HowlRound: Ben Franklin charmed Paris, but he couldn’t charm New York. The 1965 musical about Franklin’s adventures in eighteenth century France never found its audience and closed after six months. Hamilton, that hip-hopular retelling of America’s birth, contains no references to Ben Franklin in Paris, but it does honor a show that explored a similar world. In the middle of Act II, Alexander Hamilton yells “Sit down John!” to an unseen John Adams; any musical nut will tell you “Sit Down, John!” is the opening number to 1776.
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It is very interesting how different but also similar 1776 and Hamilton are. 1776 usually depicts the founding fathers as we they were, while Hamilton depicts them as the people that represent America now. They are both discussing similar issues and stories of the past, but they seem like they are coming from totally different angles. I wonder what people would say about a full cast of people of color doing 1776? They probably would not have responded as well as they have to Hamilton doing the same thing. Does it have to do with the way the songs are sung and the fact that Hamilton is mostly hip-hop and rap? It probably does, which is kind of sad that people might not be as accepting of people of color doing a show that is written about white people and sounds like a very white musical.
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