caribbean. Due to the way immigrants are treated in America today, as well as the recent uprise of protests with the Black Lives Matter Movement, it is a powerful line in the musical.
This musical has a little bit of everything, in terms of music. The whole performance is completely sung-through (Much like shows like Les Misérables or Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), with each actor displaying a different and unique presence and character to the show. This show has a combination of Hip-Hop, Jazz, and R&B songs. You also see conversations between characters within songs as well. For example, in “Aaron Burr, Sir” you see a conversation between Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and later others set to music.
Watching the entirety of the show, you have the opportunity to see a great amount of character development from main characters. The audience sees Hamilton’s character as someone who is ambitious, hard-working, and wanting to make something of himself. One of Hamilton’s quotes in the show is “I want to build something that’s gonna outlive me.” While watching it, it displays wonderful character development of Eliza Schuyler, who is Hamilton’s wife throughout the show as having an emotional, soft, caring, and forgiving personality. George Washington’s character develops into someone who is yelling a lot throughout the performance, but also shows a humble, respected, and honorable character.
Although Hamilton seems to be represented as a person to be admired in history, the musical also highlights some of his character flaws. For example, when Eliza was away on a trip to upstate New York, Hamilton has an affair with Maria Reynolds with Reynold’s husband knowing about it, highlighted in the song “Say No to This” in Act 2 in the show. Hamilton, later on, was paying James Reynolds to sleep with Maria and continuing the affair. This went on for a month. And then, he publishes his thoughts about the affair in a letter during the song called “The Reynolds Pamphlet” later on in Act 2.
Even though there is a lot that happens in the show, there are still a couple of themes that a Christian can take from this show and apply it to their everyday life.
Themes
- Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
Colossians 3:13: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
The idea of forgiving a person when they do wrong is displayed in the performance in a pretty powerful way, specifically in Act 2 with Eliza. After Hamilton has the affair with Maria and publicizes it, Eliza is furious with him, as she is seen burning his letters he had written, seen in the song “Burn.” And it is unknown whether or not she was able to forgive Hamilton. But after the death of their son, Phillip in 1801, Hamilton goes back to Eliza, asking for forgiveness for what he had done and then Eliza accepts him back into her life and Hamilton promises to be loyal to her from then on. It is a pretty powerful scene.
- Running out of Time
James 4:14: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Ephesians 5:15-16: Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
In the musical, Hamilton understood this concept that life goes by fast because he was concerned throughout the show that he would run out of time to make an impact in the colonies because tomorrow is not guaranteed. He understood that his life goes by quickly so he surrounded himself with people whom he could make a difference with. He was intentional with what he did in America and who he surrounded himself with.
- Working Hard/Taking Action
Colossians 3:23: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…
Hamilton understood what it meant to take action and to work hard and work at it with all his heart. He understood that starting a country and helping Washington in the war was going to be hard work and he knew that in order to get it done, he will have to put his whole heart in it in order for the nation to run effectively and successfully.
This was a review of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s performance of Hamilton and how some of the themes in the performance can connect with living as a Christian in America today.
Workmanship Writing 