AND JED LOVES IT
HAMILTON OPENS
THEATER REVIEW
The tagline that runs with “Hamilton” is “an American musical.” It could have been “a historical musical” or even “a revolutionary musical.” Either would have fit. But creator Lin-Manuel Miranda employed
the same sharp specificity on the tag that he used for writing every lyric in the show.
“Hamilton” is American, like the Founding Fathers and the Black Lives Matter movement, like the Federalist Papers and the protesters at Standing Rock. The Broadway musical, now through Nov. 18 at the Boston Opera House, tells the tale of Alexander Hamilton, patriot, revolutionary, nation builder. It also transforms his life into an extended metaphor about the contemporary struggles of disenfranchised citizens, the moral imperative we have to join together
“HAMILTON” At the Boston Opera House, through Nov. 18.
and fight for justice.
Miranda put much of the show’s subversiveness out in the open. Actors of color play the Founding Fathers. The musical touchstones range from Gilbert and Sullivan to the Fresh Prince and Public Enemy. After a decisive victory, Revolutionary heroes Hamilton, born in the British West Indies, and Marquis de Lafayette, born in France, shout out, “Immigrants, we get the job done” (to a passionate cheer from the audience).
Miranda also took what seemed deeply radical — the use of hip-hop to retell what is considered our country’s sacred history — and made it indispensable. Not only does the shock of the musical style quickly fall away as the drama picks up, but Miranda couldn’t get through this much exposition without using hip-hop. With it, Miranda can detail years in a few verses, a time frame it would take a traditional musical song after song to recount.
Miranda could never strip the Revolution from the story — Hamilton was a staunch abolitionist and all the lead characters fought against tyranny. But even if he had, the show would still be a wonder. Like all Broadway musicals, it relies on humor and love, finely choreographed movement and huge vocal harmonies, a functionalbut-engaging set and quick costume changes. It gets every one of these traditional requirements right.
Hamilton, played by actor Edred Utomi with a measured balance of ego and earnestness on Thursday, and his wife, played by Hannah Cruz, separate after a betrayal. Later they reconcile with so much tenderness the dramatic release blots out politics. This happens again and again. A bawdy joke or high-flying soprano or devilish smile from Aaron Burr, played by Nicholas Christopher with a dash of Iago’s envy, will deliver a visceral jolt far from the world of the 1776 Revolution and 2018 protests.
By now an army of fans and critics have told you that you will love “Hamilton” — the play has won 11 Tonys and the Pulitzer Prize. They are right. But not for the reasons you may assume. You may go for the history and love the hip-hop. You may want to see a touching love story and be crushed by the reality Hamilton would have argued in front of the Supreme Court against President Trump’s immigration policies. “Hamilton” is what you expect it to be — Broadway’s greatest musical — and a series of revelations you’d never expect.