The Hamilution of Hamilton: How A Little Musical That Could Managed to Change the Face of a Generation

Abstract

For my THET223 class, Text and Context in Western Theatre, our final research paper was based on an area in theatre history we did not get to cover in class or that was particularly fascinating to us individually. I was intrigued by the phenomenon the musical Hamilton became and the way it revolutionized musical theatre, representation in the arts, exposure to art, and social consciousness in theatre. No other musical before had used hip-hop to communicate a universal tale embedded within the framework of one of America’s Founding Fathers in such a way that it inspired masses. No other show in recent history had garnered such a cult following and expansive allure that it galvanized people to buy tickets to the point that the show was sold out for over a year in advance. I wanted to explore what mechanisms are behind Hamilton’s success, how it is changing the relationship between theatre and audiences, and the impact it is having on those who experience it.