Hamilton - Is it bad I liked it?

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In retrospect, Hamilton's earnestness was its greatest drawing power, as well as its Achilles heel.

There was a solid stretch of time where musicals were tripping over themselves to make fun of themselves. Amusing for a moment, but there's only so much wide-eyed "Can you believe we're putting on a musical? People are going to sing and dance, unlike real life?!" that one can take before it gets old.

In comes Hamilton, based on a brick of a biography told in an apparently incongruous contemporary fashion, that could afford to laugh at its ridiculous elevator pitch, but doesn't. (The same applies for its cousin, Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812.)

At the same time, I wonder how much of the Hamilton backlash is simply due to Lin-Manuel Miranda's presence being baked into it. Call him genuine, call him a big fat phony; the man exudes goodwill, which is more than a little at odds with the real Hamilton, who (not without cause) didn't have much faith in humanity. I definitely think the musical, textually, can support a more cynical interpretation.
 
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Yes stop liking things.
Actually, I was surprised by how much I liked it. The first act is especially strong. The culture around the show got pretty insufferable though, especially when Lin got enmeshed in Clinton's presidential campaign. Being a major cast member in a show about American history does not qualify you as a great political voice. Dance, monkey, dance.
 
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