History Theatre / Hamilton

* EmasculatedCuckold: A [[GenderInvertedTrope Rare Gender Inversion]] and PlayedForDrama. After Hamilton publicly admits to cheating on his wife by publishing the Reynolds Pamphlet, Eliza gets mocked and ridiculed. The humiliation and betrayal causes her to get so angry that she burns all of Alexander's love letters to her.

* ConceptAlbum: ''Hamilton'' began as "The Hamilton Mixtape" before Miranda adapted it into a fully-fledged hip-hop musical.

** Actually, it would be more accurate to say ''Hamilton'' uses color-''conscious'' casting--it is intentionally required that the principals be played by people of color. Reviewers and fans have say that this is meant to be symbolical and one signifies patriotism than "Good People = Person, Bad People = White Person"; the BigBad Aaron Burr is played by the African-American Creator/LeslieOdomJr in the Original Broadway Cast after all. Rather, when the character, specifically the central characters, are played by a person of color, it signifies their patriotism or support of America, while those unpatriotic and/or stand against America are played by Caucasian actors, such as Samuel Seabury and King George.

* ColorBlindCasting: The only set rule in the original casting call is that King George has to be the TokenWhite. Other than that, performers of any race/ethnicity can play the other principals.
** Actually, it would be more accurate to say ''Hamilton'' uses color-''conscious'' casting--it is intentionally required that the principals be played by people of color.

** The chorus of "My Shot", given that Hamilton [[spoiler:ends up metaphorically throwing away his shot in his duel with Burr]].

** The pose which Hamilton adopts at the end of "My Shot" (and on the poster) foreshadows his decision to shoot his pistol in the air during his duel with Burr.

* AdaptationalWimp: Aaron Burr is depicted as a quiet pushover who simply goes along with the winning side no matter what he personally believes (until he TakesALevelInBadass following "The Room Where it Happens"), and politically he refuses to take any hard stances in order to avoid burning bridges. In real life, Aaron Burr was incredibly ambitious and was absolutely not afraid to get into a fight; he was the first of the show's characters to join the Revolution, and politically he was a bonafide genius, inventing the form of electioneering that we still use today and pulling an incredibly cunning maneuver to con the Federalists out of their banking monopoly. In fact, his {{Catchphrase}} of "talk less, smile more" more accurately describes Jefferson than it does Burr.

** No, Hamilton never punched the bursar for calling him stupid; Lin-Manuel Miranda simply [[JustForPun couldn't resist the rhyme with "Burr, sir."]]

** A brief but tongue-twisting example from Helpless: "We were at a '''r'''evel with some '''r'''ebels on a hot night."
** Not just word-to-word, but syllable-to-syllable in Washington on Your Side: "If Washington isn't gon' listen to '''d'''iscipline'''d''' '''d'''issi'''d'''ents this is the '''d'''ifference: This kid is out!"

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix''. That show is more of a GovernmentProcedural focused on one summer, while ''Hamilton'' is a full biography, but there are similarities beyond "about a Founding Father." In particular are John Adams' struggle to maintain his principles while convincing his political opponents to go along with him, the struggles and contradictions of the Revolution, and his tendency to piss off everyone around him. ''1776'' also alludes to the fickle nature of legacy and historical memory with Adams' lament that he's sure to be forgotten and Franklin's comment that future generations ought to view them as men, not demi-gods. In ''Hamilton'' it's a central theme, with various characters' attempts to shape and control how they'll be viewed in the future and the awareness that every decision sets a precedent.

** Hamilton drops a [[SoundEffectBleep bleeped]] one against UsefulNotes/JohnAdams in "The Adams Administration", accompanied by the sound of a falling bomb, no less! Why bleep this curse word out when there are many, many other swears throughout the show? This is a [[FridgeBrilliance subtle reference to the sedition act]] made by Adams, forbidding "malicious writing" against the government. Miranda actually posted the uncensored line to his [[https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/632972938128543744 Twitter account]], and the line itself is somewhat...unexpected when unbleeped, to say the least.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul:
** Hamilton and Burr's relationship is portrayed as a life-long political and moral rivalry despite genuine attempts at friendship to add as much weight as possible to their inevitable climactic duel, but in real life their relationship was much more cordial on both sides. They didn't definitively meet for the first time until after the Revolution was over[[note]]Their first documented meeting was in the 1780s, but they moved in similar social circles in New York, so they likely knew of each other even if they never documented a meeting[[/note]], and aside from working together on the Levi Weeks case, they ultimately barely interacted with each other. It wasn't until the Manhattan Water Company scam in 1799 that their relationship became outright antagonistic, meaning they ultimately were only rivals for the last five years of Hamilton's life.
** Angelica's feelings for Hamilton are specifically romantic, and the cut song "Congratulations" calls her marriage loveless. In real life, while Angelica and Hamilton were very good friends (with some at the time even thinking they were lovers), there is no evidence that there were genuine romantic feelings on either side. Additionally, Angelica actually eloped with her husband because her father didn't approve of his British ties, meaning she actually wanted to be with him.
** There is no physical evidence suggesting that Hercules Mulligan ever met John Laurens or the Marquis de Lafayette, much less became close friends with them as depicted in the musical. There certainly were times they could have crossed paths, considering all three were active in the revolution, but if they actually ever met there is no proof. Hamilton and the other two men did actually exchange many letters and became close friends during the revolution, however.
** Madison and Jefferson were good friends in real life, but politically they were equals and treated each other as such - the musical turns Madison into Jefferson's NumberTwo, especially once the election of 1800 comes around.

** Hamilton drops a [[SoundEffectBleep bleeped]] one against UsefulNotes/JohnAdams in "The Adams Administration", accompanied by the sound of a falling bomb, no less! Why bleep this curse word out when there are many, many other swears throughout the show? This is a [[FridgeBrilliance subtle reference to the sedition act]] made by Adams, forbidding "malicious writing" against the government. Miranda actually posted the uncensored line to his [[https://twitter.com/lin_manuel/status/632972938128543744?lang=en Twitter account]], and the line itself is somewhat...unexpected when unbleeped, to say the least.

** The more negative QuestionableConsent connotations of Hamilton's affair with Maria Reynolds aren't really addressed either. He was an incredibly powerful figure as Treasury Secretary at that point and she was a desperate young mother eleven years his junior in a time in which there was no social safety net and when women were still viewed as property. He also knowingly ruined her life several years later when he published the Reynold Papers without any thought about how it would affect her.

** During "A Winter's Ball", Aaron Burr tells the audience that Martha Washington named her tomcat after Alexander; Hamilton (and at one point the playwrite Creator/LinManuelMiranda)turns to the audience and smirks, "that's true."[[note]]Disappointingly, this fact is probably just a rumor spread by Hamilton's political rivals.[[/note]]

** Burr mentions that Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after Hamilton because he was such a ladies man. Hamilton acknowledges the anecdote with a gleeful smile.

* AssShove: Implied by Hamilton in "Cabinet Battle #1":

** In "Say No To This", an F-bomb in Reynolds' [[spoiler: blackmail]] letter is cut off by Hamilton's [[AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption well-timed]] groan of horror and Reynolds' own cheerful "uh-oh!" (however, in the workshop recording, it's an uninterrupted [[PrecisionFStrike "FUCK!"]] on Ham's part, cementing the double meaning even more). When Burr reads the same letter in "We Know", the curse is cut off in both versions by Jefferson's combination FlatWhat[=/=]BigWhat.

** During "Meet Me Inside" Washington counsels Hamilton that he shouldn't be so eager to fight on the front lines because "your wife needs you alive". In the next song, "That Would Be Enough", Hamilton returns home to discover Eliza is pregnant with their first child and that Washington had known about this for a month.

-->'''Hamilton:''' I never spent a ''cent'' that wasn't mine, you ''sent'' the dogs after my ''scent'', that's fine.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: In "The World Was Wide Enough" Burr states his reasons for [[spoiler: shooting Hamilton between the ribs; Hamilton was wearing his glasses and thus prepared to take deadly aim. While Hamilton has Eliza to watch their children, Burr's daughter Theodosia has no one else and would become an orphan.]] When he realizes that [[spoiler:Hamilton shoots into the sky, meaning he didn't want to kill Burr]], Burr screams "[[OhCrap Wait]]!" [[spoiler:and tries to go help him but can't due to the dueling rules.]] As a result Burr is vilified through history [[spoiler:for killing Hamilton, and his subsequent decisions in life are less-than-savory, such as marrying a woman and running off with her money.]]
* TheHeroSucksSong:

** "Burn", Eliza putting her foot down over Alexander's [[spoiler: affair and her public humiliation.]]

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: The doctor [[spoiler: notes that Philip has lost a of blood and the wound quickly got infected but that he was able to keep the boy alive long enough for Alexander and Eliza to arrive and comfort him in his last moments. This was not easy with the time period's medicine]].

** In "The World Was Wide Enough," Burr screams, "Wait!" when [[spoiler:he shoots Hamilton fatally after the latter fires his pistol into the sky, meaning Hamilton never planned to kill him and he just shot a man in cold blood.]]

* PrecisionFStrike: The show in general doesn't use much in the way of strong language, but it does have its moments, and oftentimes when it does... '''[[AtomicFBomb BOOM!]]''' The Disney+ release censored all of the show's F-bomb usages in order to secure a PG-13 rating (the highest film rating Disney allowed on the service at the time), while retaining the CurseCutShort variants.

* RashomonStyle: The creative team effectively utilizes this with Eliza and Angelica's respective back-to-back solos "Helpless" and "Satisfied." First Eliza describes meeting Alexander and their entire courtship leading up to their wedding. As Eliza's sister Angelica provides a wedding toast, the stage "rewinds" and we witness the same time period from Angelica's point of view, giving new insight to nearly every moment in Eliza's song.

** A tragic one with "sept" or "seven"; when Philip Hamilton is singing in French with his mother, he changes the melody on "sept, huit, neuf". [[spoiler:He gets shot by George Eacker on seven paces, not ten, and later dies while his mother sings the scales to him when they both sing "sept"]].

* SilenceOfSadness: The titular character is typically a MotorMouth who never shuts up, but after [[spoiler:his son's death]] he changes completely, his grief song a very slow work entitled "It's Quiet Uptown".

'''Burr''' Okay, so we're doin' this.

* SuddenlyShouting: In "Guns and Ships".
-->''He's constantly confusing, confounding the British henchmen:''
-->''EVERYONE GIVE IT UP FOR AMERICA'S FAVORITE FIGHTING FRENCHMAN!''

--->''This close to givin’ up''//
''Facin’ mad scrutiny''//
''I scream in the face OF THIS MASS MUTINY!''

** Burr too, lamenting in "The World Was Wide Enough" that [[spoiler:Hamilton didn't have to die and killing him was the worst mistake of his life]].

** At the end of Act One, Alexander is watching his newborn son and tells Eliza the letter in her hand is from John Laurens and he'll read it later. She says, "No, it's from his father." Alexander stops smiling and asks her to read it. [[spoiler:Mr. Laurens writes that John was killed in a post-war skirmish with the first all-black battalion, made of former slaves. The survivors were returned to their owners, killing John's dream with him. A distraught Alexander says he has so much work to do, so that John's death isn't in vain]].
** In-universe: "Jefferson has my vote!" Especially wham-y since Hamilton rather openly despises Jefferson and is friends with Burr (sort of). Not so much a "wham" for the audience, if only because most people know Aaron Burr was never president.
** From James Reynolds to Hamilton: "See, that was my [[spoiler: wife]] you decided to-" ''FUUU-''
** [[spoiler: During Philip's duel:]] "''[[IronicEcho One, two, three, four,]]'' ''[[spoiler:five, six, seven-"]]'' [[spoiler: BOOM!]]

* {{Workaholic}}: Alexander becomes this after he learns about John Laurens' death. "I have so much work to do."

* JustForFun/XMeetsY: {{Invoked}} in the show's casting calls. Each character is described as X meets Y, X being a rapper or pop star and Y being a Broadway role. For instance, Alexander Hamilton is "Music/{{Eminem}} meets [[Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet Sweeney Todd]]".

* YoureNotMyFather: Washington repeatedly calls Hamilton 'son' while admonishing him for his role in the duel between Laurens and Lee and trying to explain why he's not giving him an independent command. Each time, Hamilton interrupts "I'm not your son" until finally he roars "''CALL ME 'SON' ONE MORE TIME--!''".

%%** Aaron Burr exchanges love letters with Theodosia while she's still Theodosia Bartow Prevost; married to a British officer and not him.%% This trope isn't just "love letters exist"; it's the letters later being use as evidence

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The musical came about when Miranda realized that the life of Alexander Hamilton was similar in many ways to the classic hip-hop AntiHero narrative about a young man from an impoverished and socially unrespected background clawing himself to a position of power and influence in a revolutionary environment, only to meet a violent downfall following betrayal and conflict with those around him.

* ContraltoOfDanger: The actress playing the youngest Schuyler sister, Peggy, is double-cast as the seductress Maria Reynolds. Peggy's notes are on the higher end of the mezzo range, reflecting her youth and good-girl nature, in contrast to Maria's low, sultry come-ons.

A defining aspect of the musical is that this is all told through a blend of hip-hop, R&B, pop and contemporary show tunes which, like those of [[Theatre/InTheHeights Miranda's previous Broadway excursion]], will be [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic hard-pressed to leave your head]]. From the musical's origins in the late 2000s, Miranda pitched Hamilton as "someone [that] embodies hip-hop", stating that his story of rising from squalor through his writing is not dissimilar to the classic RagsToRiches tale integral to the genre.

** When Burr tells Hamilton that his lover (Theodosia Prevost) is married to a British Officer, Hamilton replies with flat surprise “Oh shit...” This line gets the audience laughing.

** Thomas Jefferson is depicted as insulting Alexander Hamilton's immigrant background. In reality it was Jefferson who wanted to allow immigrants citizenship, a position which was opposed by ''Hamilton''. It was John Adams, of all Hamilton's rivals, who most often attacked Hamilton's background (which is acknowledged in "The Adams Administration").

--->'''Hamilton:''' Sit down John, you fat mother[[spoiler:fuckstick]]!
** Hamilton drops another one in "Say No to This" when Maria Reynolds' husband blackmails him.
--->'''Reynolds:''' You see, that was my wife who you decided to\\
'''Hamilton:''' '''Fuuuu--'''

** Hercules Mulligan during his BadassBoast, "When you knock me down I get the ''fuck'' back up again, in "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)".
** An earlier version of "One Last Time" had Hamilton and Washington confronting the Whiskey Rebellion:
--->'''Washington:''' You are outgunned!\\
'''Hamilton:''' What!\\
'''Washington:''' Outmanned!\\
'''Hamilton:''' What!\\
'''Washington:''' Outnumbered, out--\\
'''Hamilton:''' ''Pay your fucking taxes!''
** While not an F-bomb, Hamilton's response in "Cabinet Battle #2" still applies because of his intensity.
--->'''Hamilton:''' You must be outta your ''goddamn'' mind!

** Lafayette imitates the American pronunciation of "Anarchy" in his verse in "My Shot" as a subtle way to get it to rhyme with both "Monarchy" and "panicky".

* PrecisionFStrike: The show in general doesn't use much in the way of strong language. But when it does... [[AtomicFBomb BOOM!!!!]] The Disney+ release censored all of the show's F-bomb usages in order to secure a PG-13 rating (the highest film rating Disney allowed on the service at the time), while retaining the CurseCutShort variants.

* PunctuationChangesTheMeaning: In the "Take a Break" number, Angelica notices that in Alexander's last letter to her she was addressed as "My Dearest, Angelica" rather than simply "My Dearest Angelica".

* PyrrhicVictory: Hamilton [[spoiler:publishing the Reynolds Pamphlet]] clears his name of corruption charges, which saves him from jail time and {{Blackmail}} but [[spoiler:ruins his marriage and later leads to his son's death]].

--> '''Narrator:''' And me? ''I'm the damn fool that '''shot him!'''''

** A tragic one with "sept" or "seven"; when Philip Hamilton is singing in French with his mother, he changes the melody on "sept, huit, neuf". [[spoiler:He gets shot by George Eacker on seven paces, not ten. Then he dies when his mother sings the scales to him when they both sing "sept"]].

* SayMyName: "Aaron Burr, Sir" repeatedly, Alexander Hamilton and Lafayette in "Guns and Ships" and Hercules Mulligan in "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)".

* ShoutOut:
** To [[http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/09/24/hamilton_s_hip_hop_references_all_the_rap_and_r_b_allusions_in_lin_manuel.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_tw_top many hip-hop songs]], as well as to ''Theatre/TheLastFiveYears'', ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', ''Theatre/SouthPacific'', and, naturally, Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix. As well as [[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} a Scottish tragedy]] that Hamilton would [[TheScottishTrope rather not name.]] The show also includes numerous shout-outs to ''Series/TheWestWing'', including Lin-Manuel Miranda tending to put on his coat Martin Sheen style while performing as Hamilton. See [[ShoutOut/{{Hamilton}} the shout-out page]] for more details.

* {{Showstopper}}: During the 2016 Grammys performance, they deliberately added in several extra lines of silence after Lin-Manuel Miranda first sings the line "Alexander Hamilton" to account for the applause, but the applause was so strong that the next line ("My name is Alexander Hamilton") was still drowned out anyway. Compare this to the first performance of the song, back in 2009 at the White House, where the same line also created a strong response from the audience - but of confused laughter. How things have changed!