Hamilton (musical)

Hamilton: An American Musical is a sung-and-rapped-through biographical musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Based on the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, the musical covers the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the American Revolution and the political history of the early United States. Composed from 2008 to 2015, the music draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes. It casts non-white actors as the Founding Fathers of the United States and other historical figures. Miranda described Hamilton as about "America then, as told by America now".

From its opening, Hamilton received near-universal acclaim. It premiered off-Broadway on February 17, 2015, at the Public Theater in Lower Manhattan, with Miranda playing the role of Alexander Hamilton, where its several-month engagement was sold out. The musical won eight Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical. It then transferred to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, opening on August 6, 2015, where it received uniformly positive reviews and high box office sales. At the 70th Tony Awards, Hamilton received a record-breaking 16 nominations and won 11 awards, including Best Musical. It received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 2020, a filmed version of the Broadway production was released on Disney+, followed by a theatrical release in 2025 by Walt Disney Pictures.

The Chicago production of Hamilton began preview performances at the CIBC Theatre in September 2016 and opened the following month. The West End production opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London on December 21, 2017, following previews from December 6, winning seven Olivier Awards in 2018, including Best New Musical. The first U.S. national tour began in March 2017. A second U.S. tour opened in February 2018. Hamilton's third U.S. tour began January 11, 2019, with a three-week engagement in Puerto Rico in which Miranda returned to the role of Hamilton. The first non-English production opened in Hamburg in October 2022 for which it had been translated into German. As of 2025, no amateur or professional licenses have been granted for Hamilton.

Hamilton narrates Alexander Hamilton's life in two acts, and details among other things his involvement in the American Revolutionary War as an aide-de-camp to George Washington, his marriage to Eliza Schuyler, his career as a lawyer and Secretary of the Treasury, and his interactions with Aaron Burr (the main narrator for most of the musical), which culminates in their duel that ends Hamilton's life.

The orphan Alexander Hamilton experiences a difficult early life, but through his wits and the charity of the people of his hometown, he escapes his home—the island of St. Croix—and immigrates to New York City ("Alexander Hamilton"). As a student at King's College in 1776, Hamilton meets Aaron Burr, John Laurens, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Hercules Mulligan ("Aaron Burr, Sir"), and impresses them with his rhetorical skills ("My Shot"). The latter three and Hamilton affirm their revolutionary goals to each other, while Burr remains apprehensive ("The Story of Tonight"). Later, the daughters of the wealthy Philip Schuyler—Peggy, Angelica, and Eliza—go into town and share their excitement about the upcoming revolution ("The Schuyler Sisters"), while loyalist bishop Samuel Seabury argues against the revolution ("Farmer Refuted") and King George III insists on his authority ("You'll Be Back"). During the New York and New Jersey campaign, Hamilton accepts a position as George Washington's aide-de-camp despite longing for field command ("Right Hand Man").

At a ball hosted by Philip Schuyler ("A Winter's Ball"), Eliza falls helplessly in love with Hamilton, who reciprocates her feelings to the point of marriage ("Helpless"), as Angelica suppresses her own feelings for the sake of their happiness ("Satisfied"). After the wedding, Burr and Hamilton congratulate each other's successes ("The Story of Tonight (Reprise)"), and Burr reflects on Hamilton's swift rise compared to his own more cautious career, as well as his affair with Theodosia, the wife of a British officer ("Wait for It").

As conditions worsen for the Continental Army with the Battle of Monmouth ("Stay Alive"), Hamilton aids Laurens in a duel against disgraced Major General Charles Lee ("Ten Duel Commandments"), for which Washington temporarily suspends him from the army ("Meet Me Inside"). Back home, Eliza reveals that she is pregnant with their first child, Philip, and asks Hamilton to slow down to take in the good that has happened in their lives ("That Would Be Enough"). Lafayette convinces Washington to recall Hamilton and grant him field command for the Battle of Yorktown ("Guns and Ships"). Knowing that Hamilton would die a martyr, Washington tells him that he should carefully consider his actions because whatever he does will be remembered for all time ("History Has Its Eyes on You"). At Yorktown, Hamilton works with Lafayette to take down the British and reveals that Mulligan has been working as a spy, helping them trap the British and win the war ("Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)").

Soon after the victory of Yorktown, King George asks the newborn America how it will succeed on its own ("What Comes Next?"). Hamilton's son Philip is born, while Burr has a daughter, Theodosia, and the two new fathers promise their children that they will do anything to protect them ("Dear Theodosia"). Hamilton receives word that Laurens has been killed in a pointless battle with evacuating British troops after the war was already over and responds to his grief by throwing himself into his work ("Tomorrow There'll Be More of Us (The Laurens Interlude)"). Over the next decade, both Hamilton and Burr return to New York and work as lawyers. Through his work and writing, Hamilton rapidly gains influence, participates in the Constitutional Convention, co-authors The Federalist Papers and is selected as Secretary of the Treasury by newly elected President Washington, amidst Eliza begging him to slow down and Angelica moving to London with her new husband ("Non-Stop").