Podcast Summary: BroadwayRadio – All the Drama: “Hamilton”, 2016 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Episode Date: December 13, 2025
Host: Jan Simpson
Guest: Daniel Pollack-Pelzner (Lin-Manuel Miranda's biographer, Shakespeare scholar)
Episode Focus: In-depth look at Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton—its creation, cultural impact, and the reasons behind its Pulitzer win

Episode Overview

This episode explores the genesis, success, and legacy of Hamilton, focusing on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s background and creative process. Host Jan Simpson discusses the show's developmental journey and its continued cultural resonance before welcoming Miranda’s biographer, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, to further analyze why the musical became such a groundbreaking phenomenon—and whether it will stand the test of time.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The World in 2016 and Hamilton’s Context

• The episode situates Hamilton’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize win amidst global surges in nationalism, Brexit, and the election of Donald Trump, all driven by contentious immigration debates (02:05).
• Hamilton’s story—an immigrant founding father—was seen as particularly resonant in this sociopolitical era.

2. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Origins & Artistic Development

• Born in NYC to Puerto Rican parents, Miranda was raised in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood, deeply influenced by musicals and hip hop thanks to family.
• Early experience: “He had his first piano recital when he was six… [and] he kept playing others until his teacher dragged him off the bench.” (04:58)
• Inspired by seeing Rent at 17, he started creating his own musicals, including a hit high-school show about a vengeful fetal pig.
• At Wesleyan, he pivoted from film to theater, creating numerous works and starting on In the Heights, his first major success.

3. Genesis and Creation of Hamilton

• Miranda became fascinated with Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton while on vacation, seeing parallels to his father’s immigrant story.
• Key creative moment: “He began writing what would become Hamilton’s opening song before he even left Mexico.” (09:02)
• He directly contacted Chernow and received his blessing after performing the title song.
• Early public attention came from performing the piece at the White House in 2009—video went viral, fueling further development.
• The show’s sung-through style, multi-racial casting, and blending of musical genres (hip hop, R&B, pop, traditional musical theater) distinguished it.

4. Casting & Early Development

• Significant casting stories:
  • Chris Jackson as George Washington; Daveed Diggs as Lafayette/Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica (whose audition was pivotal); and Leslie Odom Jr. as Burr.
  • On Odom’s casting: “His response was to invite Odom to join the work in progress.” (17:27)
• The show’s development included early concerts, extensive rewrites, and a determination to resist Broadway norms dictating racial or narrative stereotypes.
• Public Theater run in 2015 generated enormous buzz, leading to a Broadway transfer.

5. Cultural Impact and Commercial Success

• Hamilton opened on Broadway in August 2015 with record advance sales.
• Notable outreach: Ham4Ham outdoor concerts and ticket lotteries to ensure accessibility, despite sky-high ticket prices.
• It won 11 Tony Awards, the Grammy for Best Theater Album, and a Pulitzer Prize—the first musical by a person of color ever to win.

Notable Quote

• “[Hamilton] was the ninth musical to win the Pulitzer and the first written by a person of color.” – Jan Simpson (03:11)

6. Backlash & Critical Conversation

• Original cast members negotiated for profit shares, resulting in a portion of touring and Broadway profits allocated to them.
• Criticism has centered on the show’s depiction of slave-owning Founders and questions about its historical framing.
• Political flashpoint: After Mike Pence attended a show, cast directly addressed him from the stage, prompting backlash from then-President Trump.

7. Miranda’s Broader Career & Aftermath

• While developing Hamilton, Miranda worked on other musicals (Bring It On), film adaptations, Disney projects (Moana, Encanto), and even returned to Hamilton in Puerto Rico to support hurricane relief.
• He’s shifted focus to film and new musical projects, notably a musical adaptation of The Warriors, previewed as a concept album.

Interview with Daniel Pollack-Pelzner (22:46–42:27)

Discovering and Writing About Hamilton

• Saw Hamilton in early Broadway previews with Joe Biden in attendance:

  “Watching this series of American vice presidents… sitting down the row from the current vice president made me feel like, wow, this is as close as I could get to seeing Henry V next to Queen Elizabeth in 1599.” (23:22)

• Deeply struck by the Shakespearean wordplay, intertextuality, and wit:

  “When Hamilton says to Aaron Burr, ‘You punched the Burr, sir,’ the pun was just thrilling.” (25:00)
  “Lin-Manuel Miranda, you’re beaming me Macbeth signals that this is where I should be spending my time.” (25:40)

• Miranda’s obsession with legacy and death predates Hamilton:

  “He had actually written a project about the Burr-Hamilton duel in his 10th grade history class.… It was amazing to find lines in that script that made it actually into the Broadway musical.” (27:30)

On Hamilton’s Pulitzer and Enduring Appeal

• Winning the Pulitzer was widely expected due to the show’s wide acclaim and innovation:

  “I think a lot of people had that sense that this was such a thrilling and innovative style for representing fundamental questions about who we are as an American people….” (29:56)

• Show draws on deep American—and musical theater—history:

  “It’s a type of innovation that was also very legible within theater history… tipping its hat to Gilbert and Sullivan, to Macbeth, to Rodgers and Hammerstein, to Jason Robert Brown, along with Biggie and Eminem and Tupac.” (30:51)

• On longevity and cycles of reception:

  “We went from it being the toast of the Obama era… to the sort of scourge or nemesis of the Trump era…. to rediscovery by another generation… within 10 years, it’s gone through the sort of cycles of, you know, rapture, backlash, backlash to the backlash, and rediscovery in ways that most things don’t go through even one stage of….” (32:21)

• Future endurance depends on its life after Broadway, in schools, and through recordings.

On Influence and Imitation

• Hamilton hasn’t been directly imitated in hip hop–centered musicals; the real legacy is artists bringing their authentic music to the stage:

  “He would say… you should find the musical style that suits the story that you’re telling and you should write the show that only you can write. And so that’s not a genre specific lesson….” (35:20)

• Highlights legacy in shows like Hadestown and Suffs, which find unique musical voices for their stories and use non-traditional casting.

On Miranda’s Career Post-Hamilton

• The unprecedented success of Hamilton is a blessing and challenge for Miranda:

  “He always says he knows Hamilton is the first line of his obituary… For a guy who’s been haunted by the specter of death throughout his life, he now knows his legacy is going to be secured.” (38:50)

• Miranda is now empowered to explore film (Mary Poppins Returns, Tick Tick Boom), and new musicals (notably The Warriors).

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On five-year-olds quoting Hamilton:

  “The number of five-year-olds in America who can now quote every line of Hamilton, I think, exceeds the level of familiarity that anybody has with Shakespeare these days.” – Daniel Pollack-Pelzner (26:18)

• Discovery of Miranda’s teenage Hamilton script:

  “I had not known that he had actually written a project about the Burr-Hamilton duel in his 10th grade American history class… to see lines in that script that made it actually into the Broadway musical.” – Daniel Pollack-Pelzner (27:30)

• On Hamilton’s afterlife:

  “I think all those things make it likely to me that it’s going to have a pretty long and nuanced and rich afterlife.” – Daniel Pollack-Pelzner (33:54)

Notable Timestamps

• 02:05 – Contextualizing 2016 and Hamilton’s cultural/political relevance
• 07:10–16:40 – Miranda’s upbringing, education, early works, and influences
• 17:10–22:45 – Hamilton’s creative process, casting stories, early buzz, and unique development
• 22:46–42:27 – Pollack-Pelzner interview: seeing Hamilton, biography research, Pulitzer impact, show’s legacy, and Miranda’s next steps

Closing Thoughts

The episode provides a thorough, engaging look at both the myth and reality of Hamilton—how Lin-Manuel Miranda’s unique background and the sociopolitical moment combined with bold artistic innovation to create a work that’s both historically significant and hotly debated. Guest Daniel Pollack-Pelzner’s insights offer deep appreciation for Hamilton’s craft, its surprising genesis, and its ongoing reverberations in American theater and culture.