Hamilton

July 4, 2016
The hip-hop musical Hamilton: The Revolution has earned its own biography, which highlights the obstacles, influences, and powerful moments from its development to its Broadway success. McCarter narrates the introduction (which he wrote), and one can hear the excitement and enthusiasm he still has for both the musical and his work with Miranda. Actress Hargitay, longtime star of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU, covers the lion’s share of this performance, and she does an astounding job. She captures the energy and enthusiasm of the various people quoted throughout the book, while capturing the emphasis and tone to draw out some of the more emotional moments. Miranda chimes in for the last hour, reading—and at times singing—footnotes on the libretto, which is confusing for listeners who are not following directly along with the PDF of the script. A Grand Central hardcover.

October 1, 2016

This glorious, oversize testament to the multiple Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton is a joy to anyone who loves the sound track or who has been lucky enough to score tickets to the show. Miranda's annotations are in the margins of the lyrics, which are usually overlaid on full-spread photographs of the cast. He explains the many homages to rappers of his youth, as well as why he used literary devices, changed music tempos, and added fiction when Ron Chernow's biography couldn't fill in the gaps. Thirty-two essays offer teens even more background knowledge of how the show was created and often include lyrics that were cut from the final show. Through interviews with cast members and mentors, readers will be engrossed in the narrative and listening along to the sound track. The line "Immigrants: We get the job done," from "Yorktown (the World Turned Upside Down)," stirs rousing applause during performances, and the revolutionary twist of nonwhite actors portraying the Founding Fathers will be inspiring to young people. VERDICT An uplifting, gorgeous, diverse, and emotional libretto that will be performed in high schools as soon as the rights are available, and a must-have for initiated and uninitiated alike.-Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2015

Miranda was the composer, lyricist, and star of Broadway's In the Heights, which won four Tony Awards in 2008 and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Then came Hamilton, the trailblazing, diverse-cast, hip hop-crazy musical that had a sold-out run at New York's Public Theater before winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical and transferring to Broadway. Now it's a Tony favorite, with decent ticket availability starting around June 2016. Here, having told the story of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda tells the story of Hamilton. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.