Thursday, October 15, 2015

"Hamilton" is Extraordinary


Mrs. G. and I were on a long road trip today, so we listened to the soundtrack to the new musical, "Hamilton."  It has been all the rage in my extended family.  We were not disappointed.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the whole show (and stars in the title role on Broadway) has done an excellent job of portraying the Founding Fathers as ambitious young men.  This invigorates the portrait that I have of them all from later, at the height of their powers, and in old age.

"Hamilton" will mostly appeal to the nerdy minority who already know their Founding Fathers and early Federalist history.  I hope some people stumble onto the musical because it is a hot ticket, and then become Revolution nerds.  But I expect that real enthusiasm will come from people who already are attached to the story of the founding of the Republic.


2 comments:

Brendan said...

I can say anecdotally that, on tumblr and twitter and other networks of rapid fandom ascension, Hamilton appears to be acquiring a great many fans in their twenties who are normally drawn to fiction about passionate young men. Nerdy, yes, but not particularly historical nerdiness. I am not a history buff, but I've learned a lot more about the era since getting into it myself.

Gruntled said...

Keep an eye on this among your friends. You see this demographic more than I do, for all my student friends. I think this will be an important little moment in your generation's relation to musical theater.