'Hamilton' at the Grammys: Why the performance will be unusual
-
Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Even the Grammy Awards have gotten caught up in the popularity of 鈥淗amilton.鈥�
The cast of the smash hit Broadway show, which is based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, will perform during the Grammy Awards, with the segment joining the broadcast live via satellite from the Richard Rodgers Theatre.聽
The actors will perform the first song from the Broadway musical, which opened this past August.
Broadway numbers being performed during the Grammys are far from the norm. The 鈥淗amilton鈥� cast being part of the show will be the eighth time ever that a musical theater production has been part of the show. The Grammys themselves have been held since 1959.聽
The last Broadway show to be featured on the Grammys was the musical 鈥淎merican Idiot,鈥� but that had its roots at the ceremony 鈥� 鈥淎merican鈥� was based on the music of Grammy-winning band Green Day.聽
The fact that the cast of 鈥淗amilton鈥� will be performing as part of the ceremony just shows how much the musical is dominating pop culture. Tickets for the show have been almost impossible to get since 鈥淗amilton鈥� debuted on the Great White Way and the show鈥檚 soundtrack had the highest debut on the Billboard 200 chart for a cast album since 1961鈥檚 鈥淐amelot鈥� with Julie Andrews and Richard Burton, according to .
The songs from Broadway musicals used to be a vital part of pop music and of what listeners would hear on the radio. Songs from shows like 鈥淪how Boat,鈥� 鈥淥klahoma!,鈥� 鈥淛esus Christ Superstar,鈥� and 鈥淐ats,鈥� among many others, became popular alongside pop hits.聽
Now, though, the performance of the 鈥淗amilton鈥� album is more of an anomaly.
Why is 鈥淗amilton鈥� such a big hit? notes that 鈥淗amilton鈥� composer, writer, and star Lin-Manuel Miranda is 鈥渁lmost an ambassador for the notion that musical theater can be culturally relevant beyond the walls of the theater鈥� the soundtrack鈥� actually holds up as a complete narrative 鈥� Hamilton's life story as connected to the rise of America manages to play as an audio-only experience.鈥� Fans wanting to know what all the fuss is about can still listen to the album if they can鈥檛 get tickets.聽
wrote that 鈥渢he key to聽鈥楬amilton鈥欌�檚 greatness lies in its words鈥� those words are compelling, stirring, heartbreaking, and just plain gorgeous.鈥�
And the diversity of the cast is important, too, says Dunaway. 鈥淗ow can any American who has a heart not be inspired by seeing such a multicultural cast play the founding fathers of our country?鈥� he wrote. 鈥溾�he show gives minority kids a way into the story of the founding of our nation, a story where maybe they never saw themselves before.鈥�
