Lin-Manuel Miranda was chosen to write the cantina scene song in the new Star Wars movie.
I mean, it’s not like he wrote not one but two game-changing Broadway musicals–oh wait, yes he did.
It’s not like he performed for the President of the United States–oh wait, yes he did.
I guess once you do those things you might have an even playing field, huh?
Right. Because that’s the type of intellect the MacArthur Foundation is looking for when they’re handing out genius grants.
Wow, threadshit much? Especially given all of the recognition he has received. Too funny.
Yeah, Lin-Manuel is so dumb he probably steals his insults from 1970s football players!
After* In the Heights *I was pretty willing to call Miranda a revolutionary genius who was going to help save musical theatre from itself (and I think I did in a thread on musicals from a few years ago, I can’t find it right now though.)
After Hamilton I think he may have actually succeeded. The only real issue is that Broadway shows are stupid expensive, which means it’s still not going to be accessable to the average person for a long while, but I won’t go down that particular rabbit hole. Hamilton is great. It’s more Broadway than Hip hop by a long shot, but in a good way. It’s all kinds of catchy and accessible while still pushing the envelope musically and with its storytelling. Everyone should check out the cast album at least.
My only complaint about this thread is that while people are correctly recognizing Miranda’s brilliant work on In The Heights and Hamilton, no one has mentioned…
Bring It On: The Musical.
(OK, it’s not as good as the aforementioned two, but it’s still way more fun than it has any right to be.)
A friend is going to NYC soon and just tried to score tickets for Hamilton. The cheapest: $400!
Pretty sure those are [del]scalper[/del] ticket broker prices. There used to be day-of-show lotteries, which would get the winners in at a price below face value. I’lll ask my daughter if those are still a thing.
Yeah, the ultra-high prices are for re-sales. Rather than planning a trip to NYC & then trying to buy tickets, one should buy tickets (however far in advance) & then plan the trip…
I could budget for a ticket but travel expenses & hotel would drive the price right up. Besides, there are so many lovely ways to spend money in NYC. So I’ll keep my ears open for the roadshow–because I’m sure those tickets will go fast…
Coming in late 'cause I just saw the thread.
I saw Hamilton in July and can’t recommend it highly enough. I preordered the cast album and have been listening to it continuously in the car since it arrived. Picture a middle-aged white guy driving through rural Connecticut rapping at the top of his voice.
But as others have said, it’s not all rap. George III’s two songs are BritPop, “Helpless” is 60s girl group fare, “The Story of Tonight” reminds me of “Drink with Me” from Les Miserables, “Blow Us All Away” is just an incredibly beautiful song that makes me think of my own small daughter and get misty most times that I hear it. Much of the rest (that isn’t rap) is straight-up Broadway show tunes.
Yes, Broadway tickets are way too expensive. So are hotel rooms in New York City (they might be cheaper in Queens or Brooklyn; I don’t know). But if there’s any way you can make it happen, you should.
That’s probably the best approach to take for someone with an airline ticket to fly out of NYC in the next couple of days. Kayla was attending school there last year, and if she didn’t win the online or box office lotteries, she’d walk over to another theatre and get a rush ticket for something she hadn’t seen yet.
She was SO excited when she finally won, like a week before she was scheduled to fly home.
Just from what I’ve heard from the soundtrack (you can stream it on Spotify), yes, scoff all you wish, but it really does work, and beautifully. Maybe someday I can even afford to see it.
The Chernow book was outstanding too, btw. But I suspect you know that first-hand. 
Well, I did it.
Got tickets for the show on July 7th (!!!), flying from LA to NYC on a redeye on the 4th and flying back on the 9th. My SIL who is also a huge fan is coming with - I’m paying for her ticket to the show, she’s paying for half the flight/hotel.
I promised myself when I got sick that I wouldn’t spend a lot of $$ on bucket list stuff, but I think just one won’t hurt…
Given your interest and all the huge respect it is getting, it sounds like a perfect choice!
I was prepared to be “meh” about it…but it is REALLY good.
Presidential Cabinet fights being done in the style of rap battles is particularly genius.
There’s really interesting parallels to modern “rise to power” stories but it never beats you over the head with it. It’s more small connections you can make in pop culture rather than “Hey, hey! This part is just like Scarface!” (that’s just an example- I don’t think there’s any connections to Scarface)
I saw it with my wife a week ago, and it was fantastic. We both loved it. I happened to have read and enjoyed the Chernow biography a few years ago, and I also got into cleverly worded rap/hip hop pretty recently (Chino XL, e.g.).
Anyway, it’s funny, well acted, and a great way to learn history, and to humanize our predecessors. The performances of “Thomas Jefferson” and “King George” were especially crowd-pleasing. My favorite line might have been when “Lafayette” agrees with “Hamilton” that immigrants get the job done. We also liked the reminder of how unusual it was (and still is, in muck of the world) for Washington to happily engage in the first transfer of presidential power.
Make that “…much of the world…” – but “muck” works as well!
Add me to the list of one who can’t stop listening to the album.
Also, I am half-way through the book (it’s pretty cool how one complements the other, and quite an experience doing both together).
I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, but ‘Hamilton’ is coming to Chicago in late September.
I will be there.
mmm
Now gone due to copyright claim, alas.