Winner of The Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 11 tony awards
Where do you start with Hamilton? The hit hip-hop-infused musical drama about the 10 Dollar Founding Father Without A Father from Lin-Manuel Miranda has all but taken over the world since its first sold-out run the at Off-Broadway Public Theatre in 2015. Now housed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre for the foreseeable future, the rollicking historical epic is a true arbiter of our times, with its message of inclusivity, passion, diversity and resistance from oppression as relevant now as it ever was.
Tracing the life of Alexander Hamilton, a figure largely overlooked by history (except for his very dramatic death at the hands of Aaron Burr) Lin-Manuel's opus first came to him whilst on vacation when he happened to pick up Ron Chernow's lauded biography. Taken by the largely unknown story of America's first United States Secretary of The Treasury, he immediately began to sketch the outline of the musical. Citing Alexander's non-stop attitude to his life and work, Miranda felt that the score would benefit from a unique mixture of rap, hip-hop and classical musical theatre flourishes to tie the story to the present day. Alongside samples from Notorious B.I.G, scathing political disputes are turned into rap battles, notching up the excitement from the audience and bringing the important decisions of the past into screaming technicolor.
A record-breaking Tony Award Nominee (16 nods, 11 trophies in 2016), Hamilton continues to make history. With lines still forming around the block for tickets on Broadway, equally as sought out Chicago and San Francisco engagements, two national tours, a forthcoming Australian engagement AND a seven-time Olivier Award-winning London production (phew we think we've got them all) - Hamilton is still the world's biggest musical. In addition, the show's reinvention of the musical genre, brilliant fusion of beautiful, sweeping choruses and raw street-style hip hop has captured the public's imagination across the globe, with the release of the Hamilton Mixtape, a reimagining of the score with contemporary artists, debuting at the top of the Billboard 200.
What is Hamilton About?
Hamilton's story is an extraordinary journey of success in the face of adversity, a life built on a raging passion to do good and create change for the better, as he rose from a Caribbean immigrant to one of the most important men in America.
Born out of wedlock in the West Indies and orphaned by the time he was 11, he arrived in New Jersey in 1772 to begin his grammar school education. From there he played a major role in the American revolutionary war, rising through the ranks to become an aide to George Washington. But that was only the beginning of the great man's story, with the proceeding chapters in his life taking in everything from sex scandals, fatal duels and the creation of the American Constitution.
Did You Know?
Among his many achievements, Hamilton founded the New York Post, which would become the oldest newspaper in America to have been published continuously as a daily.
