obligatory and tiresome follow-up to the history plays ask: thoughts on Hamilton?
Hamilton comprises at least four interlinked but separable entities: a dramatic plot (the fabula, in the terminology of Propp and Shklovsky), a work of musical theatre craft (the syuzhet, again per Propp and Shklovsky), a historical pageant, and an ideological project. I’m not qualified to comment on the historical aspect of it, but I’ll address the other three.
Syuzhet: considered purely in terms of musical theatre craftsmanship, Hamilton is pretty brilliant. It is everything a musical should be. Miranda’s eclectic influences and writerly skill made him, at one point, capable of this kind of thing, though probably no longer. He tells the story as compellingly and richly as possible.
Fabula: like the “accurate” history plays I discussed before, the plot of Hamilton is somewhat diffuse and definitely episodic. It does have a cumulative effect, but it’s not single-mindedly focused on building up character and action in the Shakespearean manner. There are chunks: this happens, then this happens, then this happens. The syuzhet is so compelling that this almost doesn’t matter, but! It’s still something to consider.
Ideology: Hamilton the ideological project has failed spectacularly, flamed and failed in the most humiliating possible way. It failed about a year into its Broadway run, with the result of the 2016 presidential election. All at once, it was piercingly clear that the diverse and energetic United States Miranda had envisioned was opposed by millions of people. Obama’s presidency had not fixed racism, and a Black actor playing George Washington did nothing to address the crowd of furious bigots who wanted white people to be on top again. Miranda’s rapping Framers and AAVE-using slave owners were at best a quaint relic of the Obama years and at worst a blatant lie.
I think when people now talk about Hamilton as being cringeworthy, embarrassing, or offensive, they are reacting mostly to the bottom falling out of its ideological project. The problems with the show are not dramatic, but contextual: its continued existence in the political climate of the last 10 years seems ridiculous. But I remember listening to the cast album in 2015 and being enraptured and astounded.
That said, I can’t remember the last time I listened to any of the songs. Craftsmanship is all well and good, but if I want to listen to songs or an album, actual rap made by artists who work in that medium (as opposed to musical theatre) is better, in the same way that someone who likes rock-pop listens to that and not RENT. I can’t appreciate the storytelling anymore because it all comes across as a blunder, a fast and beautiful luxury car sailing over a cliff.
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