DOCSLIB.ORG

Deanna Druskat Professor Trachtenberg Intro to Journalism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Deanna Druskat Professor Trachtenberg Intro to Journalism Deanna Druskat Professor Trachtenberg Intro to Journalism and Nonfiction March 31, 2016 The Hamilton Soundtrack I am not a musical theater person. Sure I’ve seen the Lion King on Broadway and my high school’s productions of Hairspray and Legally Blonde, other than that I never really understood the appeal. That was until recently when my roommate introduced me to the world of musical theater. There’s one musical in particular that I’ve become addicted to: Hamilton. A musical by the famous Lin-Manuel Miranda about Alexander Hamilton, a United States founding father who doesn’t receive enough recognition for his accomplishments. I’ve never actually seen the musical… tickets cost over 300 dollars. I have, however, listened to every song on the Hamilton soundtrack from beginning to end, countless times. For most musicals, the whole story is in the music. You don’t need to see the musical to understand what’s happening, although the visuals definitely help. Ever since I started listening to the music back in January, I haven’t been able to stop. A day doesn’t go by where I don’t listen to at least one song. Most of my friends are highly irritated by my constant singing and by the amount of times I’ve requested Hamilton be played. It’s frustrating because I know that if they gave it a chance, they would love it. The Soundtrack opens with the song “Alexander Hamilton” which is the perfect introduction to the musical. The first lines of a musical are arguably the most important (which is something you could say about most writing), Lin-Manuel sets up the musical perfectly: How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a Forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence Impoverished, in squalor Grow up to be a hero and a scholar? This opening verse right away tells you that he was born into a difficult life – by stating that he was an impoverished orphan in squalor. In the same verse, you find out that he turned his life around to become a “hero and a scholar.” How inspiring. The soundtrack is made up of 46 songs, equating to 2 hours and 22 minutes in length. It’s full of love triangles, death, drama, but most importantly it’s the story of someone who built themselves from the ground up. Hamilton is very different from most musicals. Firstly, the cast is incredibly diverse. Lin-Manuel, who plays Alexander Hamilton, is Puerto Rican, while Alexander Hamilton’s wife, Eliza, the other lead role, Phillipa Soo is Chinese-American. The majority of the cast is black with only a few white people mixed in. Along with being racially diverse, the musical is unique because it’s sung mostly in rap. The song “Guns and Ships” is the fastest rap in Broadway history – not that that’s saying much, most Broadway musicals don’t include rap. This makes the musical feel more contemporary. I think Lin-Manuel wrote it this way to appeal to more audiences; people who already enjoy musicals, people who like history, and people in younger generations who listen to rap music. One thing our history books do tell us is that Alexander Hamilton was shot before he could truly make a difference. Eliza Hamilton, Alexander’s wife, didn’t want people to forget who he was and what he did, --establishing the first national bank, writing the Federalist papers, etc.—so following his death she gathered all his journals and interviewed all the people who knew him and wrote it all down, hoping one-day people would know his story. Because of this, Lin-Manuel Miranda put the story in her perspective. She is the narrator of the story. Sadly, this 2 doesn’t keep the musical from having sexist undertones. This could be the time period that the musical is set in, but even in the late 1700s- early 1800s I’m sure women had more to say than just “lets spend the day looking at men” or “I won’t be satisfied until I find a man.” My favorite song in the musical right now is “Non-Stop.” In this song you learn about how hard Alexander truly worked. Throughout the musical people are constantly telling him to take a break and that he never stops writing, which you find out is totally true. In this song you learn about the writing of the Federalist Papers. The original plan was to split the essays within the book evenly among James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. They ended up writing 85 essays. Jay wrote 5, Madison wrote 29, and Hamilton wrote 51, all over a six-month period. I find this incredibly inspiring. I hope someday I acquire his work ethic. My favorite character in the musical is George Washington. He has a remarkable voice and he reminds me of the dad of the group. He’s always there to give Hamilton advice. Not to mention I’m also related to George Washington, although I try to remain unbiased. Another character who I find surprisingly likable is King George III. Although he is a terrible human, the few songs he has in the musical are hysterical. His first song is called “You’ll be back.” It’s basically a letter to the colonies saying that they will regret their decision to fight back: Oceans rise, empires fall We have seen each other through it all And when push comes to shove I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love. His conceited personality is strangely charming; you can’t help but laugh at his absurd statements. I’m assuming the point was to make him seem laughable and irrational, probably the same way the colonies saw him at the time. 3 I feel sorry for the people who haven’t yet given the soundtrack a try. I used to tease my roommate for her obsession with musicals. I’d ask her to turn off her music if it sounded too “musically.” Now I can’t imagine my life without musicals or, specifically, Hamilton. Hopefully I’ll be able to see the musical when tickets are cheaper. Until then I’ll just have to continue to listen to the soundtrack and picture what I think the musical would look like on stage, in my head. 4 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Brea Wardlaw Meigs Academic Magnet Middle School • Title
    Brea Wardlaw Meigs Academic Magnet Middle School • Title: Actress • Job Description: An actor is a person who portrays a character in a performance (also actress; see below).[1] The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs), literally "one who answers".[2] The actor's interpretation of their role—the art of acting—pertains to the role played, whether based on a real person or fictional character.* *Source: en.m.wikipedia.org • Why would I like to have this job? I’d like to be an actress because I LOVE to act. It’s fun because I can get to be a different person. It’s like being your own alter ego. I feel happy and powerful when I’m acting. The best thing about it is getting to tell a story in your own way, by acting the words you say (haha that rhymes!) What makes a good actress? To be a good actor/actress, you have to feel the part to be the part. And you have to be passionate about the role you are playing. Having chemistry and getting along with the other cast members is also a very important part of acting. A good actor/actress also needs to step out of his or her comfort zone, every once in a while so they can embrace themselves. Are you a good actress? I feel like I am. I feel like I have all of the right traits and abilities and the right personality.
    [Show full text]
  • HAMILTON Project Profile 6 8 20
    “HAMILTON” ONE-LINER: An unforgettable cinematic stage performance, the filmed version of the original Broadway production of “Hamilton” combines the best elements of live theater, film and streaming to bring the cultural phenomenon to homes around the world for a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience. OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE: An unforgettable cinematic stage performance, the filmed version of the original Broadway production of “Hamilton” combines the best elements of live theater, film and streaming to bring the cultural phenomenon to homes around the world for a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience. “Hamilton” is the story of America then, told by America now. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, “Hamilton” has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. Filmed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016, the film transports its audience into the world of the Broadway show in a uniquely intimate way. With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and direction by Thomas Kail, “Hamilton” is inspired by the book “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow and produced by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeffrey Seller, with Sander Jacobs and Jill Furman serving as executive producers. The 11-time-Tony Award®-, GRAMMY Award®-, Olivier Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical stars: Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Jonathan Groff as King George; Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Leslie Odom, Jr.
    [Show full text]
  • {PDF EPUB} Journey Into the Deep by Guy S. Stanton III Tony Awards Show Honors Florida Victims; 'Hamilton' Wins 11 Categories
    Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Journey into the Deep by Guy S. Stanton III Tony Awards Show Honors Florida Victims; 'Hamilton' Wins 11 Categories. Lin-Manuel Miranda, center, and the cast of Hamilton perform at the Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on Sunday. The smash hit musical was nominated for 16 awards and won 11. Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP hide caption. Lin-Manuel Miranda, center, and the cast of Hamilton perform at the Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on Sunday. The smash hit musical was nominated for 16 awards and won 11. Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP. Amid the darkness looming over the nation following Sunday's shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Broadway's brightest stars shone at the 70th annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Host James Corden and the night's biggest winners paid emotional tribute to the 49 people killed in the attack and the more than 50 people wounded. Earlier in the day, organizers had released a statement saying that the show would go on and be dedicated to the families and friends of those affected by the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. "Our hearts are heavy for the unimaginable tragedy that happened last night in Orlando," the organizers said. Corden, host of The Late Late Show, opened the ceremony with a brief message about the mass shooting: "Good evening. All around the world, people are trying to come to terms with the horrific events that took place in Orlando this morning.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamilton: the Exhibition ASHLEY ANN WOLFE
    EXHIBIT REVIEW Hamilton: The Exhibition ASHLEY ANN WOLFE I got to be in the room where it happens. when it comes to strategically using theatricality and metaphor to connect visitors to an exhibit Well, the room where it happened, techni- and deepen audience engagement, particularly cally. I’m speaking of Hamilton: The Exhibition, when it comes to the display of ephemeral his- the unexpected, brilliantly designed 35,000- tory and culture. square-foot cultural attraction inspired by the Some context for our non-American read- 2015 musical from Pulitzer Prize-winning cre- ers who may not be as familiar with the cultural ator Lin-Manuel Miranda that was presented phenomenon that is Hamilton: An American on Chicago’s Northerly Island from April Musical: Based on the life of Alexander Hamil- through August of 2019. I use the vague ton, one of America’s founders who played a descriptor “cultural attraction” because HamEx, central role in the revolution and, as the first as it was dubbed by fans and the smart social Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, created the media team behind the musical, is a bit of an country’s financial system, the Lin-Manuel enigma to define. It’s not a museum, though it’s Miranda musical, inspired by Ron Chernow’s large enough to be one. It’s not a performance, biography Alexander Hamilton, opened on but it certainly is theatrical. And it’s much more Broadway in 2015 to unprecedented acclaim, content-rich and substantive than those block- receiving a record sixteen nominations at the buster-type commercial exhibitions that are 2016 Tony Awards, winning eleven - including presented outside of museums (think of popular Best Musical.
    [Show full text]
  • Grey and Lacek Represent Class of 2016 What’S Inside Mount As- Tripsemblies to Le Puy Page 2
    The Campanile Mount Saint Joseph Academy Volume LVII, Number 1 may 2016 Inside: Grey and Lacek represent class of 2016 What’s Inside Mount As- Tripsemblies To Le puy Page 2 FarewellBroadway To WishesMrs. Doyle Re- turnsPage 2 StudentPage 3 art awards age-old question.” liver the valedictory. “There is no RetiringPage 3 By Ava Self ’17 Grey’s other teachers from her By Eliza Ewing ‘16 and Ava Self one else I could see representing time at Mount also remarked on ‘17 our school and what it means to Teachers her excellence in their classes. be a Mount student,” said senior Taylor Grey has never found a “In Honors British Literature, For Kristine Lacek, being Maddy McLaughlin. MountiesPage 3 Give math problem she could not solve Taylor enhanced the class with named this year’s valedictorian “Kris is a dedicated and gen- Back or a Michael Scott quote she did her mature insight into, her in- held a special family connection. erous individual. She is very de- not find hilarious. She has pon- depth analysis of, and her astute “My mom was Valedictorian serving of the position of vale- Pages 4-5 dered life’s deepest questions and commentary on the human con- when she graduated high school, dictorian and will do a wonderful First Amend- impressed everyone she meets dition presented in the literary and I was super excited to tell her job,” said senior Nicole Kochan- with her intellect, but like any works we studied. Most impres- that I also received that honor.” asz. Presidentialment and human she shed a few tears when sive, I believe, is Taylor’s ability Between multiple AP courses, “Kris is so deserving of ev- she met Villanova Basketball star to excel in every aspect of her two college classes at Chestnut erything she has accomplished, JournalistsCandidates’ Ryan Arcidiacono.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?: Gendered Legacies in Hamilton
    Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?: Gendered Legacies in Hamilton JESSICA SEYMOUR Hamilton: An American Musical, written, composed by, and starring Lin- Manuel Miranda, made its Broadway debut in August 2015. Since then, Hamilton has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a record-breaking sixteen Tony Award nominations. Miranda also received a $625,000 MacArthur Fellowship, more commonly referred to as a “Genius Grant”. Hamilton has been heralded as a game-changer for Broadway musicals, starring a racially- diverse cast and supported by contemporary music styles including rap, hip hop, and jazz. It is one of the most popularly successful musicals in recent memory, inspired by the life and times of American founding-father Alexander Hamilton. One of the key themes in the Hamilton musical is the concept of legacy. In historical terms, a legacy is handed down from one generation to another. Glenn Llopis writes in an article for Forbes that leaving a legacy should be a key concern for leaders who want to perform to the best of their ability in business: “The best leadership legacies are a consequence of success coming to those who are surrounded by people that want their success to continue.” Other authors and analysts (see Kerr, Wallace, Hunt, Galford and Maruca) write that workers can and should tailor their careers to suit the personal legacy they wish to leave behind. In a Time magazine interview written by JJ Abrams, Lin-Manuel Miranda stated that he has been preoccupied with legacy “since [he] was a kid”: We have this amount of time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kennedy Center Honors Felt Different, and It Was All Because of ‘Hamilton’
    The Kennedy Center Honors felt different, and it was all because of ‘Hamilton’ By Peter Marks Published: December 2, 2018 Cher, Reba McEntire, and the creators of the Broadway musical "Hamilton" received this year's Kennedy Center Honors in the District on Dec. 2. (Reuters) The Kennedy Center Honors stepped out of its comfort zone Sunday night, conferring recognition for the first time on a living, breathing work of art, along with four seasoned — and also living and breathing — American artists. And the change felt both fresh and a little fraught. By adding a popular musical, the universally celebrated “Hamilton,” to a historic list of honorees that has run alphabetically over the past 41 years from George Abbott to Joanne Woodward, the Kennedy Center radically revised the rules and, in a way, the lavish ceremony that fetes the winners. The other winners this year were singer and actress Cher, country music star Reba McEntire, jazz great Wayne Shorter and avant-garde composer Philip Glass. The Washington Chorus Washington Post: “The Kennedy Center Honors felt different” The joyful aspect was in infusing the program — a show to be broadcast on CBS, after all, as well as a fundraiser — with the music and star power of a dazzling Broadway blockbuster and a quartet of artists at the pinnacle of their careers. It is likely that in doling out special Honors to “Hamilton” composer Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Thomas Kail, music director Alex Lacamoire and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, the arts center is making a direct appeal to a younger audience for the relevance of the awards.
    [Show full text]
  • A VERY MENASA VALENTINE's FEBRUARY 12 @ 7PM ET Written by IDA ESMAEILI, RYAN J
    VISION RESIDENCY A VERY MENASA VALENTINE'S FEBRUARY 12 @ 7PM ET Written by IDA ESMAEILI, RYAN J. HADDAD, VISHAAL REDDY & NANDITA SHENOY Hosted by SHERZ ALETAHA Directed by DANNY SHARRON Curated by Vision Resident RONA SIDDIQUI A VERY MENASA VALENTINE'S FEBRUARY 12 @ 7PM ET THE TEAM Hosted by SHERZ ALETAHA Stage Managed by TIA HAREWOOD-MILLINGTON Directed by DANNY SHARRON Curated by Vision Resident RONA SIDDIQUI WILL YOU BE MY by RYAN J. HADDAD Featuring OLIVIA ABIASSI & CAITLIN NASEMA CASSIDY DATING IN THE TIME OF CORONA by NANDITA SHENOY Featuring JOLLY ABRAHAM I'M SORRY! by VISHAAL REDDY Featuring VICK KRISHNA, VISHAAL REDDY & ANEESH SHETH THE PERSIAN POD by IDA ISMAEILI Featuring ANITA ABDINEZHAD, SHERZ ALETAHA, ALI FARAHNAKIAN & POOYA MOHSENI THE ARTISTS WOULD LIKE TO THANK Sherz Aletaha, Thomas Dolan, Devanand Janki, Jonathan Raviv, Sharone Sayegh, Nandita Shenoy & Matthew Wise. Ars Nova operates on the unceded land of the Lenape peoples on the island of Manhahtaan (Mannahatta) in Lenapehoking, the Lenape Homeland. We acknowledge the brutal history of this stolen land and the displacement and dispossession of its Indigenous people. We also acknowledge that after there were stolen lands, there were stolen people. We honor the generations of displaced and enslaved people that built, and continue to build, the country that we occupy today. We gathered together in virtual space to watch this performance. We encourage you to consider the legacies of colonization embedded within the technology and structures we use and to acknowledge its disproportionate impact on communities of color and Indigenous peoples worldwide. We invite you to join us in acknowledging all of this as well as our shared responsibility: to consider our way forward in reconciliation, decolonization, anti-racism and allyship.
    [Show full text]
  • Intersectional Temporalities in Hamilton, an American Musical
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Publications and Research York College 2017 Who Tells Our Story: Intersectional Temporalities in Hamilton, An American Musical Andie Silva CUNY York College Shereen Inayatulla CUNY York College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/yc_pubs/194 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Abstract: This article examines the ways in which Hamilton: An American Musical can be read less as a historical account and more as a prediction of a future immigrant, who is called upon to (re)define US nationhood. Keeping with the tempo of the musical as well as the broader issues of time, space, and identity it attempts to address, this article is presented as a dialogical rap. The co-authors’ discussion frames Hamilton as an example of the power of unplottable, time- arresting immigrant bodies, to whom the colonial imposition of linear history does not apply. From this framework, the authors’ conversation shifts to critiques of racialized tropes running through the production as well as the inaccessibility of theatre tickets. The goal of this dialogical analysis is to invite further debate about the kinds of immigrant time/space travel that make visible questions of agency, representation, and access. Keywords: Hamilton, immigrant, temporality, race Who Tells Our Story: Intersectional Temporalities in Hamilton, An American Musical Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (re)imagined hip-hop tale opens from the perspective of its self- proclaimed villain, Aaron Burr (2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Theatre Experience
    i The Theatre Experience 1 iii The Theatre Experience F O U R T E E N T H E D I T I O N EDWIN WILSON Professor Emeritus Graduate School and University Center The City University of New York 2 iv THE THEATRE EXPERIENCE, FOURTEENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2020 by Edwin Wilson. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions © 2015, 2011, and 2009. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LWI 21 20 19 18 ISBN 978-1-260-05607-5 (bound edition) MHID 1-260-05607-4 (bound edition) ISBN 978-1-260-49340-5 (loose-leaf edition) MHID 1-260-49340-7 (loose-leaf edition) Portfolio Manager: Sarah Remington Lead Product Developer: Mary Ellen Curley Senior Product Developer: Beth Tripmacher Senior Content Project Manager: Danielle Clement Content Project Manager: Emily Windelborn Senior Buyer: Laura Fuller Design: Egzon Shaqiri Content Licensing Specialist: Ann Marie Jannette Cover Image: ©Sara Krulwich/The New York Times/Redux Compositor: MPS Limited All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hamilton Effect: How One Musical Made the Founding Fathers Cool, and What It Means for Historic Sites and the Academic World
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Honors Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Spring 2018 The Hamilton Effect: How One Musical Made the Founding Fathers Cool, and What it Means for Historic Sites and the Academic World Charlotte Skala University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/honors Part of the American Popular Culture Commons, and the Public History Commons Recommended Citation Skala, Charlotte, "The Hamilton Effect: How One Musical Made the Founding Fathers Cool, and What it Means for Historic Sites and the Academic World" (2018). Honors Theses and Capstones. 435. https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/435 This Senior Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Hamilton Effect: How One Musical Made the Founding Fathers Cool, and What it Means for Historic Sites and the Academic World Charlotte Skala Defense: May 8th, 2018 Committee Professor Jessica Lepler Professor David Richman Professor Eliga Gould Skala 1 Table of Contents List of Figures 2 Acknowledgements 3 Introduction 4 Summary of Hamilton: an American Musical 5 Summary of Thesis 10 Chapter One: Historical Inaccuracies and Academic Opinions of Hamilton 11 First Reviews,
    [Show full text]
  • Hamilton Playlist in Order
    Hamilton Playlist In Order Segregable Zelig sick-out very skillfully while Carter remains Arizonan and reanimated. Nay exalted, Rickard counterbalances brans and illegalizing swellings. Old-established and autolytic Fonzie documents so perforce that Gill dent his operoseness. It with frankie decaiza hutchinson, you would it was unlikely, change your bestie know what are purely good morning. Jul 09 2020 There are writing bad songs in Hamilton the musical that plant now. Alex Gill, Director of the Social Ventures Zone. Hamilton Broadway Tickets Broadway Direct. Layering feathery vocals are responsible for best losing his antagonistic ways, order in order bánh kem associated performer: let king of. The Musical follows the adventures of ten young lion Simba, the heir surrender his father, Mufasa. Video got put in some point so think you anywhere investing in. Plus, it includes one of my favorite lines in the show. Primary subject matter must be Peloton. Freedom for America, freedom for France! Choose Your great Adventure. Are you Aaron Burr, sir? Full track information on the trip available for Cast Recording of Hamilton Find to how to order were read all excellent it. Ingenuitive and meadow in French. But just a playlist with. Reporting on orders associated with him losing a playlist ideas and investing in my dad loves it! Spit a playlist so a small commission on orders, order in two were wondering where my mind that includes only. News Merchandise Souvenirs about the 'Hamilton An American Musical'. Original Broadway Cast Of Hamilton Lyrics Alexander Hamilton Aaron Burr How achieve a bastard orphan son of their whore and.
    [Show full text]