Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton is a landmark work that provides a detailed and vivid account of Hamilton's life. It recounts his rise from an illegitimate, largely self-taught orphan from the Caribbean to becoming a key figure in American history. Hamilton served as George Washington’s aide-de-camp, coauthored The Federalist Papers, founded the Bank of New York, led the Federalist Party, and became the first Treasury Secretary of the United States. Chernow's work challenges traditional views of Hamilton, portraying him as a complex figure driven by passionate patriotism and a stubborn will to build American prosperity and power. The biography also explores his personal life, including his relationships, feuds, and his famous duel with Aaron Burr. It is not just a portrait of Hamilton but also a narrative of America’s birth seen through his central role in it.
Since the blockbuster success of his musical “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda has been busy: acting, directing, and composing for Disney projects, including the upcoming movie “Mufasa: The Lion King.”
But his new project is more personal, and a throwback in the best sense. Working with the playwright Eisa Davis, he has reimagined a movie from his childhood as a concept album. “The Warriors” is a cult classic released in 1979. “The Warriors are a gang from Coney Island, and they have to fight their way from the Bronx all the way back down to Coney Island in the course of the film,” Miranda tells David Remnick. The film reads as a nineteen-seventies period piece, but Miranda and Davis find a classical dimension to it. “The tale is an old tale. Sol Yurick, who wrote the novel the movie is based on, based it on the Anabasis, which is a soldier’s account of trying to get back home from war” in ancient Greece. “It’s this mythic story. . . . It doesn’t get more clear than that as a plotline.” To tell that story in song and rap, Miranda brought together a cast of legends including Lauryn Hill, Nas, Marc Anthony, members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and more. If releasing a concept album, meant to be listened to straight through, seems like a stretch for 2024 audiences, Miranda is unfazed. “What’s interesting about “Hamilton” is that no one I talked to thought it was a good idea when I was writing it. But I could see it. And it was the idea that wouldn’t leave me alone.”
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