The Bard and the
Broadway B-Boy

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton resonates with Shakespearean storytelling on many levels. The musical’s songs often function like modern soliloquies, laying bare the characters’ inner conflicts much as Shakespeare’s monologues do. Aaron Burr’s reflective ballad “Wait For It,” for instance, offers an introspective side to a character worthy of Hamlet . Miranda even weaves direct Shakespeare references into the script. At one point, Hamilton says,“They think me Macbeth, ambition

If Hamilton  channels Shakespearean tragedy, In The Heights evokes the warmth and the wit often found in a Shakespearean comedy. Miranda’s very first Broadway musical is a vibrant, ensemble-driven tale of community, a modern day counterpart to the bustling towns of Shakespeare's comedies such as Much Ado About Nothing ’s Sicilian setting. Set in a close-knit Latino neighborhood in New York City, it explores themes of community, identity, hope, and belonging, as the neighbors