Alexander hamilton biography musical notes
Hamilton (musical)
2015 biographical musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda
This article is about the 2015 musical. For the 1917 play, see Hamilton (play).
Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung-and-rapped-through biographical musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Based on the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, the musical covers the life of American Founding FatherAlexander Hamilton and his involvement in the American Revolution and the political history of the early United States. Composed over a seven-year period from 2008 to 2015, the music draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes. It casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers of the United States and other historical figures. Miranda described Hamilton as about "America then, as told by America now".
From its opening, Hamilton received near-universal acclaim. It premiered off-Broadway on February 17, 2015, at the Public Theater in Lower Manhattan, with Miranda playing the role of Alexander Hamilton, where its several-month engagement was sold out. The musical won eight Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical. It then transferred to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, opening on August 6, 2015, where it received uniformly positive reviews and high box office sales. At the 70th Tony Awards, Hamilton received a record-breaking 16 nominations and won 11 awards, including Best Musical. It received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 2020, a filmed version of the Broadway production was released on Disney+.
The Chicago production of Hamilton began preview performances at the CIBC Theatre in September 2016 and opened the following month. The West End production opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London on December 21, 2017, following previews from December 6, winning seven Olivier We delve beyond the remarkable performances with historian Dr Tom Cutterham to discover what historical debates this award-winning musical has provoked. In the musical, Hamilton is portrayed as being a firm abolitionist, someone who wanted to end slavery. He furiously accuses Thomas Jefferson of using slave labour to pay off the South’s debts and keep the economy afloat. Hamilton himself was a member of the New York Manumission Society, a group which provided financial and legal assistance to the abolitionist cause. However, he did retain links with slavery and some of the society’s members were themselves slaveholders. Cutterham highlights how slavery featured in Hamilton’s personal life: “Hamilton's close family relations, such as his father-in-law Philip Schuyler, owned dozens of enslaved people, and I've never seen any evidence Hamilton criticised him about it. “It's highly likely Hamilton did legal work for slaveowners (including his father-in-law), and of course he was a close friend of George Washington.” George Washington, the famed general and first President of the United States, owned over 300 enslaved people by the time he died in 1799. They worked on his Virginia plantation, as well as his home in Philadelphia. This is not mentioned in the musical. In the song The Election of 1800, Hamilton is shown to play an influential role in the election of the US’ third president. But what it doesn’t convey is how close the country came to a constitutional crisis, unable to choose a president. In the election of 1800, there were two main political parties vying for success. The Democratic-Republican candidate was Thomas Je December 17, 2019 Welcome to Teaching Notes - a blog series written by a teacher to help other teachers #TeachtheSongbook. A Note from the Author: I can’t imagine life without music. When tunes float by, memories flood in. My foot starts tapping, fingers start snapping, and I get caught up in the emotion of the song. For 28 years, music was always a key component in my classroom. It never failed to grab the attention of my students and made past cultures come alive with connections to daily life. I’m excited to open up a discussion about the new Songbook exhibit, Of Thee I sing Politics on Stage. It’s a storytelling device where cultural values are seen in the context of music. Including musical theater in your classroom has never been easier. Join me in this forum where you can share your lesson plans and get ideas from others. It’s your point of access for creative ways to engage your students through music. Tell me what works and what’s missing. Let’s start a conversation and get those toes tapping. Sue Ackley Contact me at: info@thesongbook.org This Month's Teaching Notes: Riding a tsunami of success, Hamilton: An American Musical, is a 2016 Tony Award winner and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The scrappy, young, political mastermind was recently overheard saying, “America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me. You let me make a difference. A place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints and rise up.” (“The World Was Wide Enough”) Images of the Songbook Foundation's current exhibit installation titled, Of Thee I Sing: Politics on Stage. Learn more here. What's it all about? Hamilton: An American Musicalis a sung-and-rapped through musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda, inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by his .Hamilton: An American Musical has become a global phenomenon, but how accurate is this story of one of the US' Founding Fathers?
Hamilton wasn’t as anti-slavery as he first appears
The 1800 election exposed the flaws of the electoral college
Teaching Notes - Hamilton: An American Musical