Introduction :
How can literature serve as a vehicle for social change ? Musical theatre and drama as forms of literature did started or enhanced social change by changing codes or going out of the usual paths. It also has been used to depict important historical events or turning point.
Hamilton :
Hamilton is a musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow he created the music and the lyrics.
Officially titled Hamilton: An American Musical it tells the story of forgotten and yesterday one of the most influential American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and his ascent out of poverty and to power against the backdrop of the American War of Independence.
He was born in the British West Indies, became an orphan, made his reputation during the Revolutionary War, became George Washington right hand man and played a key role in defending and ratifying the U.S. Constitution.
While Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson might not have been in actual rap battles, they did compete against each other as Miranda portrays it in the show. The love triangle between Hamilton and two of the Schuyler sisters is also purely dramatic invention as Angelica Schuyler was already married when she met Hamilton. But suddenly the audience feels emotionally invested in this 18th-century life story and falls in love with history and with the legacy of America’s founding.
The musical has been described as “America then, as told by America now. As the narrative of one man’s story becomes the collective narrative of a nation, a nation built by immigrants who occasionally need to be reminded where they came from.”
Hair :
Hair : The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical written by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot.
It deals with subject such as the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution of the late 1960s, and several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement.
Hair tells the story of a group of politically active, long-haired hippies of the “Age of Aquarius” living in New York City and fighting against the Vietnam War.
Hair explores many of the themes of the hippie movement of the 1960s : race and the tribe, nudity, sexual freedom, drug use, pacifism and environmentalism, religion and astrology.
The touring company of Hair met with resistance throughout the United States. In South Bend, Indiana, the Morris Civic Auditorium refused booking, and in Evansville, Indiana, the production was picketed by several church groups.
The legal challenges against the Boston production were appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The musical was said to have “marked the end of stage censorship in the United Kingdom” since the nude scene has almost been censured in London. This same nudity scene also had a little controversy in for the Parisian representation.
In Bergen, Norway, local citizens formed a human barricade to try to prevent the performance.
This musical effectively brought social change in theatre by focusing on historical and cultural subjects and taking controversial decisions.
West Side Story:
West Side Story is a musical written by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.
The story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid 1950s, an ethnic, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical shows the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are provoked by the Jets, a white gang.The main mal character, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang’s leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks.
Conceived in the 1950’s, West Side Story has a serious message that pleads for racial tolerance while both the Americans and Puerto Rican’s protagonists show great stereotypical thinking.
“West Side Story ” addresses the problems of gangs, violence, bullying, prejudice, and hate. Through the eyes of the Caucasian Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks we see two ethnic groups who argue and fight over their right to live with dignity and respect. And as the original play Romeo and Juliet we hope that the strong though forbidden love and romance between the two opposite protagonists will crush the tribal barriers and rivalries caused by fear and racial intolerance.
Rent:
Rent is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jonathan Larson,loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in Lower Manhattan’s East Village in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. On Broadway, Rent won several awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical. Rent won 4 musicals. Rent affected so many people. Rent is about 7 people living in New York during the late 1980s. These people barely afford rent. The Synopsis is “In this musical, set at the dawn of the 1990s, a group of New Yorkers struggle with their careers, love lives and the effects of the AIDS epidemic on their community. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, and Roger, an HIV-positive musician, scramble for money to pay rent to their landlord and former roommate, Benny. Meanwhile, their friend Tom, an unemployed professor, has fallen for Angel, a drag queen who is slowly dying of AIDS. While Maureen Mark’s ex girlfriend wants to make a difference in this world and force change. Joanne is Maureen’s girlfriend. They both struggle in their relationship, because Maureen has a wild personality while Joanne is more reserved.” Rent helped people be sympathetic to aid victims. It showed what it was like to live in New York at the time.
In The Heights:
Lin-Manuel Miranda has changed Broadway forever. He loved Broadway and theatre ever since he was a kid, but as he got older he noticed that broadway shows were mostly white actors. He saw very little shows that represented his people. So he was the first to change that. Instead of sitting idly by waiting for a show where he felt represented he decided to write his own script. In 2009 he released In The Heights. A musical about the barrio of Washington Heights. Throughout the musical, they talk about poverty, sickness, money, and how they are neglected by their own government.
The synopsis for In The Heights is “The story explores three days in the characters’ lives in the New York City Latino neighbourhood of Washington Heights. The score features hip-hop, salsa, merengue and soul music. In the hispanic community of Manhattan’s Washington Heights, bodega owner Usnavi is dating Vanessa, who works in a beauty salon. He dreams of opening a bar in his home country, the Dominican Republic. Nina loves Benny, a shy young man who has worked for Nina’s parents for years, but her father opposes their union because he wants Nina to finish her education at Stanford University. She doesn’t want her father to bankrupt himself paying for the expensive school, but her father is prepared to sell his car-service business. “Abuela” Claudia, who raised Usnavi after the death of his parents, wins $96,000 in a numbers game.”
The Heights really helped other people who didn’t grow up in the barrio a better understanding of what everyday life was like. The musical broke the stigma that people who grew up in the barrio aren’t bad people. They aren’t in gangs and they just want to survive their own crazy, stress-induced life. In The Heights also gave more opportunities for Latino people for more roles on Broadway. There are very few chances for a Latino to be a star in a Broadway production. Lin-Manel Miranda changed that. In The Heights also changed the game because it was the first well-known rap musical to take the stage. Lin wanted to think differently and create a production that no one has ever done before, and that’s exactly what he did. He created a modern musical that would inspire teenagers and young adults just like it inspired him. He even puts in a part of “America” from the musical West Side Story in his song called “In The Heights.” It’s a very nice tribute to the first musical to represent the Latino community. In The Heights was nominated for 15 Tony awards. It won five awards including Best Musical. The musical really represents how the barrio is like and should open everyone’s eyes to see the changes we need to make so our world can be a better place.
Theatre kids 