“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.

Recently, the cast recording for  Hamilton was made available to stream in advance of its digital release.  Suffice it to say, fans have been absolutely blown away! While the music is not technically “rap” in the commercial sense, it is musical theatre performed in mostly hip hop and R&B style. With musical nods to the likes of Biggie, Mannie Fresh, Trina and Beyonce, this production continues to garner new admirers who tag themselves with #Hamiltunes on Twitter. Here’s a flashback of Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda debuting what was originally  “Hamilton Mix tapes” at the White House.

The beauty of being able to listen to the recording lies in its ability to transport the listener into the rich tapestry of the story without feeling like something integral has been missed. Who knew Alexander Hamilton was such a complicated and intriguing founding father?  If you have kids in Civics and History, love musical theatre, enjoy various iterations of rap and R&B, or just want to expand your palate for the arts, you really ought to listen to the soundtrack. It’s a fresh take on history in a contemporary musical form with a super diverse cast (as in Aaron Burr is played by a Black man).

We enjoyed every second of the recording! It’s a perfect starter piece if you always thought Broadway wasn’t for you. As an added bonus, The Roots stepped in to help produce the official cast recording. It’s always amazing to see the mighty path Hip Hop has carved through our culture and how its ethos continues to be a major part of the American narrative.

If you do check it out, let us know your thoughts!  You can purchase it on iTunes, Google Play or Amazon or enjoy the music stream right here!

The post The New Hamilton Cast Recording Lives up to the Hype! 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.

Do those names sound familiar?  They should, as they’re two members of the Grammy winning hip-hop/neo soul band The Roots, who also serve as house band of NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.  According to the show’s writer Lin-Manuel Miranda, the record will be released in September.

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.”

More aptly, The New Yorker, explains the show this way; it is “Rooted in hip-hop, but also encompassing R&B, jazz, pop, Tin Pan Alley, and the choral strains of contemporary Broadway, the show is an achievement of historical and cultural reimagining.”

In an interview with the New York Times, Stephen Sondheim said that  hip-hop musical such as Hamilton is doing well is because “Lin-Manuel’s use of rap is that he’s got one foot in the past. He knows theatre. He respects and understands the value of good rhyming, without which the lines tend to flatten out. Jokes don’t land the way they should. Even emotional lines don’t land the way they should.”

Hamilton will begin previews on July 13 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, with opening night on August 6.

The post The Roots Set To Produce The Hamilton Cast Recording appeared first on Broadway Black.