"Hamilton" is a story about how a few young rebels gradually formed a non-existent country. Several figures of the "Father of the Founding" level of the United States, Alexander Hamilton and George Washington (the first American) President), Thomas Jefferson (the third President of the United States), and James Madison (the fourth President of the United States) fought on the battlefield, wrote the Constitution, and discussed the economic situation in this play. They were verbally critical of each other, but they were affectionate. cut. Although the costumes and stage design of the actors have been authentically restored, "Hamilton" is not a historical drama that makes people sit upright. The way these "Fathers of the Founding" played by African-American or Latino actors communicated with each other was actually rapping in hip-hop music! The lyrics are a mixture of popular street slang and formal political language. This harmonious and inconsistent feeling often causes the audience to burst into laughter. The reason why it is called a masterpiece, I think, is because of the following points.

First of all, as one of the lesser-known founding fathers, Hamilton’s story fits the national pride that has always been a strong need in American society, as well as the politically correct culture that has intensified in recent years. As a biographical musical script, "Hamilton" not only covers grand historical scenes, but also carefully depicts the personality traits, joys, sorrows, and joys of each little character. This allows the audience to look back on the founding of the United States with pride and at the same time, get closer to and understand the characters in the play, creating a subtle emotional projection. For example, in addition to Hamilton's political career, the play also focuses on his relationship with his wife and son, the first love scandal in the founding of the United States, and the confusing duel that ended his life. Historian Ron Chernow, author of Hamilton's biography, said of the play: "The dramatic essence of the character, including his inflated ambition, brilliant mind, obsession with political achievement, The hard-working nature, the wandering eyes, and the judgment that makes mistakes are all vividly expressed. "A subject that meets market demand, and a complex and little-known story, these are the success of "Hamilton." Prerequisites.

The next thing is the boldness, diversity and non-mainstream music. The author of this play, Lin-Manuel Miranda, is a Puerto Rican actor, composer, lyricist, and rapper born in New York in 1980. As early as 1999, he wrote the first version of "In the Heights" during his sophomore year. In 2008, he began to experiment with different types of music in "In the Heights", integrating hip-hop, Latin music, etc. into the musical, and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. This time, his approach in "Hamilton" is even more "daring". You can tell at first glance that the type of music in each song from beginning to end is far from a Broadway musical in the traditional sense. The rap with a strong sense of rhythm runs throughout, coupled with the sense of humor that Lin-Manuel has always been best at. The audience sometimes beats the drums, nods and shakes their heads, sometimes claps and laughs, and leans forward and backward.

Looking back at the types of music in Broadway musicals, in fact, compared with the rapid development of stage and lighting design, there have been very few changes in the past few decades. Apart from the addition of movie stars, everything is more or less the same. Hip-hop music, which originated from black street culture, has achieved great success in the music industry, but has been shut out of the mainstream theater world. This form of music has gradually become the mainstay of the American pop music market since the mid-1990s, and has laid a very solid foundation in the hearts of the public. Coupled with Lin-Manuel's personal deep understanding of rap, he has learned from the character The free spirit of hip-hop and his ability to seamlessly integrate music and story made the musical "Hamilton" a critical and box office success.

Another bold choice of "Hamilton" is to use almost all black and Latino actors. There is only one white actor among the ten leading actors, and there is only one white dancer among the dozens of ensemble dancers. Casting in Broadway musicals has been criticized for decades. In 1902, the nickname "Great White Way" was used by newspapers to describe the lights on Broadway after dark. It was also ridiculed as a term to describe the skin color of the actors on the stage. . The situation that black and Latino actors rarely appear on Broadway has improved in the past two years, such as the first black "Phantom" in "Phantom of the Opera", and now every musical has such actors and actresses in the group dances. There was only one black man. But someone who dares to completely reverse the ratio of white to minority actors like Lin-Manuel is almost unheard of in the mainstream theater world. In an interview, when he was asked whether the casting of minorities as the "Fathers of the Founding" would cause audiences to frequently come out of the show because it felt unreal, he said, "Our cast looks like the United States today.

" At first glance, this kind of casting choice seems heroic, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that in addition to enhancing the expressiveness of hip-hop music, it also keeps up with "color-blind casting". The trend of fighting for the rights of ethnic minorities, and the United States’ increasing pursuit of equality and openness in all fields.

As stage formats change with each passing day, innovation in drama content has always been the most troublesome. Problem. The probability that four out of five Broadway productions fail every year makes musical writers and investors more inclined to choose mediocre music and stable themes. As an almost purely market-oriented art form, Broadway musicals are so conservative and safe. The choice itself is understandable, but the expectations of the audience and the market will not remain unchanged. Movies like 2011's "Book of Mormon" and this year's "Hamilton" challenge tradition and subvert perceptions in terms of subject matter and musical form respectively. , and even glimpsed the needs that even the audience themselves were unaware of, and grasped and even led the market trend.

Broadway gold medal producer Ken Davenport said, "My company philosophy. It used to be like, 'We are world-class, innovative and stuff like that'... Two years ago, I changed it to 'We only do things that others can't or dare not do.'" So. It is said that in today's world of universal and diversified entertainment methods, you may be able to do well by following the footsteps of successful works, but being unique, innovative and adventurous is the only way to achieve great success.