Most people have heard the Hamilton soundtrack either on Broadway, on a tour, or seen the movie on Disney+. The broadway musical phenomenon has engulfed the entire nation with its Grammy-winning score by Lin-Manuel Miranda and how diverse the play’s cast was as it reflected on the nation’s bequest as a melting pot.
There’s however, a large expanse of technicalities behind Miranda’s creation of this cultural masterpiece. Residents of Nevada who haven’t seen it yet will get to have another thrilling experience of this hit for themselves when the show resumes at The Smith Center.
Thousands of people are anxiously anticipating to behold the play once again but, do they know the actual story of Alexander Hamilton — one of America’s founding fathers and first Secretary of Treasury? That it was his life that inspired this phenomenal production? Check out four things you didn’t know about Hamilton.
It Was Ripped
The term ripped sounds harsh but it’s not an attack at the play by any means. The truth is artists borrow and what’s more even great ones steal. You can think of the term ‘rip’ as paying respectful homage. Besides, Lin-Manuel Miranda has been sincere and open about all the things he copied for the Hamilton play.
Is it the Ten Crack Commandments by Biggie Smalls that provided countdown for Ten Duel Commandments or Washington lending a reference to Pirates of Penzance by singing about himself? We can say that some content was borrowed.
Miranda Took a Year To Write The Play’s First Song
Yeah, you heard that right. It took him a year to write the first song and another to write the second. The song, Alexander Hamilton, was performed at the White House in 2009. In order to craft Hamilton’s anthem, My Shot, it took Miranda another year. The way Miranda was thorough about his works is enough to make any fan want to watch again. You can get tickets for Hamilton in New York City if you’re interested in watching the play again. He took every piece seriously and wanted every couplet to be the best he had ever written.
The Hamilton Lyrics Was Written On The Move
Every time Lin-Manuel needed to write lyrics, he walked. While writing the Hamilton, he wrote at the piano till there was something he liked. He’d then create a loop from it, plug in his headphones, and walk about till he had the lyrics.
He continues writing in his notebooks everything that comes to him at that moment and then bringing it back to the piano. He has said occasionally that he needs to be on the move to write lyrics.
Ron Chernow Was A Historical Consultant For Hamilton
Prior to performing the song that was going to become Alexander Hamilton at the white house, Miranda met Chernow. As a matter of fact, Miranda sang the song to Chernow in the biographer’s apartment. Not long after did Chernow became a consultant on the show. In an interview with 60 minutes, Chernow described Miranda as being smart enough to know that sticking to the facts was the best way to dramatize the story.
Sorry if you were looking for spoilers in this article but didn’t find any. This basically covered just a few facts about the play you probably never knew about.
