Lin-Manuel Miranda is a sort of hero of musical creation. Thanks to Hamilton, he made himself a permanent place among the most important authors-actors-directors of the decade. And after seeing the show, an original one and not an adaptation of a movie, in London, we explain why. SPOILER ALERT 3/5.
It’s impossible not to spoil, but it’s also impossible to tell everything in details as the show is enormous. The story is, in sum, simple and well condensed in the first of the song Alexander Hamilton. It’s a biography. Alexander Hamilton is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and it’s him we will follow the next two hours.
The story is quite complex, from his first steps in politics to his death, passing by his family story, the Independence War, and his relations with his pairs… therefore, and in order to stop me from spoiling anything, I will just focus on the show itself. Why is that interesting to us? A little bit of history never hurts, but that doesn’t stop there.
Speaking of past, of Independence War and the journey of this politician, Lin-Manuel Miranda made resonate essential and contemporary themes: gun control, independence, youth, solidarity, racism, morals… the list is long. We add to this a multicultural cast of incredible talent and here is the recipe of success.
It’s also the proof of the origin of an actor doesn’t prevent to play a character of another origin, and this, even if the character was real. This choice of a multicultural cast isn’t made lightly considering the racism problem in the United States. And this cast as well as the musical style, namely a large range between pop and rap, are a beautiful representation of this diverse country.
Sang from the beginning to the end, without a spoken scene, the show transport itself in our living room thanks to Spotify. But it’s not enough to understand the keen interest in this musical: costumes, choreography, scenography… it’s the overall, precise and grandiose, that’s hooking us from the get-go.
What do we listen to then? Everything of course, ideally. For the laughs, we’re turning to King George III who is a hilarious villain with You’ll Be Back, What Comes Next? And I Know Him. For the tears, the epic final of Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story make the work. And for revolutionary envy, it’s the perfect My Shot that we need. What to say more? Lin-Manuel Miranda is a Founding Father of the XXIe Broadway that we’re can’t get bored of him.
Now Playing: My Shot