Hamilton: The Revolution

When Miranda cast Leslie Odom, jr. as Aaron Burr, he wanted someone who was Hamilton’s opposite in every way. He is cool and refined next to Hamilton’s hotheaded recklessness. Burr is the antagonist, striving to outshine Hamilton, who is always one step ahead. When they meet, Hamilton is one prodigy seeking advice from another. Like Hamilton, Burr is an orphan, but his parents were well-educated and respected. He is ambitious and intelligent, having earned a college degree in two years, but his strategy is to remain cautious and patient. Hamilton looks down on him for his lack of convictions, as Burr seems primarily concerned with advancement and political power rather than taking a strong stance on his beliefs, even changing political parties to win a senate seat. Burr is also the main narrator of the musical, which is notable because his commentary comes from the perspective of someone who hates the main character and is struggling to understand him.

Burr announces in the opening number that he is the one who kills Hamilton, creating a sense of dramatic irony about the significance of his role in Hamilton’s narrative. Operating underneath his personal mantra, “Talk less, smile more” (24), Burr is enigmatic and opportunistic with his colleagues, but he opens himself up to the audience through his narration. He reveals his jealousy and growing resentment toward Hamilton while maintaining a calm exterior. Musically, Burr’s songs are melodically smooth and polished, sometimes tightly organized, like “The Room Where It Happens,” and sometimes full of impassioned longing, like “Wait for It.” The musical humanizes Burr, providing a window to his inner conflict and the buildup of frustration and anger that leads to the final duel. In the end, Burr receives some measure of historical redemption by explaining his reasoning for shooting directly and expressing remorse. 

The musical represents George Washington ("George Washington's Farewell Address") as a general during the American Revolution and as the first president of the United States. He is Hamilton’s mentor and often his voice of reason in his ear. Washington is in his mid-40s at the start of the revolution, and he is depicted as the portrait of wisdom and confidence. Washington suggests more than once that he was much more mercurial in his youth, making reckless decisions that he has since learned will be remembered by history. Chris Jackson, who originated the role, viewed Washington as an icon of command and leadership. As a Black man, Jackson had to grapple with the irreconcilable knowledge that Washington owned a large slave plantation. Washington sees Hamilton’s potential and seeks him out. Washington becomes a father figure and protects Hamilton, even hesitating to give Hamilton a command that will risk his life after he learns that Eliza is pregnant. Washington also convinces Hamilton that he doesn’t need to be a martyr to make his mark. As president, he brings Hamilton with him to serve on his cabinet. He helps to keep Hamilton’s unfiltered brashness in check until he retires. Musically, as an older figure, Washington tends to sing songs that are more traditional and melodic, particularly his retirement song.

In the first act, Hamilton bypasses Burr’s friendship to join up and drink with his three future revolutionary compatriots. When Washington enlists Hamilton as his aide-de-camp, Hamilton recommends his three friends as competent and trustworthy. All three are fast-talking and passionate about the revolution, showboating for each other and taking risks together. Lafayette is French, and he has a major hand in turning the tide of the war toward the rebels by going to France and returning with backup and weaponry. He also appeals to Washington on Hamilton’s behalf to try and convince him to let Hamilton command troops. Mulligan, who went on escapades with Hamilton to steal British cannons, goes into British camps as a spy. Laurens, who is particularly close friends with Hamilton, fights a duel on his behalf when Hamilton is ordered not to engage. He is especially invested in ending slavery, and he and Hamilton write anti-slavery essays together. Laurens goes to South Carolina and tries to achieve rights for enslaved people to fight in the revolution. After the war, Laurens is killed by a British gunfight that erupted as the British are leaving, making his death unnecessary for the winning of the revolution.

In the essays about the making of the musical, Ron Chernow describes Eliza as one of the challenges of dramatizing Hamilton’s story. She is warm, kind, and loving, which are not terribly dramatic qualities. Eliza is the middle Schuyler sister, and Eliza and Hamilton meet when her wealthy father throws a ball, where they fall in love and marry almost immediately. She sings that Hamilton makes her helpless when she falls in love with him but proves that being gentle doesn’t make her weak. She serves to remind Hamilton to live his life instead of only worrying about his legacy, and she convinces him to try and survive the war to meet their son. When Hamilton becomes buried in work, she draws him out to spend time with their son on his birthday. When Hamilton betrays her, she stands up for herself and takes back the privacy he violated by burning their letters. She forgives him after Philip dies, and after Hamilton’s death, Eliza proves to be the keeper of his legacy, continuing the work that she believes he would have done and publishing his writing. Her music is sweet and melodic, even when she is angry.

Angelica is the oldest Schuyler sister and the only person in the play who can match wits with Hamilton. She falls for Hamilton at the same time as Eliza, but she immediately chooses her sister’s happiness over her own. She carried on a friendship with Hamilton, and continued to carry a torch for him, and their letters to each other are intelligent and flirty. There is no determining evidence in the historical record as to whether they had a physical affair, but the musical demonstrates that they had an emotional one. However, when Hamilton publishes the Reynolds Pamphlet, Angelica rushes to Angelica’s side and dismisses Hamilton for the sake of supporting her sister. Musically, it’s notable that Angelica performs what Miranda describes as the most difficult rap in the show, which is a testament to her cleverness.

Played by the same actor who plays Peggy, the youngest Schuyler sister who largely fades into the background, Maria is the woman with whom Hamilton has an affair. She shows up at his door seeking help after her husband abuses her, and after he walks her home, she invites him in. One of the problematic aspects of her characterization is that she is depicted unflatteringly as a pitiful seductress, who draws Hamilton in and shoulders the blame for the affair that Hamilton can’t resist. Maria represents a significant but unsavory aspect of Hamilton’s biography, and she is written in a way that softens the blow of Hamilton’s decision to betray Eliza. Maria’s husband blackmails Hamilton, and the payment records provide fodder for Jefferson, Madison, and Burr to accuse Hamilton of embezzling. Maria sings in R&B style opposite Hamilton’s rapping about the situation.

Although King George III, as the English king on the other side of the American Revolution, is possibly the most powerful villain in the show, his sadistic drollness and the infectious melody of his song make him ironically likable. He is also the only character who is played by a white actor, offering a tacit criticism of colonialism as white supremacy. He appears three times over the course of the musical and sings three variations on the same song, which is stylistically modeled after British invasion music of the 1960s, such as the Beatles. Unlike the rest of the characters, who express their passion and pain, King George utters threats of brutality in a cheerfully upbeat tone. He mocks the newly independent country playfully, certain that they will fall prey to the many unexpected pitfalls of creating a nation.

At the end of Act I, both Burr and Hamilton have the parallel experience of becoming first-time fathers after the revolution ends, and both relate the significance of the birth of their children to the simultaneous birth of a new nation. Philip returns in Act II on his ninth birthday, played by the actor who plays Laurens in the first act. Philip worships his father and performs his own childlike rap for him. When Philip resurfaces in the story, he has just turned 19 and graduated from King’s College. He has inherited his father’s intelligence and way with women, but he dies in a duel trying to defend his father’s honor against insults. In the opening number, “Alexander Hamilton,” Laurens/Philip describes himself as someone who died for Hamilton, which could be interpreted as true for Laurens and is certainly true for Philip. In both of his songs, Philip raps with a youthful, laidback quality that doesn’t reach his father’s frenzied style.