Hamilton: History’s Mic-Drop

I know this blog is mostly about movies, but today I’m making an exception for a Broadway show that stole the spotlight as well as my heart… Hamilton.

(I LOVE the poster, so simple, yet so on point)

Now, a few things about me:

1. Musicals? Not usually my thing. I’ll vibe to the songs, sure, but full-on storytelling through non stop singing? Not really my fave.

2. Broadway? I respect it, but I’m not a theatre kid. No personal nostalgia there.

3. And lastly, I’m not American. Not even close.

So, let’s be real: a 3-hour rap/hip-hop musical about American history shouldn’t work for me. It should’ve felt long, loud, and a little irrelevant.

But somehow, Hamilton defied all odds.

It was one of the most electric, emotional, and fun musical experiences I’ve ever had.

I didn’t just watch history, I lived it. In the most unpredictable creative way.

Who knew the story of a scrappy immigrant founding father could hit this hard?

You want a revolution?

For many many years, Broadway had its legends, its classics, its rules. And for an amateur like me, I really respected this glorious aura it had. I always knew that icons like Jonathan Larson rewrote the game and I kept wondering how great that could have been to witness back then.

But then came Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Armed with a biography, a beat, and a Broadway dream, he didn’t just honor the classics… he challenged them. He reimagined a dusty chapter of American history and made it pulse with rhythm. For the first time, history rapped. The Founding Fathers had swag. Cabinet debates became diss tracks. And suddenly, the stage wasn’t just alive, it was revolutionary.

It felt like witnessing one of those iconic shifts in real time. How lucky we are, right?

Who lives, who dies, who tells your story

One of the wildest things about Hamilton is how it transforms assumingly boring historical figures into magnetic, larger-than-life characters. Instead of the stiff, “marble statue” versions we have in our heads, Lin-Manuel Miranda paints them as flawed, fiery, flesh-and-blood humans bursting with ego, ambition, heartbreak, and pride. You don’t just learn about them; you root for them, yell at them, and sometimes, unexpectedly, cry for them.

The Frontline

Though Hamilton has been playing on stage for nearly a decade, the version brought to screen through Disney’s production features the original 2015 Broadway cast.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is Hamilton. His voice might not be the most powerful, but his delivery is raw and relentless. You feel his urgency in every bar.

Then there’s Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr: smooth, composed, and fuming with pride. His stillness crackles, making the Burr-Hamilton rivalry feel like a fuse burning toward an inevitable blast.

And THE SCHUYLER SISTERS? Renée Elise Goldsberry delivers a bold, brainy, and heartbreakingly selfless version of Angelica. Philippa Soo’s Eliza seems gentle and overlooked, but becomes the emotional core of the story. Jasmine Cephas Jones delivers two standout performances: bubbly Peggy and the seductively sharp Maria Reynolds. Totally magnetic.

Daveed Diggs is a scene-stealer, bouncing between Lafayette’s rapid-fire energy and Thomas Jefferson’s peacocking brilliance.

There’s also this brilliant theatrical trick in Hamilton where actors change roles in Act 2, and I have so many thoughts about that, but I’ll let you experience it and form your own theories. 😉

Pen mightier than the pistol

The way Hamilton fuses the present without feeling forces is what gives magnitude to this musical. The musical narrates historical events in a modern tongue; rap battles, R&B ballads, and lyrical references to Biggie and Tupac. It's not just a retelling, it's a re-owning, a redefinition of events that could be somewhat fading from people's minds.

The choreography, crafted by Andy Blankenbuehler, turns the ensemble into a living, breathing piece of the set. The ensemble creates emotion, tension , and TIME between the characters, it's literally the beating heart of the show.

Also, the use of technical aspects of the stage made the experience mind-blowing, I almost forgot that this is THEATRE. The spinning stage? Genius. It adds this dynamic, fluid motion that mirrors how history keeps spinning, always in motion, never waiting.

OH, and the real star of the show. THE LYRICS. They're dense, rich, layered, induced with clever rhythm. Epic. I had to listen to the full soundtrack multiple times to catch the foreshadowing and the lyrical genius of the songs. And no matter how many times I listen to the songs, I still uncover more hidden patterns and references.

Closing the curtains

In the end, Hamilton isn't just about history and a Founding Father. It's about legacy, identity, and how we write (and rewrite history). And whether you're a history buff, a musical lover, or just someone like me who enjoys a good story WELL told, Hamilton won't just be a show, it's a movement.