“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence impoverished, in squalor grow up to be a hero and a scholar?” These are the lyrics to Broadway’s biggest musical, Hamilton. The show has already won the Grammy for “Best Musical Album” and is expected to sweep the Tony Awards. The musical is unique not only because of the subject matter and culturally diverse cast, but also the genre of music, Rap/Hip-Hop.
Written and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show focuses on the life, relationships, and contributions of founding father, Alexander Hamilton. Narrated by Hamilton’s friend turned enemy Aaron Burr, played by Leslie Odom, Jr., the spans from pre-American Revolution until Hamilton’s death.
The show also shows history in an interesting light, making Thomas Jefferson, played by Daveed Diggs, the villain of Act II, as well covering facts not normally taught in history class, such as Hamilton being in a love triangle with two sisters.
However, if this is a show that you think you’d like to see, you’re most likely out of luck. Unless you have $500 to spare and don’t mind waiting until September. Every show from now until then is sold out. You can try entering the Ham4Ham competition to win two free tickets, but, on average, 1,500 people enter every day, so good luck.
However, once tickets are easier to achieve, Hamilton is definitely worth seeing. Lin-Manuel Miranda definitely “tells Hamilton’s story.”