Skip to footer

'Hamilton': The well-reviewed hip-hop musical is coming to Broadway

'Hamilton' is based on the life of Alexander Hamilton and the show's book, music, and lyrics were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda of 'In the Heights.'

|
Joan Marcus/The Public Theater/AP
Lin-Manuel Miranda, (center) performs in the musical 'Hamilton' at The Public Theater in New York.
  • By Mark Kennedy Associated Press

The musical "Hamilton" is taking the subway uptown.

Creators of the hip-hop-based musical on Alexander Hamilton, the first treasury secretary of the United States, said they will move the downtown hit from the Public Theater to Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre starting July 13. Opening night is Aug. 6. Tickets go on sale March 8.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the show's book, music, and lyrics and stars in the title role, noted that the show's next home will be the same one that housed his "In the Heights." At the announcement at the Public, he wore a T-shirt that read "Go Hamilton or Go Home" and, looking out at his cast, said: "This is insane."

The show is a retelling of the 18th-century story of America's birth by a nontraditional cast using rap and song. It stresses the orphan, immigrant roots of "the $10 Founding Father without a father," his vices and ambition, and his almost Greek tragedy of a death. It's narrated by Aaron Burr, the man who would kill Hamilton.

Director Thomas Kail said he stopped by the show this weekend and spotted an 11-year-old excitedly running up and down the aisles. "Why don't they teach me like that?" the boy told Kail. "What I hope happens is that someone comes to see this who says, 'You know what? Now I'm going to write.'"

The new musical reunites the team from "In the Heights" – Kail, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler and Miranda. Reviews were strong when it opened Feb. 17, and the Public has extended the show through May 3.

Kail opened the door to the possibility of changes for Broadway, and there will be at least one cast change when Brian d'Arcy James, who plays a foppish and peevish King George, jumps to another musical by next month.

"This gives us a chance to go in and continue to work. That's the only thing we know how to do. We just work until we say we have to put our pencils down," said Kail, whose other credits include "Magic/Bird" and "Lombardi." ''We've given ourselves more time. I hope inspiration continues to strike."

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to 'Hamilton': The well-reviewed hip-hop musical is coming to Broadway
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Arts/2015/0225/Hamilton-The-well-reviewed-hip-hop-musical-is-coming-to-Broadway
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe