allofthefeelings:

knitmeapony:

Has anyone yet pointed out that two of the hands-down best Broadway songs I have ever heard, The Room Where It Happens and Burn*, were created out of holes in the historical record by @linmanuel?  Like, this isn’t just clever adaptation, this isn’t just taking what’s there and making something new, this is both acknowledging we don’t know what happened** and filling in the blank with some of the best character work I have ever seen.  

In particular, giving Eliza so much agency in her song, so much understandable, relatable, beautiful rage and sadness and strength and pride, oof. Burn is one of the reasons it’s Eliza’s Hamilton almost as much as it is Alexander’s.

And I think the show-stopping, glorious nature of The Room Where It Happens has been very well established by people much cleverer than I.

Like, just, talk about making something out of nothing.  Magic.

*

When I was infecting one of my more skeptical friends with the show, after Burn he immediately said “Jesus, that’s a hell of a song”.  Not related, I just like to share that.

**Except for Jefferson’s letter about the Dinner Table Bargain, but of course, who takes Jefferson at face value?

And it functions as a really fascinating rebuttal within the narrative to the idea that anything or anyone can be erased from the narrative. Because lack of knowledge is still a presence marked by absence. You can be removed from the story that first gets told, the musical is essentially saying, but you can’t disappear. Even negative space takes up space.

I’M SORRY I CAN’T FIND A NON PRETENTIOUS WAY TO PHRASE THIS BUT IT’S REALLY INTERESTING.