ALEXANDER HAMILTON: A HIP-HOP MUSICAL By Stefanie Cohen
http://www.wsj.com/articles/hamilton-is-the-hottest-ticket-in-new-york-1422983854?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLE_Video_Third
‘Hamilton’ Is the Hottest Ticket in New York
“Hamilton,” a hip-hop influenced musical about Alexander Hamilton at New York’s Public Theater, has quickly become the buzziest show of the spring, with a sold-out run off-Broadway, ecstatic tweets from tastemakers and a likely Broadway transfer—all before it’s even opened.
The show, written and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also plays Hamilton, is based on the biography of the founding father by Ron Chernow. The show began previews at the Public Theater on Jan. 20 and officially opens on Feb. 17 and closes May 3. It has captured both the industry’s and the public’s attention even before being reviewed. It is sold out through April 5 and already has extended its run three times.
A demigod of the old guard even gave his stamp of approval on Twitter this week:
“Just seen #Hamilton; it raises & changes the bar for musicals. Brilliant lyrics, staging, cast. Creator/lead @Lin_Manuel is special. ALW.” tweeted Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose musicals “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera” changed the look and sound of Broadway when they premiered in the 1980s.
“THIS IS AMAZING. @Lin_Manuel and his crew took it to another level SEE IT AND KNOW,” tweeted “The Avengers” writer and director Joss Whedon Monday morning. Helen Mirren attended a recent performance, as did Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, according to Ms. Wilson���s Twitter feed. ” target=”_blank” class=”icon none” >according to Ms. Wilson’s Twitter feed.
The show, which is produced by the Public in partnership with commercial producers Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, and Jill Furman, had a series of workshops last year which were attended by “probably everybody in the whole industry,” said one person affiliated with the show. “They all walked out saying, ‘Oh my God, look at this.’”
Mr. Seller didn’t respond to a request to comment. The producers haven’t publicly announced a move to a Broadway theater, although a transfer has been expected since the workshops. With the news this week that “Hamilton” will extend its run at the Public to May 3, the show appears to be taking itself out of competition for this year’s Tony awards. Only shows that have opened in Broadway houses by April 23 qualify.
Most producers wait until reviews come in to announce a move, both because they want the blessing of the critics before remounting the show in a larger, more-expensive theater, and because some worry it irks critics to see a show presume a place on Broadway. The Tony-award winning musical “Once” announced a Broadway transfer on the same day it opened off-Broadway three years ago, but such a move is unusual.
“They’re scared of it being overrated,” said the same person affiliated with “Hamilton.” “They want to be humble.”
Insiders say Mr. Seller has always planned to shift “Hamilton” to Broadway next season, when the show still would be a powerful Tony contender. In addition, Mr. Miranda would have more time to hone his work without the pressure of the awards deadline and considerably higher operating costs.
ENLARGE “Hamilton” portrays the lead writer of the Federalist Papers as the prototypical New Yorker—a brilliant and brash immigrant who arrived an orphan from the West Indies and went on to become the first Secretary of the Treasury. He was at the center of one of the country’s first political sex scandals when he was blackmailed by his mistress’s husband. At age 49, he was mortally wounded in a duel with New York gubernatorial contender Aaron Burr.
The show’s score incorporates a host of musical theater traditions along with rap—Notorious B.I.G. is sampled, along with lines from Rodgers and Hammerstein as well as Gilbert and Sullivan. The lightning-quick rhymes allow Mr. Miranda to cover the major events of Hamilton’s life in two and a half hours. The founding fathers and Mr. Burr are played by non-white actors—Mr. Miranda was born in New York to Puerto Rican parents—to underscore the diverse American experience. Tommy Kail, Mr. Miranda’s longtime collaborator, directs, and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler sets the chaotic founding of the country to dance.
“It shouldn’t work, but it does,” says Broadway actor and composer Jeff Blumenkrantz, who caught the Sunday matinee. “Historical biography is usually so dry. This is sexy and exciting and compelling.”
Mr. Miranda, who debuted what has become the first song in the show at the White House in 2009, has been working on the piece since then.
ENLARGE Mr. Miranda created “In the Heights,” a show about the Dominican-American community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood. Like “Hamilton,” the show had a hip-hop influenced score. It began off Broadway in 2007 and transferred to Broadway the following year. “In the Heights” went on to win four Tonys and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. (Mr. Seller was also a producer of that show.)
Mr. Miranda was the subject of a New Yorker profile this week, which quotes Stephen Sondheim as saying, “I was knocked out—I thought it was wonderful,” after listening to an early sampling of “Hamilton” songs. “They seemed so fresh and meticulous and theatrical.”
Officials at the Public Theater, as well as the cast and creative members of the show, wouldn’t comment because “Hamilton” hasn’t been reviewed and is still in the preview process and undergoing changes. An understudy played the lead role on Sunday night so Mr. Miranda could observe the show. As composer, lyricist, and star, he doesn’t often have the chance to take in the piece in its entirety.
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