I don't know what I was expecting Hamilton to be like in middle age, but here are a few thoughts from someone who saw it once on Broadway in April 2016 and a whopping four times on two tours in 2017 and 2019.
- The musical theater revolution that Hamilton promised didn't really happen, either musically or in other ways. All hit shows are, to one degree or another, products of their times, and Hamilton has turned out to be no exception. It's very much an Obama-era musical, and the promise of hip-hop in musicals to convey a lot of information quickly was not advanced by other writers of musicals, or by Lin-Manuel Miranda himself - who hasn't written a Broadway musical since. The show almost feels sui generis.
- The tightrope that Miranda cleverly walked turned out to be a product of its time too, not just because of the critiques aimed at the show and of the limitations of colorblind casting, at least in the history outlined in the show. The ascent of Donald Trump, even as the show was a crossover sensation, marked it as a period piece even at the peak of its apparent influence.
- At the same time, Hamilton seems well established as a pillar of Broadway, a reliable hit that shows little sign of slowing down. The filmed production brought it many new fans, as well as critics. Instead of fading more quickly, the musical is one of the must-see shows for tourists. I was in New York City for a wedding in August and was chatting with a couple who caught a couple of Broadway shows. One of them was Hamilton.
- At this age, musicals are never cool, and Hamilton - which borrowed from decades-old hip-hop and R&B even when it was new - was always going to seem a bit dated after a while. And for me, personally, something about the political trends that followed the musical's debut has given the lie to the show's inherent optimism about the nation. There's a slow-moving, ongoing coup against the system of government established in the show. If anything, the show has taught us the wisdom of Washington stepping down from power voluntarily. I took it for granted then; I don't now. The tricky line of America-then-told-by-America-now has run into a barrage of criticism from people who object to the glorification of slaveowners just because they are played by Black and brown actors.
- I haven't seen the musical live in more than four years, but it doesn't surprise me that some of the replacements and touring casts haven't been as good. It's a difficult musical to do well with weak links. Lafayette is always a murderous part to play for most actors who don't have Daveed Diggs' rapping skill.
- It's not hurting the musical at the Broadway box office yet, but the show - if anything - seems almost underappreciated now. Hamilton was an extraordinary achievement in musical theater that truly advanced the form, I have most of the cast recording on my Spotify shuffle, and every time I hear a song from Hamilton, I'm reminded of just how good it is.
