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A thought about Broadway





A year ago, I saw the following question on Quora.


"Why did Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a musical about Alexander Hamilton? Was he popular at the time of the Revolution or during his presidency?"


I am going back to that old post now, chiefly because it helps me illustrate what a big-hearted soul I am.  I wrote a reply to that question (or, strictly, those questions) that barely even mentioned the fact that, no, Hamilton never had a "presidency". 


Instead, since I am a big-hearted soul, I gave that gaffe a pass and focused on what makes Hamilton a gripping musical. 
 

For the record, though, the display of ignorance there tears me up inside.  I have to imagine this is a fairly young person betrayed by a disastrously bad education system, one that obviously has not conveyed the basics of the life of one of our founders. 


On a slightly related point: I overheard a conversation not too long ago in which the guy on his cell phone in a restaurant near me was talking to somebody about contemporary politics, and happened to mention "the Burr treason trial" as evidence that the political character of the justice system is old news. 


The person at the other end of the line said something unheard by me.  Then the guy in the restaurant said, "no, it has nothing to do with THAT." 


I had to put the pieces together.  The unheard friend on the line likely said, "Treason? He was on trial for killing Hamilton?" 


No, unheard friend, it had nothing to do with that. I understand, though, that Burr is the bad guy in the Broadway musical about Hamilton.  So it is a natural guess! The story of Burr's life AFTER the infamous duel might be worth a separate Broadway musical.  

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  1. Paul D. Van PeltMarch 11, 2024 at 1:39 PM

    I made remarks, earlier. Mr. Hamilton was never a President. And, by murdering him, on a field of , uh, honor, Aaron Burr also lost any traction HE may have had. People take decisions, based on their IMPs. This is both laughable and tragic. Just. Like. Life. N'cest pas?

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