Why Hamilton's arrival In London should not be written off as just another mega-musical
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O'Thomas, Mark 
ORCID: 0000-0001-9264-8813
(2017)
Why Hamilton's arrival In London should not be written off as just another mega-musical.
The Huffington Post.
Abstract
On January 30, 2017, tickets will go on sale for the West End debut of Hamilton at London's Victoria Palace Theatre some nine months before it opens. The multi-Tony-award-winning musical tells the life story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton via a sung-through, hip hop-inspired score and a pared-down set which is far from the usual glitz and glitter of a theatrical form that has brought us the likes of Wicked (now in its eleventh year) and jukebox jamboree Mamma Mia. While its conceit may appear to be an odd choice for contemporary theatre, it is far from outlandish in the world of musical theatre where anything is possible, gravity can be defied, fear can be whistled away, and any dream, in fact, will do. But what feels particularly fresh and new about Hamilton is its ability to retell American history through an unashamedly multicultural lens. It offers a timely corrective to the current political landscape that has seen the rise of the so-called alt-right in its homeland alongside the ascendancy of President Trump who himself offers a readymade, larger-than-life character ripe for some future musical theatre makeover. While we have no idea how Hamilton will ultimately fare in a post-Article 50-invoked London, its debut will certainly resonate at a local level within an industry that has constantly fallen short of delivering diversity outcomes in roles that move up and beyond the chorus line.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | The Blog |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Alexander Hamilton, musical theatre, LBTGQ community, Donald Trump, Mike Pence |
| Subjects: | P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater |
| Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: | Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS) |
| Last Modified: | 26 Sep 2018 10:13 |
| URI: | http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/21769 |
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