Hamilton: An American Musical

I have long been fascinated with Early American history and our battle for independence. I've read several books on the subject and watched numerous movies, shows, and documentaries, as well, with great interest. So of course over the weekend, I had to watch Hamilton (available exclusively on Disney+).

I'm not really a fan of rap or hip-hop, but I do love a good musical, and I've always been intrigued by this one. Anyway, cut to the chase, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I would definitely recommend that you take the time to check it out (although I caution you to remember that everything you see and hear is not necessarily historically correct. More on that later.)

First let me mention all the things I loved about this production which features the original Broadway cast.

·         The actors! Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton, Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr, Phillipa Soo as Eliza, the fabulous Daveed Diggs as Thomas Jefferson. I could literally just list everyone, because they were all great! And the singing was excellent!

·         The music! (And lyrics!) I'm still humming songs a day later and I'm eager to see the whole thing again! Might even have to pick up a copy of the soundtrack!

·         King George! (Played by Jonathan Groff.) I imagine the real king probably reacted to our independence in much the way he is shown. Well, maybe not by singing. And he is hilarious!

·         The love story! (Or love triangle to be more exact!) Almost Shakespearian and that is definitely meant as a compliment. (Also, historically accurate according to many sources.)

·         The political intrigue! My frequent readers know I have a great interest in politics, both old and new. I only wish that hadn’t slighted poor John Adams (whom I still consider to be a greatly underappreciated hero of our country!)

Based on the last several points, it should come as no surprise that my favorite songs are "You'll Be Back" and "What Comes Next" by King George, "Helpless" by Eliza, and "The Room Where It Happens" by Burr. And as a father, how could I not love "Dear Theodosia" by Burr and Hamilton singing a love song to their newborn children? Of course, I could keep going all the way through the complete list of songs. They're simply that good!

My dislikes can basically be summed up by saying the entire story is decidedly biased in favor of the title character. Hamilton is portrayed as an orphan and immigrant who works hard and rises up to become one of the Founding Fathers who singlehandedly won independence and created America. (To be fair, I've not yet read Ron Chernow's biography Alexander Hamilton which served as the inspiration for Miranda.) But honestly, in almost everything else I have read or seen, Hamilton is generally considered to be somewhat of a scoundrel. He is much more often considered a villain, rather than a hero.

So, stop me when you've heard this before, but isn't it time we stopped taking not-so-good individuals and glorifying them with statues and murals and songs and plays and such? Just saying! There is no doubt that Hamilton made major contributions in our fight for independence and in the formation of our country, but I question whether or not he was as important as the play presents him.

Anyway, here are just a few examples of the spin applied to turn Hamilton into a Saint.

·         If you based your knowledge of the American Revolution on this alone, you would think that George Washington was basically an incompetent, and without Hamilton guiding him, we would never have won the war.

·         You would also probably be convinced that without Hamilton, we would not have a Constitution (or a working form of government at all).

·         The idea that Hamilton “threw away his shot” in the duel that resulted in his death is very suspect. There is definite evidence that he fired a shot just above Burr’s head, although no one knows who actually fired first.

Other works generally portray him in a much more negative light. He was a suck-up to Washington and used his influence to climb the ranks and gain power. He married into the Schuyler family to achieve wealth and social position (then had a year long affair that turned into our country's first political sex scandal). Despite his epic rap battle beat down of Jefferson in the play, in reality, he possibly owned slaves himself and only took up the anti-slavery cause when it benefitted him politically. He was a back-stabber who betrayed his friends and allies (particularly Adams and Burr) for political gain. For good or bad, he was a relentlessly ambitious man who used people for his own advantage. As Burr calls him out in the play, he “takes, and takes, and takes.”

History isn't always pretty, but if Miranda chooses to focus on the good in Hamilton (and gloss over some of the bad), that’s okay. The world would be a better place if we all learned to see the best in each other and be a little less judgmental. (I guess I’m taking back my earlier comments on glorifying imperfect people.) Aren’t we all basically imperfect? And we can still acknowledge great accomplishments when we see them. Just saying!

Bottom line - watch the show! It’s great! Congrats to Lin-Manuel Miranda for an absolutely fantastic job! And if you find it interesting, go read a book or two and get the real story. It's almost always more interesting anyway!