I originally was going to talk about the best and worst play of the decade. I wanted to rave about something artistically mind-blowing, like Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. It’s a great show. If you haven’t yet, I urge you to find a way to watch it. I love Frantic Assembly. Please hire me. Please. But I couldn’t in good conscience claim that Curious Incident was decade-defining.
Not while Hamilton exists.
Look, I’m not happy about this either – talk about an obvious choice. Lin Manuel-Miranda wrote and originally starred in the musical which was inspired by the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton by the historian Ron Chernow, and it has been the subject of every theatre reviewer’s cliche for successful play since then. But it’s nevertheless true that Hamilton has had the largest impact — not just on musical theatre, but pop culture at large — out of any show that has come out this decade. It’s indisputable.
The show is noted for a diverse, albeit very male, cast. (If you wanted proper diversity, you should’ve gone to see Emilia in week 10 of Michaelmas.) The idea of deliberately seeking diverse actors and giving no regard to the race of the historical figures they were playing was a bold, unique, and necessary one. Both Broadway and the West End could benefit from taking diversity more seriously: many older, established musicals have fallen into a routine of type-casting. Hamilton actively went against that trend and the result has been incredibly refreshing.
Quite apart from its woke-ness and resulting clout, Hamilton is an epic musical. I have never heard a bad review from anyone who has been lucky enough to see it – musical theatre fan or otherwise. I watched it on the West End two summers ago and it’s imprinted itself into my brain ever since. The soundtrack is beyond perfect and innovative for a traditional performance method like musical theatre. I’ve worked to it, cried to it, gym-ed to it. If it’s not on one of your playlists somewhere, it really should be.
No, Hamilton existing doesn’t mean that diversity issues in the world of musical theatre are solved. Far from it. It also is not to say that Hamilton delivers a perfect example of a diverse cast, see: lack of women. It is, however, a much-needed step in the right direction and a demonstration that people’s race should not matter on stage. It has also made the world of musical theatre feel more approachable — always a good thing. Hamilton has been everywhere since its opening in 2015. Yes it only came halfway through the decade, but it will continue to blow us all away for years to come.
