A Critical Reflection on a Cultural Text
Hamilton: An American Musical
Beth Donovan
Rap and hip-hop are a common pairing in the world of music and dance, but when it comes to the stage, it’s “a slightly troubling concept” (Petridis, 2017). Lin Manuel-Miranda seems to be the father of the most popular stage shows fully in this style, taking a creative part in: In the Heights; Bring It On and Hamilton: An American Musical while maintaining historical integrity.
Six years in the making, Hamilton: An American Musical began its journey to the stage in the White House, at its 2009 Poetry Jam. It’s opening number- Alexander Hamilton, took more than President Obama into its grips, and now, almost 10 years later, it has been shown off-Broadway in the Public Theatre in January 2015, found its home in the Richard Rogers’ theatre on Broadway (August 2015) and later, the Victoria Palace Theatre on London’s West End (December 2017). The popular show is notorious for its beats and lyrics and has a large fan following. The rap and hip-hop based musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda tells the story of America’s founding fathers over the course of the French Revolution and the birth of the country. Taking inspiration from Rob Chernow’s book ‘Alexander Hamilton’, Miranda composed the show in a rare style to tell Hamilton’s story of war, death, duels and the twisted announcement of his infidelity in a format used by music artists to transcend their struggles (Mackintosh, 2017).
It seems a majority of shows in the past have been performed with either an all-white cast, or a primarily-white cast (Urban, 2017), which further impacts the importance of this musical sociologically in the aspect of race. While it’d be expected for a show about the founding fathers of America to feature a largely white cast, Miranda subverts expectations and has had numerous ethnicities and races cast in his show. The juxtaposition of the subject of slavery that was rife in the time period, with the variety in the cast emphasises the importance of acceptance and the development of modern culture over time. For example, Cleve September from the London cast characterises Phillip Hamilton and John Laurens, both who would have been white, yet he is mixed race. Similarly, on Broadway, Philippa Soo plays Eliza Schuyler Hamilton- the wife of the founding father, though is of Chinese descent.
Producers bill the show as "the story of America then, as told by America now”, with the cast and popular style encouraging an understanding of history and its development to a wider audience, in a manner that can be digested by all. Most audiences seem accepting of the casting decisions, which emphasises the movement from a largely white business towards something more inclusive, with many, including the British Royal Family reacting with enthusiasm. However, it is to be expected that some may argue the historical inaccuracies it creates despite the attempt of a noticeable juxtaposition to portray the cultural influence of America today. The notion that “it’s still white history. And no amount of casting people of colour disguises the fact that they’re erasing people of colour from the actual narrative” (Onion, 2016) suggests the decision to represent the broader variation in America today has a negative impact, despite the representation of the revolutions that altered the cultures that we see today as a result of the 17th century.
Furthermore, the nature of class accessibility seems to have had little change, both through history and between America and Britain. The popularity of Hamilton on Broadway ensures steep ticket prices only an elite could afford, created by the hype of such an innovative show who’s lead song has over 81 million listens on Spotify. While the prices may be slightly more reasonable in London, the sheer volume of people who want to see it makes it difficult to purchase tickets unless months in advance. A ticketless system in the UK prevents re-sale, the main cause of the upwards of $3,000 tickets (Riedel, 2016) in the US, which is nowhere near feasible for many. Historically, theatre was for the upper class, with lower classes unable to afford it. This show acts as a reflection of this idea, as it is often inaccessible for those who cannot afford more than the ‘cheap’, vertigo inducing seats that sell out quickly due to their more affordable price. These seats mirror those that would have been available to the lower class, classifying many into a classist division that isn’t generally in existence today.
The production, as a theatre show, fulfils the cultural definition of “culture” as an “independent and abstract noun which describes the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity… Culture is music… theatre and film” (Williams, 1976). Its artistic license allows the portrayal of the parallels found between Hamilton’s complex life and the lives of many in America today (Mackintosh, 2017) through acting, singing, dancing and education. The issues faced by immigrants are told within this story, as Hamilton is not trusted by the government in the beginning, relating to an overarching view of the government today with both the president’s and UK government’s distain towards immigrants. The constant media stories of individuals being separated from their families as they are forced back across the border for not working, or ‘stealing’ the jobs oppose the harsh use of slavery to put immigrants to work in the 17th century as referenced often throughout the show. As an intellectual creator, Miranda made these references, as though he was poor, Hamilton is understood not to be anti-slavery as it would have been how he made his livelihood in the Caribbean, and his wife owned them. The lack of disgust towards what we would now view as an inhumane business emphasises the development of understanding the cultural change and integration of our daily lives, the establishment of social norms that are fluid and are often varying. The views of contemporary society are such due to the major events, like the revolutions mentioned within the show, that have shaped our society to frown upon acts that occurred previously.
To conclude, Hamilton as an artistic creation, maintains an extent of historical integrity that might be unexpected for such a show, presented in a rap manner. It creates an entertaining yet informative and diverse sector that previously was lacking within the theatre industry, thus embracing a change within the theatre culture that was needed to keep up with a modern society.
Bibliography
Mackintosh, M. (2017). Hamilton: An American Musical, 28 April 2018, Programme, Victoria Palace Theatre: London.
Onion, R. (2016). A Hamilton Skeptic on Why the Show Isn’t As Revolutionary As It Seems. [online] Slate Magazine. Available at: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2016/04/a_hamilton_critic_on_why_the_musical_isn_t_so_revolutionary.html .
Petridis, A. (2017). Break it down: how Hamilton mashed up musical theatre and hiphop. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/dec/01/hamilton-mashed-up-musical-theatre-and-hiphop-lin-manuel-miranda .
Riedel, M. (2016). 'Hamilton' might jack up premium tickets to $995. [online] Nypost.com. Available at: https://nypost.com/2016/04/21/hamilton-might-jack-up-premium-tickets-to-995/.
Urban, S. (2017). Why Whitewashing In Theatre Is Not O.K.. [online] The Odyssey Online. Available at: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/why-whitewashing-in-theatre-is-not-ok .
Williams, R. (1976). Keywords. London: Fontana, Culture pp 87-92.