There is a life before and a life after Hamilton. The groundbreaking and multi-award-winning creation by Lin-Manuel Miranda, that has recently graced screens on Disney+, is a production that is not only watchable, but immediately rewatchable. Repeatedly. Rarely have I experienced anything on or off screen which has gripped me so.

As a researcher in English literature, theatre lies at the heart of my work. Shakespeare’s Globe and the West End have been personal haunts, and in early postgraduate years I reviewed theatre for a number of outlets. From musicals to opera and everything in between, the West End has been an unquestionably enjoyable but stuffy experience. Almost without exception I would be one of a handful (if that) of BAME people present on and off the stage. My brown visibly Muslim presence an insertion provoking frequent sideways glances as I brought discomfort to the white privilege of these spaces. Of the productions themselves, the music would be melodious but not game-changing. The printed programmes would often describe a higher purpose that on stage would be buried in the muddle of art. More than anything, theatre entertained – in a narrowly defined frame for that term.

Hamilton breaks all such boundaries. An overwhelmingly BAME cast, makes theatre a space visibly and viscerally for all. The talent – broad, breathtaking – makes one believe again. History intertwined with art in a manner that melds politics with pleasure, tragedy with talent, democracy with dance and power with all people. And if all else were laid aside, the music, to take Hamilton’s own words, will be enough. There can be no denying that Miranda is a musical polymath. From hip hop to traditional show tunes, this production seamlessly traverses genres and pushes the socio-culturally imposed boundaries of musical theatre in a manner that holds a mirror up to the shortsightedness of our expectations. One is left astonished at the realisation that this production broke new ground – that this richness has not been the norm in musical theatre this whole time, and that we have not demanded it.

Notwithstanding its impressive credentials, however, Hamilton undeniably has its failings on the story of race in America. In a world in which the Black Lives Matter movement has finally brought to our collective consciousness the scale of brutality and oppression which campaigners have spent centuries raising, Hamilton is viewed in a renewed – and crucial – light. While an all-BAME cast furthers the cause of a more representative theatre and breaks ground for artists and art alike, colour-blindness does not tackle the harsh realities of history and oppression. While slavery and abolition is mentioned, no slave is given a voice. While the Founding Fathers are celebrated, their slave-owning is touched on lightly. And while the narrative of Black oppression is inadequate, the history of Indigenous genocide is entirely non-existent.

There is something to be said for the challenge of concentrating decades of complex history into a two-and-a-half-hour piece. Furthermore, the global BLM movement has laudably shifted the goalposts, and what was groundbreaking then has scope to go further now. Historic context is also worthy of consideration; that Black and Indigenous voices were indeed choked. As abolitionist Frederick Douglass would declare, “What to the slave is the fourth of July?” Figures like John Laurens, portrayed by Antony Ramos, did critique slavery and strove to establish the first 3,000-man Black regiment to join the fight for freedom. Hamilton himself along with Hercules Mulligan, played by Okieriete Onaodowan, would help establish the New York Manumission Society, which worked towards abolition. Yet, as the musical itself observes, it matters who lives, who dies and who tells your story. Including only white men’s efforts against Black oppression is not enough. As Miranda has duly acknowledged, “All the criticisms are valid.”

Despite its flaws, Hamilton remains an irresistibly riveting work. Like the many who are now streaming it, I am feeling the loss of not experiencing Hamilton live – yet. And more so that I may not ever experience it with the original cast. Miranda’s Hamilton is captivating and maddening, exuding the un-inhibitable energy of a man in too great a hurry to make history to await anyone. Leslie Odom Jr is Aaron Burr in walking envy; his performance renders his ambition and hatred tangible in equal measure. His powerful vocal capacities are in turn envy-inducing. Renée Elise Goldsberry’s standout performance exudes the intellect and grace of Angelica Schuyler such that her presence on stage is a presence in your very room. Relatively infrequent but powerful, every exit leaves one awaiting her return. Meanwhile few can fault the brilliantly footloose comedy of Daveed Diggs as Lafayette and Jefferson, and the fabulously wild-eyed Jonathan Groff as manic King George III.

But perhaps the character most endearing is Eliza Hamilton, portrayed by the talented Philippa Soo. The wife of Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton is a presence of love and fortitude in a production that engages the full turbulence of national realisation. From War of Independence to the struggles of a new nation, while others falter and sway as the country is tossed at sea, Eliza is an anchor, steadying not only her restless husband but the nation at large. A call to calm, compromise and a vision that extends beyond disagreements of the moment – “look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now?”

While Hamilton would not make it to 50, his widow would survive another 50 years garnering five more decades of respect and philanthropy. During their marriage she would draft with him some of his most iconic documents, while raising their eight children. Following his death she would battle to preserve his materials, going on to collect his biography while concurrently engaging in numerous historic initiatives, from the creation of the Washington Monument to the founding of the first private orphanage in New York. The play awaits the very final scene to truly centre the remarkable woman without whom the eponymous man would not be who he came to be, and without whom his long-fought yet cut-short legacy would likely have been ground into the dusts of history. Indeed, even Hamilton the musical itself would not have been possible were it not for the decades of the widow Hamilton’s industry to protect the Founding Father’s documents and legacy. While the closing scene touches on this reality, it is far from adequate and leaves one seeking more.

But then perhaps this sense of incompletion was intended. For nothing would be a more perfect follow-on to this musical sensation than one treading the footsteps of Eliza Hamilton. Here’s hoping that Miranda has another phenomenon up his sleeve – that we too can compel him to include women in the sequel. Hamilton took seven years to complete and a sequel may take no less. I for one am willing to wait for it.

Photo Credit: Hamilton / Disney