GLOBAL GAL
Groundbreaking Broadway smash Hamilton arrives in London this November, and expectations are as high as the Founding Father’s high-waisted breeches. Cast member CHRISTINE ALLADO gives Attitude the lowdown on the West End’s next big hit
WORDS: TIM HEAP
EACH YEAR, in the West End, on Broadway and around the world, musicals come and go. It’s a ruthless world dominated by soaring theatre costs, increasing competition from rival productions and the need to fight for ticket sales through (almost) any means necessary. But when Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton: An American Musical burst on to the scene as an off-Broadway musical in 2015, it was soon clear that it had all the right ingredients to become a mammoth hit.
The source material may be unexpected, to Brits in particular (Alexander Hamilton is one of the USA’s Founding Fathers and the face of the $10 bill), but his battle to drag himself up from poor orphan in the Caribbean to revered American statesman lit a spark in Miranda’s brain and inspired him to write a score that ranges from operetta and mega-musical to rap and hip-hop genres. With a cast that celebrates diversity, its transfer to Broadway saw unprecedented advanced ticket sales, and just months later it was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards, scooping 11 on the night.