"Hamilton" Musical Is A Cultural Phenomenon

danjoseph | May 4, 2016
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“Hamilton,” the hip-hop musical chronicling the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton set a record Monday as it garnered 16 Tony Award nominations, more than any other show in Tony history.

 But if you want to experience the critically acclaimed production, you’re going to have to wait. Probably for a very long time.  

At this point, tickets for the show are sold out until January of 2017, unless you want to purchase some scalped tickets, which are being sold for upwards of $2,000 on sites such as “Stub-Hub.” 

The musical phenomenon, based on the 2005 biography by Ron Chernow, was penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It apparently took him six years to complete the lyrics and score. Miranda also stars as Hamilton in the Broadway production and was nominated for his performance, along with several of the show's other actors.

“Hamilton” tells the tale of the young war hero who became George Washington’s right hand man in the aftermath of the American Revolution and went on to become the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury.   

A great admirer of Hamilton, Miranda himself recently traveled to Washington, D.C. to personally lobby Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to keep Hamilton on the ten dollar bill. His efforts paid off, as the Treasury ultimately decided to keep Hamilton on the ten and remove President Andrew Jackson from the twenty dollar bill instead. 

President Obama and his family have seen the show, as has former president Bill Clinton and former Vice President Dick Cheney, who apparently enjoyed it very much. 

Critics have also offered glowing reviews.

“I wish I’d written Hamilton,” wrote Ben Brantley, the New York Times theater critic. “I am loath to tell people to mortgage their houses and lease their children to acquire tickets to a hit musical. But Hamilton… might just be about worth it.”

Personally, this writer has not seen the production. I have, however listened to the Original Broadway Soundtrack and was absolutely blown away. It might be a while before I can make it to Broadway and score a ticket to the production, so for now the soundtrack will have to suffice. But as soon as “Hamilton” makes it way to my neck of the woods, you can rest assured that I will be front and center and probably rapping along to the ingenious musical narrative that has taken Broadway by storm. 

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