Hamilton: The Revolution

In Hamilton: The Revolution, McCarter’s essays documenting the production journey of the musical, naturally center the creator and star of Hamilton, Miranda. The progression of the narrative, placed in between the scenes of the musical, demonstrates a clear parallel between Miranda’s artistic interpretation of the historical Hamilton and Miranda’s life and career trajectory, particularly because Miranda wrote the role with the intention of playing it himself. Both Hamilton and Miranda emerged as prodigies with their writing. Like Hamilton, who was untrained as a writer, Miranda’s aptitude for composing is self-taught. Miranda began working on his first musical, In the Heights, while he was a sophomore at Wesleyan University. He not only wrote the music and lyrics but also starred in the show, and he was only 27 when In the Heights premiered Off-Broadway and 28 when it transferred to Broadway. In the Heights was successful, both critically and commercially, receiving 13 Tony Award nominations and four wins, a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, and a nomination for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The music included some hip-hop within a primarily traditional Broadway score with a stylistic infusion of salsa.

Miranda expresses gratitude openly for those who offered their collaboration on both In the Heights and Hamilton, and Hamilton similarly needed collaborators, but unlike Miranda, tended to alienate others.