6 ms·

For people not living in NY: "Hamilton" is a 2015 musical about the US president Alexander Hamilton and it's very popular in that part of the world.

OwlsParliament 10y ago
It's fairly popular outside of there now as well.
- Tenhundfeld 10y ago
  Right. It was nominated for a record number of Tony's and was 1 shy of the record wins. It won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The cast recording was recently certified Platinum, is currently #3 on the Billboard overall charts and #1 on the rap charts, and was voted in top 5 rap albums of 2015 by most reviewers. It also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The creator recently won the MacArthur genius award. "Hamilton" is not just a Broadway show popular with people living near NY. It's a cultural phenomenon across the United States and from my limited exposure, English-speakers around the world. Nothing wrong with explaining it. I'm sure many people here don't know anything about it. That explanation was a little weak though, because it a) misstated Alexander Hamilton's role in history and b) really understated the significance of the show.
  - fnord123 10y ago
    >It's a cultural phenomenon across the United States and from my limited exposure, English-speakers around the world. I had only heard about it from watching John Oliver.
    - Tenhundfeld 10y ago
      Yep, like I said, I'm sure many people haven't heard of it, probably more than have heard of it. But your comment actually supports my point. How many other musicals have you heard about on John Oliver? "Hamilton" has reached the point where it's a part of the mainstream pop culture, discussed on national morning shows, late night talk shows, etc. That's unusual for a Broadway show, these days.
kyrre 10y ago
why is this musical so popular? btw, Alexander Hamilton was never the president
- ecspike 10y ago
  It's popular because it uses all types of musical styles including rap, R&B, and brit pop to tell Hamilton's story. The cast is also racially diverse, the only character that has a cast member with the same race as he is King George, a minor character. IMHO, it has resonated with people because it takes a stuffy topic and makes it more relatable to younger generations allowing them to see a bit of themselves in the founding of this country. It also goes against a prevailing thought that it's ok to "white-wash"(recast minority roles with white actors) but not the inverse. Also, the internet, this was the viral video that started it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE Unable to score tickets to see the show, fans have coalesced around the really awesome soundtrack.
- pja 10y ago
  Because it’s very, very good? That isn’t any kind of guarantee of success, but it’s a damn good base to start from.
  - kyrre 10y ago
    right. i just got the impression it was particular popular among the leftist crowd, e.g., HCR is now giving away 'free' tickets [1], and i thought it maybe had something to do with Hamilton's political views. [1] https://twitter.com/Communism_Kills/status/746859299104776192 https://twitter.com/Communism_Kills/status/74685929910477619...
    - pja 10y ago
      Well there are the pro-immigrant story notes, the race bending casting and so on - those things all played to social justice / left groups & probably helped win people over in marketing the thing (having the interest of the PoTUS does tend to help your production get noticed for instance). But none of that would have mattered if it wasn’t any good. It’s pointless to try and ram the founding fathers into any kind of modern left/right axis - 300 years ago is definitely another country & they did things differently there. Trust me, if you haven’t heard it, get a hold of the cast album and give it a listen. It’s worth your time.

OwlsParliament 10y ago

It's fairly popular outside of there now as well.

Tenhundfeld 10y ago
Right. It was nominated for a record number of Tony's and was 1 shy of the record wins. It won the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The cast recording was recently certified Platinum, is currently #3 on the Billboard overall charts and #1 on the rap charts, and was voted in top 5 rap albums of 2015 by most reviewers. It also won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The creator recently won the MacArthur genius award. "Hamilton" is not just a Broadway show popular with people living near NY. It's a cultural phenomenon across the United States and from my limited exposure, English-speakers around the world. Nothing wrong with explaining it. I'm sure many people here don't know anything about it. That explanation was a little weak though, because it a) misstated Alexander Hamilton's role in history and b) really understated the significance of the show.
- fnord123 10y ago
  >It's a cultural phenomenon across the United States and from my limited exposure, English-speakers around the world. I had only heard about it from watching John Oliver.
  - Tenhundfeld 10y ago
    Yep, like I said, I'm sure many people haven't heard of it, probably more than have heard of it. But your comment actually supports my point. How many other musicals have you heard about on John Oliver? "Hamilton" has reached the point where it's a part of the mainstream pop culture, discussed on national morning shows, late night talk shows, etc. That's unusual for a Broadway show, these days.

kyrre 10y ago

why is this musical so popular? btw, Alexander Hamilton was never the president

ecspike 10y ago
It's popular because it uses all types of musical styles including rap, R&B, and brit pop to tell Hamilton's story. The cast is also racially diverse, the only character that has a cast member with the same race as he is King George, a minor character. IMHO, it has resonated with people because it takes a stuffy topic and makes it more relatable to younger generations allowing them to see a bit of themselves in the founding of this country. It also goes against a prevailing thought that it's ok to "white-wash"(recast minority roles with white actors) but not the inverse. Also, the internet, this was the viral video that started it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFf7nMIGnE Unable to score tickets to see the show, fans have coalesced around the really awesome soundtrack.
pja 10y ago
Because it’s very, very good? That isn’t any kind of guarantee of success, but it’s a damn good base to start from.
- kyrre 10y ago
  right. i just got the impression it was particular popular among the leftist crowd, e.g., HCR is now giving away 'free' tickets [1], and i thought it maybe had something to do with Hamilton's political views. [1] https://twitter.com/Communism_Kills/status/746859299104776192 https://twitter.com/Communism_Kills/status/74685929910477619...
  - pja 10y ago
    Well there are the pro-immigrant story notes, the race bending casting and so on - those things all played to social justice / left groups & probably helped win people over in marketing the thing (having the interest of the PoTUS does tend to help your production get noticed for instance). But none of that would have mattered if it wasn’t any good. It’s pointless to try and ram the founding fathers into any kind of modern left/right axis - 300 years ago is definitely another country & they did things differently there. Trust me, if you haven’t heard it, get a hold of the cast album and give it a listen. It’s worth your time.