ifitgivesyoujoy:

one of the things i adore about hamilton is that there isn’t a gender divide in the chorus.

in most shows i’ve been in, there’s a difference between what the men in the chorus get to do, and what the women get to do (and you’re always one or the other based on voice part, no ambiguities allowed). in pirates of penzance, there’s the pirates on one side, and the nice proper ladies on the other. in les mis, there’s the prisoners, and there’s the prostitutes. it defines which scenes you appear in, and sometimes it keeps you from some of the coolest parts of the show.

but hamilton uses the entire vocal range of the chorus in every scene, even in entirely “male” spaces like battle scenes. i never thought i’d see a broadway show–especially a historically-based show–where someone with my vocal range would get to shout “HERE COMES THE GENERAL” and make cannon sound effects. you know?

broadway has been a really strictly gendered space for so long, worse than almost any other media i can think of. hamilton gives me hope because it’s set a precedent of casting based entirely on ability. if you can spit the words, if you can hit the notes, if you can make the role come alive, it doesn’t matter what you look like or how you compare to the real historical figure. there are sopranos at the battle of yorktown. maybe somewhere out there, there’s a woman who could be the perfect alexander hamilton.

hamilton has already broken down racial restrictions in casting so beautifully, and i’m starting to see cracks in the gender side, too. i can’t wait to see what happens next.