Get Hamilton tickets in Chicago city

In the second footnote on the first page of the libretto, Lin-Manuel explains that the opening number of Hamilton – initially a monologue for Aaron Burr and the first song written – « owes a debt to the prologue of Sweeney Todd: All our characters set the stage for our main man’s entrance. » In fact, in Sweeney Todd, the hero, now dead, rises from the grave to tell his own story as a flashback that lasts the entire musical, a structure that likewise inspired Miranda.

Sweeney, with all his energy and justification for his behaviour, is the show, much as Hamilton is. Hamilton’s opening number « sets the style, the tone (unique as it is) and the point of view of the show perfectly (complete with the information that the hero will be dead at the final blackout).

Completing the frame, the citizens, joined by the ghosts of all the expired protagonists, recite « The Ballad of Sweeney Todd » at show’s end. In Hamilton, Eliza soon takes over the final number. It’s unusual to end a musical with someone other than the protagonist, but Miranda felt that another musical, in this case, Caroline or Change, gave him permission. Miranda admired Weidman for his history-musicals like Pacific Overtures and Assassins.

He particularly asked how to winnow down history into just a few hours. Jack Viertel comments in his book The Secret Life of the American Musical that Oklahoma! questioned the American identity and the meaning of democracy, returning in many revivals but also inspiring more shows on this question. « From Bloomer Girl to Hair to 1776 to Hairspray to Hamilton, we keep wrestling with the questions raised by Rogers and Hammerstein’s first hit ».

At the same time, Miranda adored the witch’s rap in Into the Woods with its heavy backstory turned into entertainment, and echoes of this appear in the exposition-heavy raps. Building on this, « My Shot » is the « I want » song – echoed in « Wouldn’t It Be Lovely? » from My Fair Lady and « Some People » from Gypsy. Meanwhile, you can purchase tickets to Hamilton in Chicago on this website.