'Hamilton' Preview: The story of the founding father told in rap promises to be a musical rollercoaster
Founding father Alexander Hamilton, who was almost an anomaly in history textbooks, is now the star of the Broadway Musical that has won 11 Tony Awards, along with the Pulitzer for drama and earned around $1 billion ever since its debut in 2015. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who plays Hamilton, the musical is a curious blend of the past and the present, with an immortal soundtrack.
It is the epitome of the American Dream and is the classic rags-to-riches tale. It shows the burning passion and ambition of the young man who wanted to reach the heights of fame despite his humble origins.He earned his place in the world, due to his hard work and intellectual pursuit. With its curious infusion of rap and featuring a cast that was made up entirely of color, 'Hamilton' has become a cultural phenomenon.
The filmed version of 'Hamilton' was originally supposed to open in theatres in 2021, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, Disney was able to convince Lin-Manuel Miranda and company into agreeing to screen the film to premiere on Disney+.
In the first act of the musical, with Black and Latino actors playing the Founding Fathers, we see Alexander Hamilton and the Revolutionary War, where he was the right-hand man of George Washington (Christopher Jackson) and the husband of Eliza Schuyler (Phillipa Soo). In the second act, the scene shifts to Hamilton's troubled political and personal life as the problems between him and his old friend Aaron Burr, who is later responsible for his death, escalate.
As the conversation everywhere is now focussed on white supremacy and systemic racism, the lyrics in the songs about slavery might hit the audience differently. "It’s always going to have something to say," Miranda told USA Today. "If I had any insight in the writing of this thing, it was everything that was present at the founding is still present: the sins of it, the paradoxes of it, the ways in which we fall short of the ideal 'All men are created equal' the moment we wrote it down."
So if you could not see the Broadway musical, tune in to Disney Plus and discover the magic for yourself.