![]() ![]() 7 This turn of phrase felt like an apt description for the show as a whole-a piece of work in a state of flux, not able to fully escape the tropes of musical theatre and embrace more progressive female characterisation. In his 2015 New Yorker article Michael Schulman contended that the ending of Hamilton was ‘almost’ feminist. 5 As female characters plead to be ‘part of the narrative’, 6 we have to start to unpick and explore their representation within Hamilton to identify whether this fits in with the show’s progressive label or reinforces regressive stereotypes and tropes. ![]() Hamilton’s all-male creative team raises the question of whether this is another show ‘controlled by men, subtly-or not so subtly-reinforcing a patriarchal view of society’. 4 But is the show as ground-breaking as the publicity suggests, or as it appears, at first sight?Įxplored within the current context of fourth-wave feminism and the quest for female equality and representation (as succinctly articulated by #timesup and the surrounding movement), the musical’s revolutionary fervour diminishes. When Mike Pence attended a performance after the election and was met with an impassioned curtain-call speech, Trump was quick to tweet his ire. As if that wasn’t recommendation enough, Donald Trump is most definitely not a fan. Lin Manuel Miranda premiered an early draft of the opening number at the White House in 2009 and the Obamas were keen supporters of the show, even going so far as to introduce Hamilton’s 2016 Tony Awards performance. Hamilton is closely associated with happier political times in America. L-r Cleve September (Laurens), Jamael Westman ( Hamilton), Jason Pennycooke (Lafayette), and Tarinn Callender (Mulligan). With so much exposure it is hard not to get swept up in the hype surrounding the musical. 3 Television shows are even cashing in on Hamilton’s cultural currency with references to the show appearing in Brooklyn Nine Nine, Grey’s Anatomy, and Gilmore Girls (amongst others) as well as talk shows such as The Late Show. The show is inescapable, dominating social media through its innovative #Ham4Ham and #Hamildrop initiatives. This musical idiom combined with Hamilton’s colour conscious casting has allowed Miranda to create ‘the story of America then told by America now’ 2 exposing to critical view the whitewashing of history and the more questionable legacies of the Founding Fathers of America. 1 The show’s unique tour de force is the use of hip-hop to convey the story, reigniting the genre and attracting a new musical theatre audience. Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: An American Musical ( Hamilton) (2015) has tapped into the current cultural moment, lauded as the ‘saviour of Broadway’.
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