HISTORY HAS ITS EYES ON YOU: REIMAGINING THE MUSICAL HAMILTON

Abstract

Lin-Manuel Miranda has redefined Alexander Hamilton’s place in history and returned Hamilton to the pantheon of the “founding fathers” in the United States with the musical Hamilton. However, in doing so, Miranda not only simplifies the story of Hamilton in the interest of storytelling and reimagination but twist it for a more dramatic effect, in the name of entertainment. This will affect the historical accuracy of the story and in turn, affect the historical value of the musical. Through a thorough analysis of the musical Hamilton and its historical authenticity, the present dissertation thus attempts to contextualise, historicize and problematise the musical representation of Hamilton and its effects on popular culture, by introducing readers to Alexander Hamilton, examining further into the subgenre of historical musicals and analyse Miranda’s theatricality and storytelling techniques for Hamilton. Ultimately, this dissertation hopes to analyse the consumption of history as a musical, and in general as popular culture.