Hamilton: History told in hip-hop harmonies

WHAT more can be said about Hamilton, the genre-defying musical that broke all the rules and emerged as one of the most important pieces of entertainment in the past decade? Winner of 11 Tony awards as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama, it has now made its debut in Singapore at the Sands Theatre in Marina Bay Sands – with style, sass and sizzle all intact. 

The nearly three-hour-long musical narrates the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the 18th century American Revolution. But it’s like no history lesson you’ve ever encountered: it thrums, buzzes and purrs, summoning the pulse of a political revolution in a swirl of hip-hop, R&B and jazz melodies. 

Although Hamilton became a Broadway sensation in 2015, not much about it feels traditionally Broadway. Its cast is beautifully diverse, with predominantly black, Latino and Asian actors playing white historical characters. Its set is fairly minimalist: a wooden backdrop with ropes and beams suggestive of a ship, but treated as every possible scenery from a ballroom to a presidential office.  And it eschews the usual musical theatre melodies to tell its story in hip-hop music and choreography. Debates over the establishment of the US political and financial system, for instance, are depicted as rap battles between opponents. 

Is it any wonder that Hamilton has drawn a broader swath of audiences compared to other musicals? Teenagers who profess no affection for musicals know its lyrics by heart. As its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda put it, Hamilton is about “America then, as told by America now.” 

Story for the ages

As it is, Hamilton already has a thrilling story to tell. Hamilton was born out of wedlock in either 1755 or 1757 on an island in the Caribbean. His father abandoned the family, and his mother died when he was still young. The orphaned boy was adopted by a merchant, who groomed him to become a clerk. 

Throughout his life, Hamilton was a voracious reader and writer. As a teenager, he could write so impressively that his townsfolk got together the funds to further his education in North America.

It was in King’s College in New York that Hamilton became a revolutionary firebrand, swiftly rising to become a military officer, statesman, and finally the first secretary of the American Treasury when George Washington became the first president of the United States.

The story of an immigrant made good resonated with Miranda, who spent several years writing and composing the rhythms and rhymes, after chancing upon the biography of the statesman written by Ron Chernow in 2004. 

Miranda himself is the son of Puerto Rican immigrants to the US. His middle-class background influenced the somewhat scrappy elements of the musical, from its minimalist set to its mid-size cast where lead actors play multiple historical figures.

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Charismatic cast

In the Singapore production directed by Thomas Kail, the title role is played by Jason Arrow, an Australia-based actor who brings necessary gravitas to the role. Strong as he is though, he is sometimes upstaged by DeAundre’ Woods, the American actor playing Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s friend and nemesis who ends up in a gunfight with him. Woods brings much verve and charisma to his role, particularly when he’s singing his solos Wait For It and The Room Where It Happens.

Filipino performer Rachelle Ann Go imbues much tenderness to the role of Hamilton’s wife Eliza, while Darnell Abraham consistently impresses with his powerhouse vocals as Washington. And then there’s Brent Hill as the comically sarcastic King George III, changing notes and registers at the drop of a hat, putting the audience in stitches. 

Hamilton may be playing half a world away from where the man and the musical were born. But it remains first-rate entertainment for audiences here.

Hamilton runs at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands from now till May 26