![]() ![]() There may be some hurriedness to the beats of the relationship, but the tenderness that comes across in their quieter, personal moments hits the empathetic sweet spot every time.įROM LEFT: Julius Thomas III's Hamilton takes center stage, but Donald Webber, Jr. In a world where irrational White parents fear imagined threats of Critical Race Theory, Hamilton might be more vital, but seems less likely to be a barrier-breaking part of the narrative.Ĭertainly, the show still has some historical issues that critics can point at as flaws, but if you're fervently criticizing the historical accuracy of smaller details in a show where most of the founding fathers are Black, you might be missing the larger theoretical point of narrative entertainment.ī eyond all the things that might shift as the years pass, the second act's emotional core of Alexander and Eliza's marriage, parenthood, devastating heartbreak, and forgiveness won't stop resonating anytime soon. Moments like George Washington stepping down from the presidency to set a precedent and maintain a sense of dignity are far more likely to illicit at least half an eye-roll in the wake of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, for example. It's not that this aura rings untrue now, it just feels more like Miranda writing in dreamer mode. There is undeniably an Obama-era sheen of liberal optimism that permeates the musical, which feels a touch more cloying and like naive, wide-eyed optimism than it did just a handful of years ago. It's also easy to have soured somewhat on Hamilton's virtues in the proceeding years. "Immigrants, we get the job done," might be a cheer-inducing rallying cry line in Hamilton, but it's also an idea that the whole show dwells on even when its not foregrounded. On the other hand, it more subconsciously makes the point that our country would not be where it was without the forced sacrifice and tragedy of minority communities. In some way it (ironically) whitewashes history, stripping the founding of the United States from most of its racial elements (slavery is addressed, but not dwelled on) and instead focuses on the meritocracy of great individuals. It allows POC audiences to see their own journeys as ones that can parallel these men that are held so high, while also trying to shake White audiences of the notion that immigrants and the underclass are really that distant from the ivory idols on their collective pedestals. Hamilton's story is one of a scrappy immigrant, so transposing it onto POC actors opens up multiple levels of dramatic interpretation. The casting choice remains the most compelling and interesting thematic element. The two things that instantly made Hamilton stick out from its peers were its deft rap storytelling and the choice to cast only POC to play these White historical figures. To get the basics out of the way for the uninitiated, Hamilton is a biographical hip-hop musical chronicling Alexander Hamilton's early life as an immigrant to the United States from Nevis, (a small Caribbean island), his rise to prominence during the Revolutionary War as George Washington's right hand man, his complicated role as a Founding Father, his marriage to Eliza Schuyler, and his longstanding friendship-turned-rivalry with Aaron Burr that eventually led to his early death. What about the musical still resonates even as the times have changed? ![]() Needless to say, taking in Hamilton's debut run in Spokane at the First Interstate Center for the Arts (which continues through May 22) requires more than a little bit of reflection. ![]() To quote the show's opening number in reference to its titular protagonist, "The world will never be the same." Heck, Hamilton was supposed to make its first stop in Spokane back in 2020 before a global pandemic happened. It's a relic of the Obama era, so it's almost impossible to look at it in the same light with the grotesque morphing of the political landscape over the past seven years. Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop musical retelling of Alexander Hamilton's life with a people-of-color cast became an instant classic and cultural phenomenon during an era that looks positively quaint compared to 2022. T he world has changed dramatically multiple times since Hamilton first became a Broadway sensation back in 2015. The cast of Hamilton tries to not throw away their shot. ![]()
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