Table of Contents Show
“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore… grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”
Aaron Burr, Hamilton
With this line, we set the stage for the incredible musical Hamilton, which explores the triumphs, trials, and tribulations of one of America’s founding fathers — Alexander Hamilton. Through his writings and outbursts, Hamilton raises his station and power, but through his own faults sees it all crumble around him. Now, thanks to Disney+, this long-praised musical is available for streaming to a much wider audience. Whether you’re a long-time “Hamilfan” or just curious what all the fuss is about, here is a break down of why Hamilton is definitely worth the watch.
“Wait For It”
The biggest reason to watch — or listen — to Hamilton is the music. Whether you’re a typical musical fan or not, the lyrics of this incredible soundtrack are a joy to listen to over and over again. From the hilarious and energetic stylings of songs like “My Shot” and “Non-Stop” to more serious and emotional pieces like “Burn” and “Dear Theodosia,” Hamilton has something for every mood.
Even without watching the show, you can feel so much of the emotion and heartache of this story from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s compositions. Each song flows perfectly into the next scene or song, and the music has a tendency to pull its audience through the emotional turmoil of each character.
“Tell The Story Of Tonight”
Looking at the Disney+ version of the show, there is so much more to love. Many of the decisions in blocking and acting work so well to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton. For instance, the easy rapport between Laurens, Lafayette, Mulligan, and Hamilton when they get together for the first time is brilliantly portrayed. If that wasn’t enough, the absolutely ridiculous nature of King George as he saunters on stage and orders everyone about is hilarious. It’s almost worth the gross-out moment where the front row of the audience becomes a splash zone for his spit during a particularly aggressive singing moment.
The biggest downside of Hamilton‘s streaming nature on Disney+ is that it does censor some of the languages. The original show contained the word “fuck” a number of times, which had to be either covered with a record-scratching sound or fully omitted to keep the rating of the show family-friendly. Never fear, however, because there’s nothing stopping you from shouting the lyrics, curses, and all when you watch it at home.
The visuals of the show are absolutely worth the long runtime. While the pacing of the music makes it clear just how little time Hamilton feels he has, nothing can compare to watching the carefully choreographed movements on the stage, with Hamilton constantly surrounded by a spiral of action that keeps him up and moving all the while. There are scenes, like the heartbreaking “Burn,” that will fully take your breath away.
Hamilton Cabinet Battle #3
Despite the overwhelmingly positive reception to the show since its debut in 2015, there have been some valid concerns raised about it. It would be nearly impossible and highly ignorant to ignore the concerns of race that surround the text, casting, and overall cultural digestion of Hamilton.
Though many have praised the musical for its diverse casting and acknowledgment of social issues, the current global discussion of systemic racism has highlighted the shortcomings of the show. With the recent criticism of his work and the creation of #CancelHamilton, creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda has publicly stated that “All the criticisms are valid.”
DISCLAIMER: I am going to address some of these issues and the valid criticisms with Hamilton about race. I am addressing these concerns as best I can, given my knowledge of the show, but I am a white person and by no means an expert or authority on issues of racial inequality. My hope here is to share my takeaways from Hamilton and the way it addresses race. I am in no way trying to say how anyone else should feel about the show or the way it depicts issues of slavery.
“Who Tells Our Story”
For those unfamiliar with the casting of the musical, historical slave owners George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr are all played by people of color. Critics of the show back during its 2015 release considered these casting decisions inaccurate and believed they were simply pandering to diversity. Critics now feel that this choice in the cast tries to deflect from the very real horrors of slavery that are largely unaddressed in the musical.
“This is a story about America then, told by America now, and we want to eliminate any distance. Our story should look the way our country looks.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda, New York Times (2015).
The concern about the potential for glorifying these slave owners, through having them played by actors of color, doesn’t seem too worrisome when watching the musical. Overall, the feeling viewers are left with seems much less about glorification and aspiring to be the people in this story, and much more about learning from their mistakes and taking forth the lessons they teach into our current situation.
Part of the power of acknowledging “who tells our story” is knowing that the truth of things is usually much darker than history books would have us believe and that we can learn a lot from the horrific sins of the past without ignoring or glorifying them. As for the concern about historical inaccuracy, it doesn’t seem to really matter too much at all. After all, it’s not as if the founding fathers were also actually having rap battles in the cabinet. Yes, obviously George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were white men. We don’t need the actors to be because we get so much exposure as a country to the histories of those men.
“A Civics Lesson From A Slaver”
Despite the overall diversity of its cast, Hamilton tells the story of historically white and slave-owning founding fathers. A lot of criticism of the show surrounds the fact that other than a few choice lines and the work of John Laurens, Alexander Hamilton does very little in the show to openly criticize and work against slavery.
For one thing, Lin-Manuel Miranda admits that some content had to be cut in order to keep the story at a reasonable length. Another unfortunate truth of the matter is that Hamilton, with all his writings and disapproval of the system of slavery in America, did not do much to actually change it in any tangible way.
Other than calling out Jefferson on his hypocrisy with regards to slavery in Act 2, doesn’t really say much else over the course of Act 2. And I think that’s actually pretty honest… He didn’t really do much about it after that.
None of them did. None of them did enough… so that hits differently now because we’re having a conversation, we’re having a real reckoning of how do you uproot an original sin?
Lin-Manuel Miranda, NPR (2020).
“History Has Its Eyes On You”
With all this being said, complaints about Hamilton not being a complete picture and not doing enough are warranted. However, I do not find that these reasons are enough to give up on the show or to avoid it.
There is a lot to get from Alexander Hamilton’s story while still acknowledging its shortcomings. The strength of Hamilton‘s story lies overall in the flaws of its characters, not in their successes. It is through their failings that we learn to keep fighting and keep pushing to make the America we want to see.
So what are you waiting for? Make some popcorn, warm up your singing voice, and stream the musical Hamilton.