Summary

Chapter 1, Introduction: McCarter describes how rap theatre artist Lin-Manuel Miranda, when invited to perform at the Obama White House, presented an initial sketch from a new show he was developing about Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant to America who made a new life for himself. McCarter draws parallels between the experiences of Hamilton and those of Miranda, Miranda’s father, and Obama’s father, all of whom, McCarter suggests, followed similar journeys to that of Hamilton, with similar self-fulfilling results.

Chapter 2, Introduction: McCarter describes the development of the relationship between Miranda and the artist who became the show’s director, Tommy Kail, including their collaboration on Miranda’s first full show, “In the Heights.” McCarter also discusses the development of the song “My Shot” which, McCarter says, “in the lingo of musical theatre, [is] an ‘I want’ song” (21), one in which the central character reveals...