THE ART OF THE THEATRE-THEATRE 100

Hamilton Plays in Theatre

The Hamilton Musical recreates the experience of Hamilton as a founding father to America and a friend to George Washington. The play not only combines an interesting plot, but also uses music that helps presents the classical story in a modern manner. It shows the migration of Hamilton from the West Indies to his involvement in the Revolutionary war.

Hamilton belongs to the melodrama genre in theater as it invokes characters that lure the emotions of the audience. Furthermore, the play includes music and a historic view of events, which helps improve on the viewers’ connection to the scenes. Thus, the play invokes emotional dialects, music, and characters that match a melodrama creation.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is the playwright of Hamilton. He has a background of music writing, acting, and production. Miranda confirmed that he took about seven years to write the play and music (Gibson, paragraph 3). For instance, he took a year to write the second song in the play; my shot.

Alexander Pantages built the Pantages Theater as the last one in his collection of art exhibition spaces. The theater opened in 1930. On the other hand, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a 31 year old artist that has had a playwright career in Broadway musicals. He has a degree from Wesleyan University based in Connecticut. Miranda’s qualifications are evident in the presentation of music that focuses on genres such as hip hop, blues, soul, pop, and classical music.

The Hamilton story details the experiences of the protagonist as he moves from West Indies and meets his influencers in King’s college in New York. In particular, he befriends Washington and becomes his assistance, rather than a field marshal. He falls in love with Eliza and faces multiple battles that show his role as a founding father of the USA.

The theme of determination is unique to the play as Hamilton seizes life moments that shape his character and legacy. Furthermore, the production shows that the biographies may be told by persons unknown to a person, which relates to human behavior and historical records. The production shows that America was founded by patriotic persons, whereby some emanated from outside the nation. Thus, America should appreciate immigrants.

Nicholas Christopher acts the role of Aaron Burr, which is a central act in the play. Chris takes on the song wait for it, which shows his singing prowess and his comprehension of the role. He expresses jealousy over Hamilton’s power in the piece; “The Room Where It Happens.” He uses comic relief to project the details of the piece.

The staging of the play relates to the use of orchestra that is correlated to the modern music. The forefathers sing in a hip hop tune (Weinlein, paragraph 3). An example is the use of the opening orchestra music that leads to the entrance of the cast. Subsequently, the orchestra leads to Aaron Burr’s musical that is captivating. The transitions are smooth as they show the development of stories, themes, and characters that interchange ideas and events over time.

The Pantages Theater presents a proscenium outlook that focuses on a stage that slopes away from the viewers. Furthermore, it has three boxes that present the stages. The author uses the three parts of the stage to focus on the transitions of the play and bring different backgrounds to the same.

David Korins is the scenic designer of the Hamilton play. He uses the walls to create floors that host female support cast as Hamilton enters the stage. The stage has lighting that resembles an 18^th century town at night (Cuccuza, paragraph 15).  The background of the stage is made up of bricks, whereas the acts sing as they stand or sit on benches and tables. The supporting cast has access to a trap and carries the furniture to create transition to a different space (Cuccuza, paragraph 22).

Howell Binkley is the lighting designer of Hamilton. The beginning set has a yellow light that exposes the support cast on the walls and the floor of the stage and Hamilton at the center. The lighting then focuses on Hamilton. It is one sided and the background has a blue light to show night time. The first set creates a gloomy mood as it occurs at night and Hamilton is rejected to join the struggle (Cuccuza, paragraph 52). The lighting includes an aggressive mood as it includes war for the nation.

Paul Tazewell is the costume designer of the Hamilton attire. He designs costumes that recreate the fashion sense of mid-18^th century. More so, the designs represent the character’s personality. He designs the Hamilton costume as a learner in the beginning of musical. He has a coat, white shirt, and pants. He transforms to a green costume after joining the struggle to indicate the abundance of America, which signifies symbolism in color (Cuccuza, paragragh 34). Hamilton has the classic look of a man’s coat, a hat, shirt, and high knee boots. The idea emanates from Miranda, the composer, which would represent the wealth of the first treasury secretary of the USA.

 I believe that the show was outstanding, especially in the act’s projection of the songs. They showed talent, such as Hamilton’s twelve song; “The Story of Tonight.” Aaron informs him of his affair with a married woman. The audience aligned their thoughts that the musical was a success, regardless of the music being modern.

Therefore, the Hamilton play is unique in the use of unconventional means to the approach of 18^th century stories. Whilst the costumes and stories align with history, the inclusion of hip hop music gives it a modern touch. The instance provides the first instance of plays in the post COVID era. Nonetheless, the author should include music genres to accommodate persons that may not be accustomed to the musical genre. A second version of the play should have classical music to implore on the actual events of the time. Nonetheless, Hamilton is a masterpiece that should be adopted in universities to show the modern skills of writing and executing classical plays.

WorkS Cited

Cuccuza, Robert. “Introduction To Theatre: Part II”. Grlcontent.Com, 2021, https://lamission.grlcontent.com/introtheatre2nded/page/ch8.

GIBSON, KELSIE. “So, Why Did Lin-Manuel Miranda Decide To Write A Musical About Alexander Hamilton?”. POPSUGAR Entertainment, 2020, https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/why-did-lin-manuel-miranda-write-hamilton-47591527.

Weinlein, Jill. “Review: ‘Hamilton’ Now At The Hollywood Pantages Theatre — Onstage Blog”. Onstage Blog, 2021, https://www.onstageblog.com/reviews/2021/9/1/review-hamilton-now-at-the-hollywood-pantages-theatre.