Hamilton: An American Musical

Hamilton: An American Musical is a Musical about the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics, and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show, inspired by historian Ron Chernow's biography of Hamilton and incorporating hip-hop, rhythm and blues, pop music, soul music and traditional-style show tunes, has enjoyed enormous success both in the box office and among critics.

The musical made its Off-Broadway debut in February 2015, but moved up to Broadway by August. In 2016, Hamilton received a record-setting 16 Tony Awards nominations, winning 11, including Best Musical, and was also the recipient of the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is still bloody impossible to get tickets.

• Adaptational Personality Adjustment:
  • Angelica Schuyler implies that her marriage to John Church is one of convenience, where they can benefit each other's families financially. In real life, the two eloped long before Angelica met Alexander.
  • Thomas Jefferson in real life had No Social Skills and may have been autistic. The way Daveed Diggs and other actors play him, Thomas Jefferson is flamboyant and a Large Ham, complete with blowing kisses to the audience when he appears.
• Adaptational Weakling: Hamilton has downplayed examples, as personality changes do not mean the characters are weaklings, just softer compared to their real-life counterparts.
  • Vice-President and governor-elect Aaron Burr was a feminist in his time, a revolutionary who wasn't afraid to talk back to George Washington, a military general known for having a bad temper, and the man who invented modern electioneering. In the play, Aaron Burr is more soft-spoken; he has a sharp tongue as shown with Lafayette and John Laurens, but advocates to "Talk less, smile more" until you know who is on your side and who isn't. He accepts Washington rejecting him for a job position without much fuss, as well as Angelica rejecting his attempts to flirt with her. It's mentioned that he is a viable politician, he just looks less cool next to the upstart Alexander and switches sides when it benefits his position. Eliza in the workshop recognizes that it's Nothing Personal; Alexander doesn't, acting like it's a big betrayal when Aaron Burr beats her father in an election. That makes it all the more shocking when Burr finally loses his temper at Hamilton for torpedoing his presidential campaign and refusing to apologize, near the climax of the play, challenging him to a duel.
  • Eliza Hamilton nee Schuyler was said to be the wild Schuyler sister in her time. She was a tomboy with a fierce temper. In the musical, Eliza and Peggy are the sweetest sisters of the Schuylers, with Eliza diving headlong into her courtship with young private Alexander Hamilton and talking with optimism about their future about the war. Sure Eliza will go downtown to get news on the war against her father's curfew and she maintains correspondence with General Washington, but her older sister Angelica is the one known for her courage and bravery. With that said, Eliza shows that "sweet" is not the same as "weak" when she reads the Reynolds Pamphlet; she calls out Alexander in "Burn" for breaking her heart and writing about his affair publicly, which also involved shaming Maria Reynolds who was much younger than either of them and more a victim than a seductress. It takes their oldest son Philip's death for Eliza and Alexander to reconcile, where he gives his first sincere apology for fucking up their marriage.
• Adult Fear:
  • The opening mentions that Hamilton's father left him, he lost his mother when he was twelve, the cousin who took him and his brother James died by suicide, and he had to work from a young age just to scrape by and pay bills. Later, during "Hurricane," he recalls that he and his mother were both sick, and she was holding him when she died.
  • Eliza's husband cheats on her, and then writes about the affair so that everyone knows, making her a laughingstock. She's heartbroken and betrayed. During "Burn," Eliza points out that Hamilton also humiliated Maria Reynolds who was a "girl" by being twelve years younger than her husband, ruining her life as well. Then because of the Reynolds Pamphlet, her eldest son challenges a speaker that slandered Hamilton and dies after George Eaker shoots him. You can't blame Eliza for having a Thousand-Yard Stare during "It's Quiet Uptown" as Alexander can barely cope with the grief and guilt, as he had advised Philip to not shoot Eaker and aim his pistol at the sky rather than call off the duel. Oh, and then her husband dies in the same spot a few years later, with their last conversation being about her trying to get him to come back to bed.
    • And in real life, their oldest daughter Angelica Hamilton suffered a nervous breakdown shortly after Philip died, with Ron Chernow theorizing that losing her older brother triggered it. Alexander and Eliza tried taking care of her, and felt helpless in their grief.
  • Meanwhile, Aaron Burr sings in "Wait for It" how he's outlived his parents and "everyone who loves me has died". His family reputation means that he has more to lose when seeking glory or building a career. And it feels like history is shunting him to the side because he isn't willing to take risks the way that Alexander Hamilton is. Not helping is that in real life, he outlived both his wife Theodosia and his daughter Theodosia, and he dotes on both of them.
• Betty, Veronica and Archie Switcheroo: The play initially portrays Angelica and Eliza Schuyler as this, with Angelica as the outspoken older sister Veronica, Eliza as the Nice Girl Betty, and demure sweetheart, and Peggy as the the youngest. Indeed, when Angelica talks with Alexander Hamilton, Eliza fears they are flirting. Turns out Angelica considered it, but Eliza told her she liked Alexander, and Angelica sought to introduce them instead. Why? Because Eliza is her little sister, and deserves happiness. Angelica notes that if the roles were reversed, Eliza would do the same for her. Indeed, when Alexander cheats on Eliza and writes the Reynolds Pamphlet about it, Eliza shows off her Veronica side and calls out her husband in "Burn" while Angelica makes it clear that she's supporting her little sister.
• Bittersweet Ending: Indeed, Aaron Burr shoots Hamilton in a duel where Hamilton aims his pistol at the sky. But Hamilton helped America become a financially strong nation, and Eliza worked to preserve his legacy.
• Child Prodigy:
  • Alexander Hamilton entered college in the United States as a teenager. He mentioned he was only able to because his neighbors raised a collection for him to afford the basic tuition fees. While he later drops out to join the war, he becomes an accomplished lawyer.
  • Aaron Burr is also mentioned to be this, completing college in two years at a young age. Hamilton seeks him out in "Aaron Burr, Sir" to get his advice on completing college in a shorter timespan. Burr waves it off as honoring his parents' dying wishes, rather than any innate talent.
• The Ditherer: Justified with Aaron Burr; in "Wait for It", he sings how he outlived his parents, but they both left high expectations for him. Everyone who loves him has died on him, and he's scared of what else he might lose if he takes further risks. Burr resents that Hamilton faced with the same drastic circumstances shows no regard for his life or for other people and yet seems to rise.
• Driving Question: What is a legacy? How will we be remembered after we die? Both Hamilton and Burr struggle with this question throughout the play as their brief bond forms into a genuine friendship.
• Foregone Conclusion:
  • As Burr narrates in the opening song, Hamilton gets shot by Aaron Burr in a duel and dies. That is historical fact.
  • George Washington will only serve two terms as president. It comes as a complete shock to Alexander when Washington tells him this during "One Last Time".
  • Thomas Jefferson will become the third president of the United States.
• For Want of a Nail: It's shown a few times during the musical:
  • Both Burr and Hamilton court Angelica Schuyler, and both were eligible bachelors at the time. She turns down Burr because she doesn't like how he refers to her wealth as being attractive while reassuring her that he's not a gold-digger. Angelica did consider marrying Alexander, but then saw that Eliza was looking at him and whispered, "This one's mine." She thought about it, and introduced the two of them before giving them some alone time.
  • As Hamilton and later Angelica scathingly mention in her Cut Song "Congratulations", he ought to have gone on vacation with his family to upstate New York rather than stay to work at Congress. If he hadn't stayed at their apartment, Maria Reynolds wouldn't have come to him for help after her husband forced her into a blackmail scheme.
• Hammy Herald: George Washington gets one in "Right-Hand Man" that is worthy of a WWE star.

Chorus: Here comes the General! Burr: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Chorus: Here comes the General! Burr: THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! Chorus: Here comes the General! Burr: THE PRIDE OF MOUNT VERNON! Chorus: Here comes the General! Burr: GEOOOOOOOOORGE WASHINGTON!

• Hard Work Hardly Works: Subverted. It at first seems that Hamilton's successes come to him easily while Burr struggles to get the same amount of respect. We learn, however, that both men worked hard at college, the war effort, and their subsequent careers in law and politics. Alexander seeks out Burr on learning that he finished college in two years, and Burr establishes that it was to honor his parents' dying wishes. The difference is that Burr is cautious and thinks through his actions; he feels he has a lot more to lose as the heir to an esteemed family with academics and leaders. That's not even mentioning he's courting a British officer's wife who marries him and gives him a beautiful daughter. Alexander's impulsiveness is what drives him forward, that he doesn't think of long-term consequences.
• Honor Before Reason: This is what drives most of the duels in the story. As outlined in "The Ten Duel Commandments", only one party has to apologize and the whole thing can be called off. And up to the ten places, the seconds and other parties try to negotiate peace talks. It especially stands out in the climactic one where Alexander Hamilton admits to Aaron Burr that he won't apologize for endorsing Jefferson, even if Burr has a right to be mad, because he believes he told the truth. (Fun fact: Aaron Burr of all people stopped Hamilton and James Monroe from dueling over Monroe leaking allegations that Hamilton had embezzled government funds.)
• My God, What Have I Done?
  • Alexander writes the Reynolds Pamphlet to "clear his name" from accusations of embezzlement. He explains he was paying off his affair partner's husband from his own accounts. Angelica has to spell out to Alexander that he humiliated his wife and rebukes him for breaking Eliza's heart before going to comfort her little sister. Alexander's expression becomes dawning horror, but it's too late.
  • Of course, there is Aaron Burr's lament after he shoots Hamilton fatally after Hamilton aimed his pistol at the sky. He tried to go to him, but couldn't due to the rules of dueling.
• Pet the Dog: In Act Two, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison hate Alexander Hamilton's guts because they think he is a power-hungry noveau rich banker. After Philip dies, Madison cries and Jefferson expresses sympathy for Alexander losing his son when noting that their greatest rival is "out of action" during the election of 1800. Though it makes sense if you know that by this point in history, Jefferson had lost several children so he knew exactly what it was like "living through the unimaginable".