Hamilton: The Revolution

Before transferring to Broadway, Miranda accepted the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, presented by John Kander. Miranda quipped to the critic-filled room that he would be ignoring the advice from multiple reviews to cut 15 minutes. The musical would remain long and epic, a massive story that crossed new boundaries. Although the score is longer than most musicals, Miranda wrote efficiently, rarely rewriting or cutting entire songs. An early drinking song about Hamilton’s sexual conquests and a somber hymn about war casualties were dropped. Some songs were deemed distracting from the main story, such as a country-rock intro for Benjamin Franklin (who was also cut as a character), a sad reprise of “Dear Theodosia” about the death of Burr’s wife, and “Cabinet Battle #3” about slavery. Cutting required discipline, sometimes forgoing something that was good but didn’t serve the story. “The Adams Administration” demonstrates this discipline, although it also shows that Hamilton was less restrained than Miranda. Hamilton once published a 54-page pamphlet insulting Adams and damaging his own career. Miranda cut a two-minute song dramatizing this feud, deciding it was superfluous because Adams didn’t appear onstage.