Hi Friends! Let's talk about Hamilton shall we? So if you've never spoken to me or have been living under a rock, Hamilton is a hip hop musical based on the life on Alexander Hamilton (yeah the dude on the $10 dollar bill). It has already won multiple awards off-Broadway and most recently won the Grammy award for Best Musical Theatre Album. After their performance at the Grammy's, many people took to social media and wrote about how diverse the cast is and how wonderful it was to see such an eclectic cast on stage. Race is only the first layer to Hamilton.
American history is inherently whitewashed. The people who have written down our history were white and told it from their point of view. What Hamilton is doing is so revolutionary because they are retelling our nation's story through the lens of modern American society. We are no longer a predominantly white society and Hamilton beautifully illustrates that. But the characters themselves are not classified as black or Hispanic or Asian. The cool thing is that all of these characters are racially ambiguous and can be played by anyone, regardless of color.
Most of the main characters in Hamilton are black or Hispanic except for one: Elizabeth Schuyler played Philippa Soo. Philippa Soo is of Asian descent and she plays Alexander Hamilton's wife. She is the sole Asian representative in this show and adds a whole other depth to the show. She's not playing an ASIAN character and more often than not those are the types of roles Asian people can find in theatre. Philippa Soo plays a woman with depth, emotions, fears, hopes, dreams, and regrets. She's playing a woman we can all relate to on some level and look up to as a role model. For young Asian-American women like me, she embodies what can be if theatre keeps progressing the way that it is.
I will be posting installments about Hamilton all throughout my project since that is the contemporary musical I am using as my main example. So stay tuned next week for more breakdowns! In the mean time, go listen to Hamilton and experience the phenomenon first time. It is truly legendary.
American history is inherently whitewashed. The people who have written down our history were white and told it from their point of view. What Hamilton is doing is so revolutionary because they are retelling our nation's story through the lens of modern American society. We are no longer a predominantly white society and Hamilton beautifully illustrates that. But the characters themselves are not classified as black or Hispanic or Asian. The cool thing is that all of these characters are racially ambiguous and can be played by anyone, regardless of color.
Most of the main characters in Hamilton are black or Hispanic except for one: Elizabeth Schuyler played Philippa Soo. Philippa Soo is of Asian descent and she plays Alexander Hamilton's wife. She is the sole Asian representative in this show and adds a whole other depth to the show. She's not playing an ASIAN character and more often than not those are the types of roles Asian people can find in theatre. Philippa Soo plays a woman with depth, emotions, fears, hopes, dreams, and regrets. She's playing a woman we can all relate to on some level and look up to as a role model. For young Asian-American women like me, she embodies what can be if theatre keeps progressing the way that it is.
I will be posting installments about Hamilton all throughout my project since that is the contemporary musical I am using as my main example. So stay tuned next week for more breakdowns! In the mean time, go listen to Hamilton and experience the phenomenon first time. It is truly legendary.
Super interesting topics so far! Here is a question I would like you to comment on, if I can ask it correctly. Was race a factor in casting Hamilton? It sounds like they may have completely ignored race as a consideration, and hired many fine actors, some of whom represent America's diversity. Or did they deliberately, specfically hire non-white actors as part of the statement the playwrights were trying to make?
ReplyDeleteI can't speak to the casting process because I don't know what happens in casting directors' heads, but I would like to think that the diverse casting choices were deliberate. Lin Manuel Miranda has said in many interviews that he wanted to tell the story of America then told my America now. So on some level yes hiring non-white actors was deliberate.
ReplyDeleteThis link at http://www.backstage.com/casting/hamilton-bway-63813/ holds the audition information for Hamilton posted last April. Very telling!
ReplyDeleteI was so excited to see that Hamilton won the Grammy and immediately pictured you jumping up and down in excitement!
ReplyDeleteWhich musical would you most personally love to see follow in Hamilton's footsteps?
Your project sounds like its going great! What other musicals will you be using to answer your research question?
ReplyDeleteSuper interesting stuff. Do you think Hamilton will be a leader in terms of changing the way the casting process goes on? Is it the first of its kind?
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that casts are getting more diverse! Are there any other actors/actresses (in Hamilton) that you look up to besides Philippa Soo?
ReplyDelete