Hamilton – The Musical: 5 Facts You Need To Know
Hamilton, the hit Broadway musical about Alexander Hamilton, the American Founding Father recently bagged 11 Tony Awards after being nominated for a record-setting 16. The wins included prizes for Best Musical, Best Actor and Actress in a Musical, Choreography and Orchestration.
Awards Galore!
Hamilton was also the recipient of the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama. It had earlier won the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical as well as seven other awards for its prior off-Broadway production.
A Hit With The Audience Too!
While opening on Broadway, it reportedly took in in $30 million in advance in ticket sales, even before its first enactment. President Barack Obama once joked that admiration for the musical is "the only thing (Opposition leader) Dick Cheney and I agree on."
Unique Rewards For The Audience
The play holds a lottery before every show in which 21 front row seats and occasional standing room are given out. Chosen winners are able to purchase two tickets for a Hamilton (the $10 bill) in exchange for seeing the show.
Crowds, Traffic and Chaos
Hamilton's lottery process drew in large crowds of people that created a congestion problem for Broadway's West 46th Street. The lottery was eventually shifted online to avoid attracting crowds and easing traffic conditions. On its very first day, more than 50,000 people logged in online, which resulted in the website crashing.
Forcing Change
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a redesign to the $10 bill, in 2015 planning to replace Hamilton with an undecided woman from American history. Due to Hamilton's surging popularity, thanks to the musical, the plans to replace Hamilton's portrait were reversed. The department instead decided to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman.
More than an excellent piece of entertainment, the show has received all-round praise for its diverse casting, authenticity and innovation as well as rekindling interest in history and civic education. For those not lucky enough to witness the live performance, keep your fingers crossed for a big screen version, hopefully sometime soon.
