“I, TOO, AM AMERICA”: HAMILTON, AN AMERICAN MUSICAL

Abstract

“I, Too, Am America” is a critical study of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical phenomenon Hamilton (2015), which is currently running on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. Through my scholarly analysis of Hamilton (that is, through a dramaturgical examination of the musical’s book and lyrics, embodied performance, production characteristics, casting practices, and public reception—among other elements), this thesis explores the overarching question: How does Hamilton wield the body of its performers to interrogate, disrupt, and reconfigure dominant narratives of American history and identity? Specifically, how does Miranda’s musical interrogate the way power is ascribed and/or re-inscribed through representations of race, gender, and nationhood? By engaging with Hamilton as a relevant and immediate historical artifact, this interdisciplinary thesis examines the ways in which Hamilton interrogates and artfully challenges the cultural power whiteness has in erroneously defining the parameters of American identity.