Hamilton: An American Musical
Hamilton: An American Musical has become one of the most talked about and beloved musicals in the history of Broadway. Its unprecedented concept has captured the hearts of millions and broken records that other theatre productions could only dream of. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the creative force behind Hamilton as he wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the show. Miranda credits his idea from the biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Hamilton is a story about the life of Alexander Hamilton through rapping and song. What makes Hamilton unique is that Miranda casted non-white actors to play the Founding Fathers and other characters in the show to represent how America’s demographic has evolved since the 18th century and also how America is a nation of immigrants. Miranda is quoted saying “Our cast looks like America looks now, and that’s certainly intentional.” The catchy hip-hop music also adds a twist to the typical showtunes that are often featured in a musical. Hamilton is for every audience, regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, or gender. If you want to see one of the best shows to ever be presented on Broadway, then make sure you get your Hamilton tickets from TicketNetwork today! TicketNetwork has your access to all Hamilton tickets, from productions on Broadway in New York City to the West End in London. TicketNetwork has it all!
Hamilton History
Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspired by the biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. He imagined a musical that told the told the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. So Miranda began by writing and recording songs with a project called The Hamilton Mixtape. Miranda was invited to perform songs from his other musical, In the Heights, at the White House in the spring of 2009. Instead of performing music from In the Heights, Miranda performed the first song from The Hamilton Mixtape. From then on, he continued to work on music and script for the show. The first version of the musical was performed at Vassar College’s Reading Festival in Poughkeepsie, New York in July 2013. It was a workshop production of the show that contained the entire first act and a few songs from the second act. This workshop production was directed by Thomas Kail and starred Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton. Only two other actors were casted in the Vassar Workshops as well as the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of the musical. These two actors were Daveed Diggs (as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson) and Christopher Jackson (as George Washington). Due to the positive response from the Vassar Workshop, Hamilton went into official production and had its world premiere Off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York, New York. Previews began on January 20, 2015 and the opening night was on February 17. This production was also directed by Thomas Kail. The Off-Broadway showing was so successful that by July 2015, Hamilton began previews on Broadway at Richard Rogers Theatre. The Broadway production opened officially on August 6, 2015 and has been running ever since.
Other Productions
Hamilton began previews in Chicago at the CIBC Theatre in September 2016 and then officially opened in Chicago on October 19, 2016. Miranda attended opening night and applauded the cast for its performance. The Chicago production is produced by Jeffrey Seller who has said the show will run for two or more years. The London production, which has its residency in the Victoria Palace Theatre, premiered on December 21, 2017. This production is produced by Cameron Mackintosh. Currently in the works is a production to reside in Puerto Rico at the University of Puerto Rico’s Teatro UPR in San Juan. Production is set to start in the beginning of 2020, with Miranda reprising his character of Alexander Hamilton.