“Suspend your disbelief,” is not what playwright Bertolt Brecht wants you to do when you see his musical about the story of the founding fathers on Broadway. Brecht wants his audience to be conscious of the fact that his musical is in fact just that: a musical. Hamilton’s purpose is to intrigue its audience intellectually to the point in which it sparks a deeper conversation and further research following the performance. Brecht and every aspect of his musical take ownership of the fact that the musical is not the historical past itself, but a retelling of the past by actors who were not in the room where it happened. How Brecht achieves producing this state of consciousness is more subtle and elegant than the previous technique of having actors walk out with blatant placards to remind the audience that they are watching a play. One of the marks of Brecht’s epic theater is his alienation effect, or “a representation which allows [the audience] to recognize its subject, but at the same time makes it seem unfamiliar” (Brecht 1948, 8). One of the most controversial aspects of Hamilton is also one of the most essential aspects which achieve’s Brecht’s alienation goal– the casting. Hamilton is known for its diverse casting in which the only featured character who has been played by a white actor is King George III (which has its own controversy of how the only white person in the musical plays the villain). The effect of having people of color play the founding fathers and other
This phenomenon was replicated at the University of Michigan’s SMTD performance of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, written by Bertolt Brecht. This play told the story of the rise of gangster Arturo Ui and the corruption of the cauliflower business in order to satirize the rise of Hitler. Despite this being a play, rather than a musical, the use of Copland’s “planes of listening” still apply. Theater-goers can still view the work with different approaches- either purely surface level, meaning-driven, or technical, like the “planes of listening Copland describes.
This very much represents the physical crossing from the ‘normal’ world into a world which is not seen from the outside, and pushed to the edge of society, and further resembles a glimpse of hope for the patients’ recovery. In the later scenes of the play, during the performance of Mozart’s opera, the entire theatre has been transformed into something completely different, with its white walls, the bright, colourful costumes, and Mozart’s “music of the spheres” echoing within the once dark and dismal place. The new theatre in all its splendour metaphorically resembles the transformations of the characters themselves, and from this, the audience is encouraged to realise the significance and therapeutic nature of art, in this case theatre and music: “the music of this opera will keep the world in harmony”, especially in contrast to hopeless treatments such as shock therapy. Through his play, Nowra also encourages the audience to agree with his personal view that war is unnecessary, and in a way is a kind of madness itself, due to its chaotic and uncontrollable nature.
Within Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda brings history back into the present through his musical. Originally performed at The Public Theater in 2015, the musical was quickly a popular hit and made its way to Broadway. Now performed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, Hamilton has won 11 Tony awards and multiple honors. Director Thomas Kail and lead producer Jeffrey Seller made many of the final decisions of the production, and through them Miranda’s time and investments, the musical became a success. Now, the musical functions as a public history as it revives the importance of the past, as well as redefines the ways history is made and learned through the integration of rap and hip-hop style in musical theatre.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton divulges the human need to have a purpose and the transformative journey in obtaining it. The musical follows one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, from the time he was a young boy to the successful creator of the national banking system. Hamilton encounters many challenges, both environmental and internal, in his lifetime, while also acquiring long-time foe, Aaron Burr, in America. Alexander Hamilton’s character develops as a hard-working, honest man that transforms into a conniving individual in order to pass his legislation and scale up the political totem pole. Aaron Burr’s jealousy of Hamilton’s progress instigates a transformation in his quietest character.
Legacy is the story you leave behind that future generations will know about. Hamilton: An American Musical was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed on Broadway. This musical is a modern interpretation of the life of one of the founding fathers of the United States, Alexander Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda expresses the theme of having to work hard to build your legacy, so your story is told throughout the performance. This Broadway show uses the literary devices of tone, allusion, and repetition to execute the theme of legacy.
The musical “Hamilton” is the most sought after musical in years. It is the first seen rap musical and it has received the most ‘Tony’ awards and nominations in Broadway history. Hamilton premiered off Broadway in 2015 and soon moved to Broadway to stun the world with it’s incredible everything, from plot to casting. For best albums, Hamilton was second ranked in Billboard magazine and has got endless supply of recognition for the ingenious play written by the phenomenal Lin Manual Miranda. Hamilton is currently the most popular sensation on Broadway because of the music with its creative lyrics and hidden messages, it’s stellar performance and the perspectives it gives us on the people that founded our county. (on the people that shaped our past and developed our future).
There are many characteristics that could impact one’s life in a negative way causing them to lose everything in life such as selfishness, messiness, untrustworthiness, self-righteousness, or ego. In the award-winning musical, Hamilton: The Revolution, by Lin-Manuel-Miranda, the character of protagonist, Alexander Hamilton may be described in many ways. However, one character trait stands out among the rest. The main character trait of Alexander Hamilton, self-righteousness, shaped everything about his life: how he grew up, how he dominated in debates, and even how he fell from grace. Hamilton always stuck by his ideals, not caring whether it affected other people. These traits led him to lose and gain
Brecht’s political theatre stems from his political views towards communism and the upper class society. Theatre that comments on political issues within society. Brecht began to have a dislike for the capitalist society he was brought up in and wanted more of an equal approach to the world and the people around him. With epic theatre, Brecht wanted it to be both didactic (able to teach others) and dialectic (able to create discussions and ideas). The audience at no time during an epic play can be seen to be in a trance or take what they see on stage for granted. Our performance is reflective of Brecht and his Epic and Political theatre as we address many political topics such as Marxism and the divides between classes and the corruption of the government. We have props such as protest signs and banners to communicate Brecht’s political theatre to the audience. In the first episode, Brown’s Boys, there is a scene where MPs choke and die after ignoring the recession and protesters emerge into the audience chanting that ‘politics is dead’ and ‘they don’t really care about us’ while holding banners saying, ‘politics is dead’ and ‘Gordon Clown’. This was done as it represented politics and the fact the seriousness of the situation was ignored; showing how quickly the issues with the recession spiralled out of control and became something that even the higher up in society were unable
Brechts work is based on the concept that theatre is a means of political persuasion for the masses. He sees the theatre as a tool to manipulate the audience, and to influence their day-to-day living once that have thought about issues raised during the performance.
Hamilton has created a revolution. Hamilton: An American Musical is a musical created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The musical is based on a book written by Ron Chernow about Alexander Hamilton’s life. The story narrates the founding of the United States. The show is being called a revolution due to its language. Lin-Manuel Miranda is being called this generation’s Shakespeare. They both use modern language to reach their audience. In this case, the language is Rap and Hip Hop. Most broadways show reach fame, Lin-Manuel Miranda manages to capture the attention of not only broadway fans but also captures the attention of non-broadway fans.
As Kelly J. Mays puts it, it must be a story that “engages our emotions, our imagination, and all of our senses, as well as our intellects.” It must not be merely a story, but rather a representation of an experience, thereby becoming an experience for its audience. Hamilton, being a stage show, is going to be an immersive experience regardless of the content simply because it is being literally brought to life right in front of its audience with no middle man of the imagination involved. That being said, the content is an enormous part of what makes this story pop off the textbook page. Not only are the characters living out their lives and choices right in front of the viewer, they are involving them as well. The very first line of the show asks the audience a question: “How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence impoverished in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?” Right from the get-go, the audience is involved in the story and on the the edge of their seats to find out the two and a half hour long answer to this question. This piece fits all of Mays’s criteria for a good piece of literature. With multiple deaths, an affair, and constant struggles, all the while being told in rhyme and multiple varieties of music, this show is definitely
Throughout time, art has changed the way people perceive history. Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Hamilton has had a strong influence how people view one of the Founding Fathers and the era he lived in. Before Lin Manuel-Miranda took on the task of producing a musical for Hamilton, people had an idea of who the Founding Fathers were and what they stood for. However, Manuel’s take on Hamilton wanted to present American history in which people of diverse cultures and women share the same spotlight with the Founding Fathers. In the musical, Manuel thought it was important for Hispanics and African-Americans to play as the Founding Fathers, so it reminds the audience American history is not composed of one race. Although critics, like Nichols, believe "superficial diversity” of the play’s casting results in a failure to
Oftentimes people have a difficult time connecting with history. They do not see the relevance between something hundreds of years ago and today’s issues. The Broadway musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda does a great job of bridging that gap. Many of the issues that were faced in the time period of Alexander Hamilton are also faced in the world today. An example of this is politicians riding the fence on important issues. A main character in the play is criticized greatly for doing this just as people are currently. In Miranda’s Hamilton, characters are faced with issues and are asked to take a stand just as political leaders are today.
The play “Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda brings the founding fathers back to life-with a lot of hip-hop. It all started when Miranda, a writer, composer, and performer, was asked to perform at the White House centered on “the American experience.” The White House expected him to perform something based on his own Latin- American experience, but Miranda had something else in mind. Few months’ prior, Miranda was on vacation with his girlfriend when he started to read a biography on Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Miranda was seized by the story of Hamilton. He was instantly inspired to create a work chronicling Hamilton’s life. He started to see Hamilton’s relentlessness, ambition, intelligence, and stubbornness through his own
Hamilton: An American Musical retells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. With the aid of hip-hop and rap, Lin-Manuel Miranda dramatises Hamilton’s struggles and contributions during the American Revolution and the formative years of the United States. It is praised for its breaking of Broadway conventions, compelling characters and their interactions, beautiful musicality, and the progression of its plot. There are many that see this musical masterpiece as Hamilton’s true autobiography. However, it is not an accurate telling of historical events. Hamilton: An American Musical intentionally alters the truth of Hamilton’s tale as it misrepresents the historical figures of America’s birth, falsifies a romantic interest between Angelica Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, alters details of certain distressing events, and paints the main antagonist, Aaron Burr, as a villain.