Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
The history of a history-making musical
April 2004
“Alexander Hamilton,” historian and author Ron Chernow’s biography of the Founding Father, is published. Chernow’s previous books included a biography of John D. Rockefeller Sr., and he’d later write a biography of George Washington that would win the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for biography.
■ July 2008
Composer, playwright and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda reads Chernow’s book while on vacation and has an idea …
■ May 2009
Miranda, participating in a poetry, music and spoken word event at the White House, does a hip hop-flavored song about Alexander Hamilton and reveals he’s working on a Hamilton concept album. The audience laughs, apparently unable to tell whether he’s joking, but gives him a standing ovation.
■ January 2015
The project that became “Hamilton” premieres off-Broadway. Ticket frenzy ensues.
■ August 2015
“Hamilton” premieres on Broadway. It’s an immediate smash.
■ September 2015
The MacArthur Foundation awards Miranda a genius grant, in recognition of his “expanding the conventions of musical theater with a popular culture sensibility and musical styles and voices that reflect the diverse cultural panorama of the American urban experience.”
■ February 2016
The show’s Broadway cast album wins the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
■ April 2016
“Hamilton” wins the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama, becoming just the ninth musical ever to win the award.
■ June 2016
“Hamilton,” which had received 16 Tony award nominations, takes home 11, including Best Musical.
■ May 29, 2018
The hip hop-influenced musical about America’s first Treasury secretary finally arrives in Las Vegas to begin a monthlong run at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.