Cennarium Backstage - Brasil Autumn 2016 | Page 37
Op-ed Thoughts from 2016 or “Year One AH” (After Hamilton) By John Fancher
I’ll bet you know more about Hamilton: An American Musical than you know about Alexander Hamilton.
Until Lin-Manuel Miranda’s masterpiece took over the American consciousness, all most people knew about Alexander Hamilton was: “Isn’t he on the ten-dollar bill? I think he signed the Declaration of Independence, didn’t he? Didn’t he die in a duel with some guy named Burr? There’s something about the treasury?”
Not exactly our most well-known founding father. But all that is changing. In fact, thanks to the musical, Hamilton may soon be the best-known of all the founding fathers. That’s the crazy impact that Hamilton: An American Musical is having. It’s nothing short of a musical and historical watershed moment.
Here are just some anecdotal bits of mind-blowing evidence of this phenomenon:
1. You or one of your friends has probably memorized the soundtrack… without even seeing the musical yet!
2. You or one of your friends has probably read the book…without seeing the musical yet!
3. You or one of your friends has “Hamilton tickets” already listed on their holiday gift list… and it’s only October!
4. You or one of your friends is suddenly an expert on a guy who lived over 200 years ago!