“How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean, by providence impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?”

These are the words that start it all and we’re surprised that they were allowed on the telecast but we’re glad that they didn’t change that. They delivered such a powerful performance for the world to see & the impact of the opening lines are needed to draw in the masses. We were surely standing on our feet by the end of it.

Now, we know it’s already hard to get tickets for the show & once The Tony Awards come in June it’s going to be even harder but it’s the performances that air like this that make it even more special once you actually do get the chance.

Hamilton is the highly acclaimed, hip hop-infused story about America’s first treasurer, Alexander Hamilton. It has topped rap charts. It has beat out the almighty Lion King as top grossing musical TWICE. It’s members have appeared on a cypher on BET. And it has welcomed thousands of public school students into the theater to give the gift of the arts. Based on the biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, Miranda has penned what has come to be one of the most influential and talked about shows of our generation. 

It also didn’t stop after the performance. Hamilton, the musical received more airtime when the musical won Best Musical Theatre Album & the award, as well as the acceptance speech, aired on the main telecast. Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton, give a clever acceptance speech in the form a rap. He’s truly a remarkable genius with words.

The post Hamilton The Musical Performs & Wins on The Grammy Awards appeared first on Broadway Black.

Can’t Find Tickets To Hamilton?!? Well, now you can. We got you. Click HERE 

ACT I

ACT II

The hip hop musical debuted off-Broadway at The Public Theater in January and explores the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of this country’s Founding Fathers.  Broadway.com describes the production in this way: “From bastard orphan to Washington’s right hand man, rebel to war hero, loving husband caught in the country’s first sex scandal to Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy, Hamilton is an exploration of a political mastermind. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Eliza Hamilton, and lifelong Hamilton friend and foe, Aaron Burr, all attend this revolutionary tale of America’s fiery past told through the sounds of the ever-changing nation we’ve become.”

The post First Listen: Hamilton Cast Recording Streaming Online #Hamiltunes appeared first on Broadway Black.

THE ROOTS SET TO PRODUCE THE HAMILTON CAST RECORDING

“To be hip-hop is much more than just rapping in the production,” Questlove told Billboard. “It is more in the attitude. A couple of years ago, when the musical Fela! was first out, I was amazed that something that raw, that uncut, got past the guard and actually got made. And I thought, similar to Obama, ‘This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime thing.  And then along comes Hamilton. Like, dude, finally a reason to come to Broadway. First authentic hip-hop show.”

One of the most interesting things discussed in the interview was Miranda’s admission that there was a rap battle that was almost included in Hamilton that would’ve paid homage to rapper Tupac Shakur.  “Yeah, that we cut, and it was sort of our homage to “Hail Mary.”  There was a moment when there were two Quakers from, I think it was Pennsylvania, who tried to ban the importation of slaves and brought it to the house floor. And [James] Madison let them talk about it for two days and then set a gag rule — ‘We’re not talking about slavery until 1808’ — basically saying, like, ‘We don’t know how to solve it.’ They knew it was a problem. Even from the racist perspective, it was, ‘There’s going to be more of them than us!’ But no one knew what to do about it, and they all kicked it down the field.”

Source: Billboard

The hip hop musical debuted off-Broadway at The Public Theater in January and explores the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of this country’s founding fathers.

“From bastard orphan to Washington’s right hand man, rebel to war hero, loving husband caught in the country’s first sex scandal to Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy, Hamilton is an exploration of a political mastermind. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Eliza Hamilton, and lifelong Hamilton friend and foe, Aaron Burr, all attend this revolutionary tale of America’s fiery past told through the sounds of the ever-changing nation we’ve become.”

Hamilton began previews on July 13 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and opening night is August 6.

The post Questlove & Black Thought Talk Hamilton Musical in Billboard Magazine with Lin-Manuel Miranda appeared first on Broadway Black.

From bastard orphan to Washington’s right hand man, rebel to war hero, loving husband caught in the country’s first sex scandal to Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy, Hamilton is an exploration of a political mastermind. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Eliza Hamilton, and lifelong Hamilton friend and foe, Aaron Burr, all attend this revolutionary tale of America’s fiery past told through the sounds of the ever-changing nation we’ve become.

A lottery for $10 tickets began a few weeks ago to kick off the premiere. Since then, hundreds of people have shown up outside The Richard Rogers Theatre to stand in lines that stretch around the block in the hopes of winning a ticket.  Every evening, two hours before the performance, cast members come out to perform for the crowd in surprising ways.  For example, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda have come out and sung random songs as well as selections from the musical, answered questions using Les Mis quotes, and interacted with the crowd.  The buzz on social media for the lottery is growing and is becoming as much of a must-see as the musical itself.

At Monday’s #Ham4Ham, fans were treated to @reneeelisegoldsberry putting her own signature flow on George Washington’s song “Right Hand Man” with @phillipasoo on the beat! See the full video on our FB page!#HamiltonBway #YayHamlet #WaitForIt

A video posted by Hamilton (@hamiltonmusical) on Jul 21, 2015 at 6:01am PDT

Today at #Ham4Ham, #LinManuelMiranda answered fan questions using only quotes from Les Miserables!

A video posted by Hamilton (@hamiltonmusical) on Jul 18, 2015 at 9:01am PDT

Today’s #Ham4Ham entertainment brings us a role switch in the show’s first cabinet meeting. Here, #LinManuelMiranda plays Thomas Jefferson, @daveeddiggs plays Alexander Hamilton, and @cjack930 officiates! See the full video on our Facebook page.

A video posted by Hamilton (@hamiltonmusical) on Jul 17, 2015 at 7:05pm PDT

In case you don’t get to see Hamilton, have no fear; the cast album will be released this fall, executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, two members of Hip Hop group, The Roots.  The New Yorker describes the music in Hamilton as “rooted in hip hop, but also encompassing R&B, jazz, pop, Tin Pan Alley, and the choral strains of contemporary Broadway.”

Hamilton has been well received in previews and will officially open on August 6.

The post #Ham4Ham: Hamilton Cast Puts on A Show Before the Show appeared first on Broadway Black.