When Vice President of the United States of America, Mike Pence, went to watch the original cast of Hamilton: An American Musical perform, he did not expect an additional comment about the importance of diversity that the writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, added in for the him to hear. Pence’s sudden departure from the theater halfway through the musical lead to the public questioning whether or not it was due to the pointed message that Miranda wrote in. Though there is no sure answer to that, it is clear that Miranda had successfully communicated his message about the importance of diversity in the nation to the audience. With the recent shifting of the focus on equal rights for minorities brought back to the front of national as well as global …show more content…
Professor of dance studies at the University of Buffalo, Ariel Nereson, claims that Hamilton is reminiscent of traditional Broadway in that he centers the story around the city of New York, a place well known for its Broadway scene. This is explicit in lyrics such as “In New York you can be a new man” in the opening song “Alexander Hamilton.” It also ties the idea of celebrating the importance of diversity with the time that Broadway became popular in New York, when the children of immigrants were “emerging as the city’s demographically and culturally dominant group” (Kasinitz, 3). Additionally, though there is much emphasis put on the use of modern sounds, the musical itself still follows the structure that most other Broadway musicals have always followed. The songs themselves have reprises later on in the show, a signature trait of classic musicals. Not only does Miranda allude to historic events (outside of the musical as well as inside) but the musical itself is brimming with allusions to past popular R&B and hip-hop artists. One of the most obvious examples are in the song “Ten Duel Commandments.” This song directly mirrors Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ten Crack Commandments” (Kasinitz, 3) and though Miranda reforms it in a way to make his song about dueling instead of drug dealing, the underlying idea is more or less the same. …show more content…
The musical’s revolutionary twist on the classic Broadway genre to incorporate hip-hop music showcases America’s diverse population through music and theater. Miranda links these ideas to the music he creates by purposefully crafting each individual character’s unique musical sound to hip-hop and by alluding to cultural aspects of the genre itself to celebrate its place in society and what it has achieved over the years despite the struggle that comes with being a person of color. Though Hamilton faces criticism for being historically inaccurate, the “inaccuracies” of casting historically white figures as people of color highlights the musical’s strong hip-hop influences. By doing this, Miranda is able to generate discussion around the importance of embracing the diversity that lies at America’s very foundation as well as what needs to be done to promote the equal treatment of the minority population that is not only an important part of America’s past but also its
In the musical Hamilton by Lin Manuel Miranda, the writer uses a variety of appeals to connect the audience of today to their past. Throughout the forty six songs used, Miranda uses many different techniques to create a deeper understanding and connection for the beginnings of America in a way a contemporary audience of today can relate to. One example of the unique way Miranda is able to give life to the past is with the song “You’ll Be Back”. It’s constructed in a way that sounds like a person bitter over a breakup and that they’re writing a letter to their ex. Not only does this bring a humorous aspect to the song, in that its sung by King George to America, but it also provides a sense of relatability to its message by simplifying the complexity of politics down to something more human which many more people can understand.
Lorraine Hansberry’s play, “A Raisin in the Sun,” perfectly captures the problems of an African-American family during the 1950s. Most of the conflicts portrayed by the characters are still very relevant to this day and the over looming issues of racism and stereotypes are still existent to society today also. These problems don’t just affect one group or race of people nowadays; they affect almost everybody in our society no matter what race or gender you are. In the play, personal conflicts such as Beneatha’s internal struggle to genuinely be herself can be seen in the present society. Racial profiling is also portrayed effectively in this play, and can also be seen in our present society.
Alexander Hamilton: Founding Father, writer of the Federalist Papers, Secretary of State, and rapper? In the Hamilton soundtrack Lin-Manuel Miranda tells the story of Alexander Hamilton through rap and hip-hop. Lin-Manuel Miranda tells Hamilton’s story from beginning to end. From orphaned immigrant to being killed after the War. Immigration plays an important role both in the soundtrack and in our daily lives.
Hollywood is the home of flashing cameras, the famous red carpet, and glamorous celebrities. Hollywood is also the birthplace of extraordinary films which reach audiences across the world. The casting choices made by the film industry affects more than just the movie that is created. Hollywood directors and writers should have the social responsibility to avoid stereotyping ethnic characters because the stereotypes offer poor (and often inaccurate) insight into the culture, negatively impacts child viewers, and limits the amount of quality roles for actors/actresses with diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Winter of 2008, Black History Month, and my third grade music teacher, announces, “Stand up if you would have been a victim of segregation,” following with, “Now, everyone look around.” February. The month of Rosa Parks, “I Had A Dream,” marches, and sit-ins. The month I had begun to despise greater each year. The month where I would be chosen to lead many readings and join classroom discussions, as if my being ‘black’ would provide some clarity that would enhance the learning experience for my fellow peers.
Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda revolutionized American culture, but specifically theater, music, and entertainment. Lin-Manuel was born January 16th, 1980 in Manhattan, New York. In the 1980’s, musicals and theater were very popular, but the idea of hip-hop music in them was not even thought about. However, Lin-Manuel Miranda changed that dramatically, and as a result, we have some very great works like Hamilton, and In The Heights that Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote. Some of the reasons Lin-Manuel Miranda revolutionized American Culture are because he was very brave, because he revolutionized the way Americans thought about American history with one of his most famous works Hamilton, and because he brought people closer together by combining
Miranda wrote this musical because he knew that there weren’t many roles for Latino/a actors that existed in musical theatre for him as an actor, and that scared him. Similarly, Miranda created roles for people of color in his musical Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. This musical tells the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton. The characters that are portrayed in Hamilton, who were based off of real people, were all white in real life. Miranda chose to have them played by people of color, however, to make the story more relatable and accessible to a contemporary audience (Miranda).
An American Musical and 1776 are both critically acclaimed musicals; however, despite covering the same historical period, they do so with differences. To begin, Hamilton and 1776 each contain a handful of historical inaccuracies to either further the plot or to make writing more convenient for the playwright. The main point where Hamilton strays from history is that every lead character in the show is played by a person of color, whereas, historically all of the people portrayed were white. Also, Angelica Schuyler, Alexander Hamilton’s sister-in-law with whom he had an emotional affair with, was already married when the two met. In the show, Angelica gets married after her sister, Eliza Schuyler, and Hamilton are already married.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz based on a book by Winnie Holzman. The musical is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. Wicked celebrated its tenth anniversary on Broadway on 30 October 2013. It is the 9th longest-Broadway show, surpassing Beauty and the Beast. A typical performance runs for approximately two hours and thirty minutes.
Sampson Paquette Professor Edwards ENGL101C 9-13-2016 The Dance The essay: “Silent Dancing” By Judith Ortiz Cofer reflects on the transitional period in her life where herself and her immediate family made the move from Puerto Rico to the Big Apple, otherwise known as New York city. The timeline for the essay was set in the 1950’s where cultural fusion and blatant racism ran rampant in the streets.
Everything started with a book, a beautiful one. A book that someone read. And that amazing, beautiful, fantastic book, had a baby. The baby was Hamilton: An American Musical.
They show the pros and cons of independence and the issue of slavery. They also show the ideas and personalities of the men involved in the Second Continental Congress and how they were flawed or imperfect. The musical shows that they were ordinary men with different beliefs trying to come to a solution in difficult times. The musical and actual
Multiple sources of inspiration were utilized in the creation of Rent the Musical. Writer Jonathan Larson’s primary source of inspiration while creating Rent the Musical was Giacomo Puccini 's most notable opera, La Boheme. Alison Kronberg, writer
Two songs that I would argue stood out to me the most within the musical A Chorus Line were “I Can Do That” and “Dance Ten, Looks Three”. “I Can Do That” to me describes how anyone that is in the industry of theatre essentially got their start. Without trying to generalize, it often seems that there was a pivotal moment that showed to a person or a character
By writing the play in a realistic way, the audience both American and African