Hamilton's Revolution: War, Sex and Politics

On my way to a performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton, I stopped at the post office. When I excitedly mentioned where I was headed, I was confronted with a sharp, "I don't believe in that!"

I must have looked surprised as I wondered: Don't believe in going to musicals? Don't believe Hamilton existed? Don't believe the story?

I didn't have to wonder for long. "Hamilton was white! They shouldn't have black actors playing a white person!"

"Well, Hamilton's mother was from the Caribbean!" I shot back to a look of genuine surprise.

And therein lies much of the value of Lin-Manuel Miranda's masterpiece: effectively using the arts, as has long been the tradition, as a vehicle to enhance education, insight and then hopefully, tolerance and empathy.

Creative license is employed in this work of art, as it is in others, and nitpickers may argue over the factual details of the narrative. However, the spirit of the story is not only intact, but is enhanced by creativity. As Cervantes famously warns us in Don Quixote, "Facts are the enemy of Truth."

Experiencing Miranda's Hamilton while nestled within the geographic area where many of the pivotal activities occured was a thrill for Norfolk, Virginia's audience in Chrysler Hall. Every local reference was met with enthusiastic applause, whoops and hollers:

• The Commonwealth of Virginia, known as the "birthplace of presidents," boasts eight sons; three are featured prominently in the musical: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
• The Battle of Yorktown, which took place less than thirty miles from the venue, was masterminded by Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton. The victory famously heralded the end of the Revolutionary War and set the stage for the birth of a new country.
• The Chesapeake Bay, which figured prominently in the Revolutionary War, is less than 10 miles from Chrysler Hall.
• Coincidently, a visible reminder of the struggles these early Americans-to-be faced is barely 400 yards from the venue: a British cannonball, still lodged in the wall of the historic St. Paul's Church.

Hamilton premiered on Broadway in 2015. Miranda's brilliant musical score mixes R&B, pop, soul, jazz, rap and traditional show tune styles. In addition to writing the book, music, and lyrics, he also starred in the title role on Broadway.

Hamilton received a Pulitzer, 11 wins out of 16 Tony Award nominations, a Grammy, a MacArthur 'genius grant' for the creator and a special Kennedy Center Honor. Many have called the masterpiece the best Broadway show to date. Seeing it is an essential experience for any musical, cultural, political or history buff--indeed, for any American.

Miranda based the musical on historian Ron Chernow's 2004 book, Alexander Hamilton, noting, "My feeling when I was reading his biography was like, why is the only thing I know about him is that he died in a duel?" And, indeed, until this musical launched, that is all most Americans knew about Hamilton, if they knew about him at all.

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