"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story": The use and representation of records in Hamilton: An American musical

Abstract

Hamilton: An American Musical has been the focus of much theatrical and historical praise, critique, and commentary since its off-Broadway premiere in February 2015. The discussion has only intensified since the show opened on Broadway in August of that year. In September 2016, the musical's composer, lyricist, and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda; its director, Thomas Kail; and its historical consultant, Ron Chernow, were awarded the 2016 Records of Achievement Award from the National Archives Foundation, following the presentation of the Society of American Archivists' J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award to Miranda and Chernow the previous summer. Other prizes have included the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and eleven Tony Awards. The popularity and acclaim of the musical, as well as its use of historical documents to tell its story, merit an examination from an archival perspective. How are records used and represented in Hamilton? Taking as a foundation (though not as a framework) the "iconography of archives" first outlined by Barbara Craig and James O'Toole and since updated by Lindsay Mattock and Eleanor Mattern, this article examines records' presence both onstage and in the narrative of Hamilton. Records are used as props and appear as subjects throughout the show's two acts. Records are also represented as historical evidence, providing the authority for the historically inspired story onstage. Yet, at the same time, Hamilton depicts the archival record as incomplete, asking audiences to reflect on the constructed nature of "who lives, who dies, who tells your story."