Historians on Hamilton How a blockbuster musical is restaging America's past

Historians Romano (Oberlin) and Potter (New School) have produced an outstanding resource on the musical Hamilton, which debuted off-Broadway in 2015 and then moved to Broadway in 2016 to become the top-grossing musical in Broadway history, getting 16 Tony nominations and winning 11, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Director. The collection is divided into three parts: "The Script," "The Stage," and "The Audience." What is noteworthy is Hamilton's far-reaching effect via social media; youth and boomers alike have embraced what social historians have termed "founders chic." Several historians have pointed out the high points of Hamilton--that a major production can be dominated by directors, producers, and actors predominantly of color and still show a basic weakness in the fact that these actors are portraying white men. And Hamilton downplays the fact that the Founders were predominantly slave owners and wealthy men. Nonetheless, the consensus is that Hamilton revolutionized the Broadway musical as a historical element, and reflects a new wave of history that successfully reaches the younger generation. Thus historical detail such as color and emphasis on slavery pale in the reflection of Hamilton's singular accomplishments. The book takes a unique and revolutionary approach in bringing Hamilton to life. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Andrew Mark Mayer, College of Staten Island

If you think there is nothing more to say about one of the most popular and highly lauded musicals in American theater history, read this work and you'll know you're mistaken. Romano (Robert S. Danforth Professor of History, Oberlin Coll.; Racial Reckoning: Prosecuting America's Civil Rights Murders) and Potter (history, The New Sch.; coeditor, War on Crime: Bandits, G-Men and the Politics of Mass Culture) have assembled a group of scholars who explore the phenomenon that is Hamilton through the lens of politics, history (American and theater), race, gender, and more. Fifteen essays delve into the script (looking at Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton, black history, and slavery in New York during Hamilton's time); the stage ("Hamilton as Founders Chic," the American Revolution on stage and screen, and a brief history of Broadway blockbusters) and the audience (teaching Hamilton, the production as a people's history and on social media). Special features include a course syllabus on "Hamilton: A Musical Inquiry" and a chronology that extends from early American history to the present. VERDICT A thought-provoking and carefully crafted collection of scholarship that has much to offer readers interested in music, theater, or American history.-Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.