I have watched the endearing biographic musical drama “Hamilton” countless times now. This production was written and composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It has yet to get old, or amuse me less each time I watch it. The musical was set in 1776, the beginning of the American Revolution. This musical pulls the audience through the adventurous life of the one and only Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton shows the highs and lows that he had to experience to make the name that he has for himself now.
This drama was filled with many influential historic characters that include: Aaron Burr, Thomas Jefferson , George Washington, Marques de Lafayette, the King of England, and many more.
The character that I feel had the most impact other than Hamilton was Aaron Burr. The audience not only indulges in Hamilton’s perspective, but also Burr’s. Burr goes through many conflicts and constantly feels the need to compete with Hamilton.
The next figure that delivered much of the humor in this production was the King of England. He was able to bring the comedic relief, and when a situation caused a detrimental effect, he would relieve the tension. This is why I would say he was my favorite character.
Thomas Jefferson was also a comedic relief in the film; he participates in many acts while saying things that puts the audience on their toes and brings smiles to all. The last character that I felt was important to this film was Angelica Schuyler, who had a strong female role that was played extremely well. She shows that women wanted to be involved in the war at the time and they wanted the rights to vote. Schuyler was a huge female advocate of that time. She also was a good sister. Family is important to most people, so she was able to connect with the audience through this when she put her sister’s happiness over her own.
This movie was filled with many iconic songs that are catchy and influential. The writer was able to incorporate important history facts into many captivating songs, with a total of 47 tracks in this play. The number of tracks in this musical was done on purpose because Hamilton was 47 when he died his tragic death. It is clear to say that the details when making this musical were very well thought out by the writer. My favorite soundtrack of the drama is “You’ll be Back,” sung by Johnathan Groff, who acted as the King of England. I find this song to be very catchy because of the playful melody. It’s important to mention the vocals because he was able to reach the high notes and perform them graciously. There was no song in this musical that I did not like. Altogether, I felt very engaged and entranced by all of their performances.
A scene in the biographic play that I enjoyed was when Eliza and Hamilton got married. In this sequence, Angelica had a flashback from the night that all three of them met. This scene had a huge impact on the rest of the play. We got to see Angelica be selfless and put her own personal feelings aside to accommodate the people around her. All of the scenes were enjoyable and there was nothing I did not like about them.
The budget for this production was 12.5 million. The musical used this budget amicably and the production still turned out amazing. The set was well done with the little space and time between scenes the group was given.
It is also PG-13, recommended for people who are at least 14 years old. I believe this is a reasonable age because that is when someone might be able to understand and value the history in the production. I would suggest watching this drama to anyone who has a hard time understanding history. I believe it explains it in a more memorable way. I still learn new things each time I watch it, and I feel that it has made me more aware of American history. This musical has had more of an impact on me than what I’d get in some real history classes.
My final thoughts on the film is that it is very memorable and sensational. I would rate this musical 5 out of 5 stars.
