Unless. Unless.

The title is purposefully vague.

I am fully aware I am a young adult white girl writing about Lin Manuel Miranda. Its cliche and you probably wouldn't have clicked on it unless I tricked you but here you are so you should probably just continue.


Let's start out by saying Miranda is extraordinarily creative and has created a revolutionary piece of work.  Its doubtful, you have not heard of it but if you haven't he is the lyricist, composer and playwright for the Broadway smash hit Hamilton.  He also originated the title role, Alexander Hamilton.  Other credits include, composer, lyricist and book writer for In The Heights, composer and lyricist for Moana, and much much more as composer and performer.


Despite having run for nearly 3 years and opening a second show in Chicago and a touring show, Hamilton tickets remain one of the most difficult and expensive tickets to secure in New York City, Chicago and the cities in which it is touring.  Hamilton broke records being nominated for 16 Tony awards and taking home 11.  It has enjoyed almost universal acclaim, with Even then President Barack Obama remarking, "Hamilton I’m pretty sure is the only thing that Dick Cheney and I agree on."

So in a Broadway world of movies turned musical, old "classic" revivals and large tap numbers with fluffy and insignificant plot lines where does someone come with rap battles between founding fathers?


 The idea originated in 2009 while Miranda was on his first vacation from In The Heights.  Miranda decided to pick up Hamilton's biography and was immediately enthralled by the possibility it brought to a musical format.  The combination of musical, founding fathers and Hip Hop was solidified when Miranda read Hamilton got himself off of a disaster ridden St Croix with his writing.  This combination is crucial to Hamilton's success.  Musicals about the American past are plenty and historically unpopular.  Musicals that are hip hop inspired are commonly underdeveloped and again unpopular. 
 

Miranda is forthcoming and upright about his inspirations.  He speaks about general life experiences to a specific trope he used for Lafayette he calls the Police Academy Rule.  After winning his Tony Award for Hamilton, Miranda explains he finds inspiration in all aspects of his life and many times the source needs to be pointed out to him afterwards.  One unique (and exciting to me) source of inspiration was from a podcast called My Brother My Brother and Me(MBMBaM).  However, he recalls a specific cadence being written in the song "We Know" that was directly linked to the same cadence of the McElroy Brothers on MBMBaM.

This set of words is of course "Unless.  Unless." and was often used as a way to add a twist to a joke on the McElroy brothers podcast.  

Regardless of his journey to get to Hamilton, it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon and has certainly altered the concept of a musical. Shedding light on America's past, while recognizing black, immigrant and female lives were a part of that narrative is a powerful and approachable message for an enormous number of Americans.  While we are all waiting our turn for a ticket, Miranda just might be on the beach developing the next revolutionary "New American Musical."