Hamilton, Broadway’s most popular show, is the most buzzed about new musical in recent memory, and for good reason.
With a book and music from Lin-Manuel Miranda (based on the biography from Ron Chernow), Hamilton tells the story of treasure secretary Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers. The Musical combines contemporary musical theater, rap, and some pop music elements as well. Because of its unique approach, it has been recognized by personalities all over the world, and tickets are almost impossible to obtain. Lin-Manuel also holds a ticket lottery called Ham4Ham, in which he raffles off tickets for the show. The lottery, which also has an online version called the Digital Ham4Ham, has Lin-Manuel and a special guest or fellow cast member, performing a song from the show or doing other fun and quirky Broadway related performances.
(READ: Hamilton Performs and Wins Best Musical Theater Album at the Grammy’s)
One of the most interesting points of Hamilton lies in its casting. Instead of casting Caucasians for the various characters, including the founding fathers Lin-Manuel, a Puerto Rican, casts people of color. The latest addition to this diverse cast is Filipino actress Karla Garcia (So You Think You Can Dance, Smash). To commemorate the actress’ ingress into the show, Lin-Manuel gave this week’s Ham4Ham a Filipino touch. Sporting uneven pigtails, Miranda, along with Garcia and Leslie Odom Jr. (who plays Aaron Burr in the show), sang “The Taglish Commandments”, a spin on “The Ten Duel Commandments”, a song from the show. Watch the hugely entertaining video to hear the song and learn some fun facts about Lin-Manuel too!
