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4.58 AVERAGE
4.58 AVERAGE
It was so fun to hear how Lin came up with inspiration for different aspects of the musical and how tirelessly the choreographer, costume designer, set designer, director, conductor etc etc all worked and the ways that their vision contributed to what Hamilton is. By far the BEST part of the book to me was reading how the musical affected the nyc kids who were able to see it as part of school, many of whom were minorities.
Bill Coulter's class in Brooklyn spent their last session talking about the connection between Hamilton and the work they had done. "Some of them were just absolutely blown away," he says. "They were saying, 'George Washington wasn't black, Mr Coulter!' I said, 'Obviously he wasn't, guys.' " He asked the kids how the casting affected them. "They said, 'It just made me really proud, and feel good about being an American. Like I belong here.' "
Bill Coulter's class in Brooklyn spent their last session talking about the connection between Hamilton and the work they had done. "Some of them were just absolutely blown away," he says. "They were saying, 'George Washington wasn't black, Mr Coulter!' I said, 'Obviously he wasn't, guys.' " He asked the kids how the casting affected them. "They said, 'It just made me really proud, and feel good about being an American. Like I belong here.' "
As a history major, I adored this broadway recording. It was impossible to read the play without hearing the music in my head. The level of nerd-genius it took to compose a hip-hop, rap, and all the other styles of music into this totally coherent and beautifully told story of Alexander Hamilton is simply staggering. I loved all the foot notes by Lin. It shows how much he cared, how much of a control freak he is, and what a total dork he is. I can relate to that.
For anyone on the fence about giving the album a try, listen to it. It has totally changed my perspective on how history can be taught. If you like it, this is a great companion until we are lucky enough to get a nationwide tour of this production.
For anyone on the fence about giving the album a try, listen to it. It has totally changed my perspective on how history can be taught. If you like it, this is a great companion until we are lucky enough to get a nationwide tour of this production.
Honestly I could just read a whole book of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s libretto notes.
My Rating: 5 stars
If you love Hamilton in any way shape or form then you will love reading this book and seeing all the wonderful moments of Hamilton, the cast, the story come together. Its the perfect inside look.
My Thoughts:
Hamilton took the world by storm and I never imagined that I would be as into this musical as I am. There is rarely a week that goes by in which I do not listen to the musical.
I am Australian and have never really had the desire to learn more about American history but Hamilton changed that for me. This book goes through the process that Hamilton went through and while it did, it showed me how much thought and consideration goes into writing an original musical.
Reading the words of Jeremy Carter and Lin-Mauel Miranda made me fall more in love with the story of Hamilton. I loved reading the annotated lyrics. I loved reading the words that Lin had to change because they didn’t quite fit. I loved hearing about the correct choices for casting. I love that Jonathan Groff (King George) was happy to be in three scenes in the whole musical, just to be a part of it.
There are so many things I never considered before while reading the book and isn’t that what books are about? Learning something new? The whole atmosphere of the Black Lives Matter movement and young people wanting something that was relevant just resonated with me. I loved reading the reactions people had to this, about immigrants loving their status. Many a times I teared up just reading how Hamilton has impacted the lives of the people in it but also the people just watching it. This musical has changed me and impacted my life and that is so exacerbated by reading this book.
The chances of me seeing the musical in the next year is so slim since I am in Australia so I am so pleased to see the costumes and the staging. I just love this guide to the musical.
This book is the perfect add on to someone’s love of Hamilton.
Recommended for: People who love Hamilton – the story, the man, the musical. It’s all relevant.
Quotes (Spoiler Free):
“You have no control. Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.”
“I wish writing were really like the way Andy staged it here: Me in a mania at a desk while a group of people stand around cheering in awe. More realistically, it’s me pooping around on Twitter until I get an idea.”
“This was the way into Burr. I knew he and Hamilton circled each other all their lives, I knew they went from friends to frenemies to foes, but it wasn’t til I read this detail online—that Theodosia was married to a British officer when Aaron Burr met her, and he waited until she was available—that the character of Burr came free in my imagination. Imagine Hamilton waiting—for anything. That’s when I realized our task was to dramatize not two ideological opposites, but a fundamental difference in temperament.”
If you love Hamilton in any way shape or form then you will love reading this book and seeing all the wonderful moments of Hamilton, the cast, the story come together. Its the perfect inside look.
My Thoughts:
Hamilton took the world by storm and I never imagined that I would be as into this musical as I am. There is rarely a week that goes by in which I do not listen to the musical.
I am Australian and have never really had the desire to learn more about American history but Hamilton changed that for me. This book goes through the process that Hamilton went through and while it did, it showed me how much thought and consideration goes into writing an original musical.
Reading the words of Jeremy Carter and Lin-Mauel Miranda made me fall more in love with the story of Hamilton. I loved reading the annotated lyrics. I loved reading the words that Lin had to change because they didn’t quite fit. I loved hearing about the correct choices for casting. I love that Jonathan Groff (King George) was happy to be in three scenes in the whole musical, just to be a part of it.
There are so many things I never considered before while reading the book and isn’t that what books are about? Learning something new? The whole atmosphere of the Black Lives Matter movement and young people wanting something that was relevant just resonated with me. I loved reading the reactions people had to this, about immigrants loving their status. Many a times I teared up just reading how Hamilton has impacted the lives of the people in it but also the people just watching it. This musical has changed me and impacted my life and that is so exacerbated by reading this book.
The chances of me seeing the musical in the next year is so slim since I am in Australia so I am so pleased to see the costumes and the staging. I just love this guide to the musical.
This book is the perfect add on to someone’s love of Hamilton.
Recommended for: People who love Hamilton – the story, the man, the musical. It’s all relevant.
Quotes (Spoiler Free):
“You have no control. Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.”
“I wish writing were really like the way Andy staged it here: Me in a mania at a desk while a group of people stand around cheering in awe. More realistically, it’s me pooping around on Twitter until I get an idea.”
“This was the way into Burr. I knew he and Hamilton circled each other all their lives, I knew they went from friends to frenemies to foes, but it wasn’t til I read this detail online—that Theodosia was married to a British officer when Aaron Burr met her, and he waited until she was available—that the character of Burr came free in my imagination. Imagine Hamilton waiting—for anything. That’s when I realized our task was to dramatize not two ideological opposites, but a fundamental difference in temperament.”
Lovely insights and pictures, sometimes a bit Too Much with the triumphant Americanness.
Being both a Hamilton nerd and a Lin-Manuel Miranda fan, I knew I inevitably would end up reading this.
It was a well-paced comfortable read, but also covered a vast amount of fascinating topics. Yes, it's about the story of Hamilton and how the show came to be. But there are also tales of Lin-Manuel's past, from how he grew up and the education he pursued, to the journey of writing and casting both In the Heights and Hamilton.
In telling the story of the inspirations behind the Hamilton musical, the book also shares many enlightening details about all that goes into putting together a Broadway-scale show. They are made by not only scriptwriters and stage designers, talented musicians, and actors - but also detail-oriented costume makers and choreographers. Eliza's dress was purposefully made to show her vulnerability through its very open neckline. Lin-Manuel explains that Aaron Burr was choreographed to move in straight lines because he sees no options. Yet Hamilton moves in arcs because he sees all possibilities. Hamilton's production team even included a historian, because Lin-Manuel was so dead-set on wanting the characters to be presented in ways that were historically accurate.
The book also shares hip-hop history lessons, discussions of musical theory, Lin-Manuel's meeting with the Obamas, and more. It's neat to hear why certain things were changed throughout each song's development in the author's notes.
As far as the audiobook version, I wish it had been narrated by the author because I found the last section (which was) to be much more personable. But either way, it was still enjoyable.
Overall, if you're interested in Hamilton or just theater in general, I would recommend checking it out :3
It was a well-paced comfortable read, but also covered a vast amount of fascinating topics. Yes, it's about the story of Hamilton and how the show came to be. But there are also tales of Lin-Manuel's past, from how he grew up and the education he pursued, to the journey of writing and casting both In the Heights and Hamilton.
In telling the story of the inspirations behind the Hamilton musical, the book also shares many enlightening details about all that goes into putting together a Broadway-scale show. They are made by not only scriptwriters and stage designers, talented musicians, and actors - but also detail-oriented costume makers and choreographers. Eliza's dress was purposefully made to show her vulnerability through its very open neckline. Lin-Manuel explains that Aaron Burr was choreographed to move in straight lines because he sees no options. Yet Hamilton moves in arcs because he sees all possibilities. Hamilton's production team even included a historian, because Lin-Manuel was so dead-set on wanting the characters to be presented in ways that were historically accurate.
The book also shares hip-hop history lessons, discussions of musical theory, Lin-Manuel's meeting with the Obamas, and more. It's neat to hear why certain things were changed throughout each song's development in the author's notes.
As far as the audiobook version, I wish it had been narrated by the author because I found the last section (which was) to be much more personable. But either way, it was still enjoyable.
Overall, if you're interested in Hamilton or just theater in general, I would recommend checking it out :3
Great read about how this amazing musical came together.
If you want to get Really Emotional and Subsequently Extremely Dehydrated while listening to the Hamilton soundtrack (for your second time, like, ever) then I highly recommend going song by song through this book and taking in these stories, annotations and photos alongside the actual soundtrack. I have a crying headache now.
I knew nothing about Hamilton other than its popularity. The story of its creation was fabulous and now I can't wait to see the show (and I just downloaded the cast recording)!