Review: Revolutionary HAMILTON Is a Crowning Achievement

Lin-Manuel Miranda may not have invented the concept of having historical characters speak and sing in contemporary pop vernacular, but in the explosively intelligent and pulse-pumping new musical Hamilton, he and his collaborators have lifted the idea to rarely achieved levels of musical theatre sophistication.

Inspired by Ron Chernow's biography, Alexander Hamilton, the In The Heights quartet of author/star Miranda, director Thomas Kail, choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire have teamed up again to tell the story of a man considered one of the first quintessential New Yorkers - a poor immigrant with inventive ideas who pushed his way to prominence for the betterment of society - in a style where young, brash hip-hop artists serve as modern representations of the Founding Fathers.

After an opening rap where the company summarizes the title character's difficult childhood in St. Croix and the talent and determination that brought him to New York, the opening scene depicts his introduction to Aaron Burr, the professional colleague and rival who will eventually become the United States' 3rd vice president and infamously kill Hamilton in a duel.

Burr rises in law and politics by smiling a lot and keeping his mouth shut, but the outspoken Hamilton insists on being heard. Longing to be an officer who helps win the revolution, he's disappointed when George Washington continually keeps him out of danger because he values his skills as a writer. As the musical continues on, covering Hamilton's troubled marriage, his political battles as Secretary of the Treasury, accusations of corruption and the personal conflicts that lead to his death, the theme of the power of the written word remains constant.

It's a lot of ground to cover and Miranda does so with remarkable thoroughness. While the conventions of hip-hop allow for sound-alikes and slant rhymes, his raps predominantly hit pure ones. When the score switches to more traditional melodies, pure rhyming is always used. Though jaunty and full of clever wordplay, his lyrics are dramatically thick and rich with character. This is fine musical theatre writing disguised as freestyle.

"I am not throwing away my shot," our hero keeps repeating because, "just like my country, I'm young, scrappy and hungry." It's a lyric that serves as an anthem to the determination of youthful idealism, but as we learn of the culture of gentlemen's dueling Miranda brilliantly twists the meaning into something darker.

As an actor, Miranda keeps Hamilton a likeable man of action fighting against the ways of fellow patriots who have their own agendas and maneuver for their places in history. We watch him grow up into a man who sticks to his ideals and learns how to accomplish great things without compromising them.

He's backed by a terrific ensemble of players, highlighted by Christopher Jackson as an imposing George Washington who is all-too-aware that he's being studied by history's eye, Daveed Diggs doubling as a hyper-energized Lafayette ("Immigrants: We get the job done.") and a cool RnB Thomas Jefferson and Brian d'Arcy James, hilarious as King George III, making brief solo appearances to sing a 60s-style Brit-pop tune about losing the love of his colonial subjects.

Leslie Odom, Jr. sings with power and is a grounded, sympathetic presence as Aaron Burr, who narrates the story with respect for his rival. While Phillipa Soo and Renee Elise Goldsberry are both excellent as Hamilton's wife and sister-in-law, their relationships with the protagonist could use some clearer defining.

Paul Tazewell's gorgeous 18th Century costumes are embellished with the occasional modern accessory and he cleverly dresses Blankenbuehler's contemporary hip-hop dancers in neutral beige, making them appear as a modern sensibility permeating through the colonial story.

More and more, The Public Theater has become the place to see daring and innovative musical theatre artists embracing the craft of this American art form and expanding its possibilities. Like last season's Fun Home, that premiered in the same building, Hamilton is a crowning achievement.

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