We've posted before about hip-hop gone Broadway. But now Broadway is going hip-hop.
In Hamilton, a retelling of the American Revolution from the point of view of Alexander Hamilton, actor and rapper Daveed Diggs (above) brings his good looks and rap prowess to the roles of Thomas Jefferson and Frenchman the Marquis de Lafayette, serving “rapid-fire rhymes” deftly and energetically.
The musical, which also stars Jonathan Groff, has been getting rave reviews since it began debuting to audiences.
But if rapping founding fathers seems at all irreverent in the wrong sort of way, you might want to think again. The “lyrical flow [found in rap] has long been a hallmark of firebrands”, writes Leilanie Mari Labong in FourTwoNine. And Diggs himself adds,
“All of [the founding fathers] were really great writers and really smart . . . and witty in the way rappers are. So setting these guys up as guys who are good with words makes sense.”
Check out more pics of Diggs over at FourTwoNine.
Hamilton opens on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on August 6.
(Photo Credit: Karl Simone)
