Lin-Manuel Miranda Talks the History Lesson That is His New Musical, HAMILTON

Inspired by the book "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow, with book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Thomas Kail, Hamilton will now run an additional four weeks through Sunday, May 3 with an official press opening on Tuesday, February 17, as BroadwayWorld reported yesterday. Miranda and some of his castmates recently chatted with the New York Times about the young, historical figures that they are playing on stage. Miranda commented: "Not just young people but people. We have deified them so much; they're on rocks in South Dakota. But they were people, and the flaws they had creep into everything we have now. The fights Jefferson and Hamilton have in the show are the fights we are still having."

When asked about casting mostly 'nonwhite' actors to play America's Founding Fathers, Miranda responded: "This was a constant conversation between me and Tommy. Our goal was: This is a story about America then, told by America now, and we want to eliminate any distance - our story should look the way our country looks. Then we found the best people to embody these parts. I think it's a very powerful statement without having to be a statement."

Leslie Odom, Jr. continued: "In the first two minutes of this show, Lin steps forward and introduces himself as Alexander Hamilton, and Chris steps forward and says he's George Washington, and you never question it again. When I think about what it would mean to me as a 13-, 14-year-old kid, to get this album or see this show - it can make me very emotional. And I so look forward to the day I get to see an Asian-American Burr."

Click here to read the full interview.

From the creative team behind the Tony Award-winning In The Heights comes a wildly inventive new musical about the scrappy young immigrant who forever changed America: Alexander Hamilton. Tony and Grammy Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda wields his pen and takes the stage as the unlikely founding father determined to make his mark on a new nation as hungry and ambitious as he is. From bastard orphan to Washington's right hand man, rebel to war hero, loving husband caught in the country's first sex scandal to Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy, Hamilton is an exploration of a political mastermind. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Eliza Hamilton, and lifelong Hamilton friend and foe, Aaron Burr, all attend this revolutionary tale of America's fiery past told through the sounds of the ever-changing nation we've become. Tony Award nominee Thomas Kail directs this new musical about taking your shot, speaking your mind, and turning the world upside down.

HAMILTON features scenic design by David Korins; costume design by Paul Tazewell; lighting design by Howell Binkley; sound design by Nevin Steinberg; hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe; music direction and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire; and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler.