Hamilton

The concept for Hamilton could have gone very wrong. A hip hop musical about the founding fathers could have been campy like Rockabye Hamlet or dull like Ben Franklin in Paris. Happily Lin-Manuel Miranda took the time to workshop, try-out, write and rewrite till Hamilton had the proper mix of history and drama.

Miranda gives most of the rap to Hamilton himself, while the melodies go to the supporting cast. This lets Aaron Burr steal act two with “The Room Where it Happens” and “The World Was Wide Enough.”

Hamilton is set to sweep the Tony Awards this Sunday. The material is strong and should run long after the original cast departs. Will we get strong regional productions or is the show to large in scale? Will high schools perform awkward all white productions, like we’ve seen with The Wiz and Once On This Island? Will the score hold up or will the “contemporary” music seem dated when the inevitable film rolls around 10 years from now? To quote Miranda: "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?"

Here's a link to a gorgeous collection of fan art.