On Tuesday 9th July students from Year 12 went to see Hamilton: An American Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre. The biographical musical was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and was based on the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. The musical covers the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the American Revolution and the political history of the early United States. The music draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes. It casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers of the United States and other historical figures. Miranda described Hamilton as about “America then, as told by America now.”
From its opening, Hamilton received near-universal acclaim. It premiered off-Broadway on February 17, 2015, at the Public Theatre in Lower Manhattan, with Miranda playing the role of Alexander Hamilton, where its several-month engagement was sold out. The musical won eight Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical. It then transferred to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, opening on August 6, 2015, where it received uniformly positive reviews and high box office sales. At the 70th Tony Awards, Hamilton received a record-breaking 16 nominations and won 11 awards, including Best Musical. It received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A filmed version of the Broadway production was released in 2020 on Disney+.
All the students thoroughly enjoyed the performance and remarked how brilliant the choreography, acting and rapping all were. It was a fantastic way to celebrate at the end of the academic year. Thank you to the students for being truly excellent ambassadors for the school.
