Published on Feb 6, 2017
Talks at Google hosted Jeremy McCarter, co-author of HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION and the forthcoming book YOUNG RADICALS, for a talk on December 15th, 2016.
Jeremy McCarter is the co-author of HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION with Lin-Manuel Miranda. Their account of the creation and impact of the celebrated Broadway musical opened as a #1 New York Times bestseller. His new book YOUNG RADICALS,, about American idealists fighting for their ideals on the brink of World War 1, will be published by Random House in 2017.
McCarter’s essays and backstage profiles in HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION are based in part on his early involvement in the show, when he spent five years on the artistic staff of the Public Theater in New York. They reveal how Miranda and his collaborators created a show about a revolution that is a revolution in its own right.
YOUNG RADICALS,tells the story of five Americans who push for equality, women’s rights, and free expression in a moment of great promise for American life, only to see those ideals—and their own well-being—put at risk when they discover the country isn’t at all what they thought it to be.
The talk was hosted by Kellie Fitzgerald.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s groundbreaking musical Hamilton is as revolutionary as its subject, the poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, reveals the storytelling power of rap, and claims our country’s origins for a diverse new generation.
HAMILTON: THE REVOLUTION gives readers an unprecedented view of both revolutions, from the only two writers able to provide it. Miranda, along with Jeremy McCarter, a cultural critic and theater artist who was involved in the project from its earliest stages–“since before this was even a show,” according to Miranda–traces its development from an improbable performance at the White House to its landmark opening night on Broadway six years later. In addition, Miranda has written more than 200 funny, revealing footnotes for his award-winning libretto, the full text of which is published here.
Their account features photos by the renowned Frank Ockenfels and veteran Broadway photographer, Joan Marcus; exclusive looks at notebooks and emails; interviews with Questlove, Stephen Sondheim, leading political commentators, and more than 50 people involved with the production; and multiple appearances by President Obama himself. The book does more than tell the surprising story of how a Broadway musical became a national phenomenon: It demonstrates that America has always been renewed by the brash upstarts and brilliant outsiders, the men and women who don’t throw away their shot.
