CLEVELAND, Ohio – "Hamilton" will be center stage (via satellite) at the Grammys Monday night, just as its namesake, Alexander Hamilton, has been featured on the $10 bill for decades.
While Hamilton would, at first, seem an unlikely subject for a hip-hop musical, the United States Founding Father's real-life story had the kind of drama that artists yearn to capture in any form.
"It's a hip-hop story. It's Tupac,'' the show's creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda, said in an interview"Hamilton'' has been a Broadway sensation since its highly anticipated debut last August. Miranda, 36, plays the title character and says he was inspired to create the show by Ron Chernow's acclaimed 2004 biography, "Alexander Hamilton.'' The book portrays Hamilton as perhaps the most intriguing Revolutionary War figure and Founding Father.
In a somewhat rare meeting of Broadway and the Grammys, the cast of "Hamilton" will perform a number from the show live from the Richard Rogers Theatre in New York. The Grammys will be telecast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles beginning Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern (CBS, WOIO Channel 19 in Cleveland).
The cast is expected to perform the opening number, "Alexander Hamilton.''Grammy nomination
"Hamilton" is nominated for a Grammy in the best musical theater album category, along with "Fun Home," "An American in Paris," "Something Rotten!" and "The King and I."
Produced by Miranda, Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman with The Roots' Questlove and Black Thought, "Hamilton" is the sixth cast album to reach the Top 20 chart in the last 50 years, and it nabbed Billboard's first-ever five-star rating, a perfect score, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Broadway.com says of "Hamilton:" "Lin-Manuel Miranda takes the stage as the unlikely founding father determined to make his mark on the new nation as hungry and ambitious as he is. From bastard orphan to Washington's right hand man, rebel to war hero, a loving husband caught in the country's first sex scandal, to the Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy. George Washington, Eliza Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Hamilton's lifelong friend/foil Aaron Burr all make their mark in this astonishing new musical exploration of a political mastermind.''.Groundbreaking production
A mostly African-American and Latino cast portrays the roles of the white Founding Fathers. New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley said "Hamilton" is changing American theater for the better. "Yes, it really is that good,'' Brantley wrote.Hamilton and history
Hamilton the man has intrigued historians since he was shot to death at age 49 in a duel with his former friend Aaron Burr in 1804.
According to a publisher's synopsis of Chernow's biography, "Hamilton overcame all odds to shape, inspire, and scandalize the newborn America. Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood.''
The ongoing debate about and interest in Hamilton go far beyond the musical.
More perspectives
The "Volokh Conspiracy,'' a Washington Post a blog written mostly by law professors, recently sought out a Hamilton quote for perspective on the current presidential campaign. "Alexander Hamilton is not worried about the election'' is the headline on a Hamilton quotation cited by Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz:
"The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States." Federalist No. 68 (Alexander Hamilton).
Christianity Today also took note of increased interest in Hamilton with a current piece entitled "God Loved Alexander Hamilton.But did this particular Founding Father love God?''
"In a true rags-to-riches story, Hamilton's ascent out of poverty and into the political limelight reveals that miracles do happen,'' writes Susan Lim. "In the hundreds of pages that inspired the musical, a reverberant theme resounds throughout: that God loved this destitute orphan and opened doors for him. His rise parallels the story of a shepherd boy who became king. And like King David, General Alexander Hamilton had his own adulterous affair, political coup, and preventable tragedies. Yet God's tender heart and longsuffering kindness were woven throughout Hamilton's 49 years on this earth.
"But did Hamilton love God? Historians of the Revolutionary period are often asked about issues of faith. Did the Founding Fathers believe in God? Were they really Christians?''
In another way, Hamilton is falling out of favor at the U.S. Treasury that he helped create. Hamilton no longer will be featured on the $10 bill and will be replaced by a woman, though Hamilton is to maintain a presence on the note. The new note is to debut in 2020. A decision on new featured historical figure has been delayed.
Clevelanders don't have to go far to form their own view of Hamilton. He is depicted in one of two statues flanking the steps of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse on Lakeside Avenue. He seems to gaze down at pedestrians while holding papers in his left hand and his hat and cane in the right hand. He appears either lost in thought, or perhaps, as "Hamilton" fans might prefer, humming a tune.
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