The Colonial Theatre is partnering with NHPTV to present a special free screening of the first hour of “Hamilton’s America” on Sunday, October 16 at 2pm. GREAT PERFORMANCES HAMILTON’S AMERICA is a feature documentary that gives PBS viewers intimate behind-the-scenes access to Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda and his “Hamilton” artistic colleagues as they developed the ground-breaking musical. The film shows the artistic process of creating a brand new work, features scenes and songs from the show, and highlights the dramatic events that led the cast and crew to the Broadway opening of the musical. “Hamilton” is currently playing in New York only to sold-out audiences, but HAMILTON’S AMERICA will give your audiences the chance to access the show regardless of location and budget.
It began in 2008. Lin-Manuel Miranda was on vacation in Mexico, reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton – all 832 pages of it. When he returned to New York, he invited Chernow to see In the Heights, his first Broadway show and winner of the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical. During a backstage visit afterwards, Miranda told the author that as he was reading his book, hip-hop songs started rising off the pages.
“I knew it was my next show,” he says.
Eight years, 11 Tony® Awards, and one Pulitzer Prize later, Hamilton, Miranda’s hit musical, is the hottest ticket on Broadway and a pop culture phenomenon. It’s also the subject of Hamilton’s America, a new documentary from Great Performances airing this month as the season premiere of the PBS Arts Fall Festival.
The story of Alexander Hamilton is most remembered for its dramatic conclusion, which saw Hamilton killed in a duel by Vice President Aaron Burr. But the full story of this political genius – a poor immigrant who built himself up from nothing to become the architect of modern finance and one of the nation’s most vital authors – has largely been forgotten by history…until now.
Today, Hamilton’s fan club is vocal and growing, thanks, in no small measure, to Miranda’s revolutionary musical. With its young cast claiming America’s history as its own, Hamilton is redefining how audiences learn about history.
Presented in partnership with New Hampshire Public Television