How Lin-Manuel Miranda's non-stop work ethic from a young age made 'Hamilton' one of the most successful musicals of all time
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- Lin-Manuel Miranda rose to fame for his Broadway musical, "Hamilton."
- Miranda worked on "Hamilton" for years, and it became one of the biggest musicals of all time.
- Miranda's unconventional blend of musical theater and hip hop, as well as a passion for diverse representation in the entertainment industry, has transformed musical theater as we know it.
- The success of "Hamilton" has led to a promising career writing music for movies like "Moana" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
Lin-Manuel Miranda seemingly came out of nowhere. After creating "Hamilton" he became a household name, and his career has skyrocketed in the years since as he's continued to keep busy.
"Hamilton," which he wrote and starred in, made its Off-Broadway debut in 2015, and it quickly became one of the most popular and most profitable musicals of all time. It ranks among classics like "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Lion King," and "Wicked."
At the end of 2017, and with a mostly new cast, "Hamilton" is still one of the most popular shows on Broadway. Tickets are still hundreds of dollars (or thousands on resale websites), and have to be purchased months in advance.
But "Hamilton" wasn't Miranda's first big hit. He also wrote and starred in "In the Heights," a musical combining hip hop and salsa that he started to work on while he was in college.
Miranda’ relentless, non-stop work ethic — which is reflective of founding father Alexander Hamilton, whom Miranda admires so much he wrote an entire musical about him — has gotten him far in the entertainment industry, even though people he trusted told him to give up on "Hamilton" while he was working on it.
But Miranda kept perfecting his passion project, and it paid off — literally. “Hamilton” consistently sells out all 1,321 seats at the Richard Rodgers Theater in New York City and its touring productions across the country and in London.
At 37, Miranda has won a Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy, three Tonys, and two Grammys. He's also been nominated for an Oscar. An Oscar win would award Miranda the coveted EGOT: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
In addition to his passion for hip hop-infused musicals that bring diversity to the often white-dominated entertainment industry, Miranda expertly uses his platform and fame for the greater good. In 2017, Miranda was (and continues to be) an outspoken advocate for hurricane relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which brought devastation to Puerto Rico in September.
Here, we've profiled the rise of Miranda's booming career, to see how he did it and how he continues to aim higher every day:
An early interest in musical theater
Theo Wargon / GettyMiranda was born in New York City, and grew up in upper Manhattan.
Miranda credits his inspiration for a career in musicals to "Les Miserables," the first show he saw on Broadway. He saw it with his family when he was seven years old.
His music tastes eventually evolved to include R&B and hip hop, but musical theater was always a passion. When he was in high school at Hunter College High School, he participated in musical theater.
And in college, he started writing his first musical, "In the Heights," that eventually made it to Broadway.
"In the Heights"
Getty ImagesMiranda's non-stop work ethic started in college at Wesleyan University.
Miranda wrote an early draft of his first musical, "In the Heights," when he was a sophomore in 1999. The show was added to Wesleyan's student theater company, Second Stage, and played in April 2000.
The lively musical combines hip hop with salsa and Latin sounds, and is set in the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights, a Hispanic-American neighborhood close to where Miranda grew up.
After the show's debut, Miranda was approached about expanding the show into a Broadway production. After a run in Connecticut in 2005, "In the Heights" made its premiere on Broadway in February 2008, when Miranda was 28 years-old. The show received mostly positive reviews, with many critics noting Miranda's emotional lyrics as its strength.
“In the Heights" won four Tony awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and the show ended its run in 2011. By then, Miranda was already two years into his work on his biggest hit, "Hamilton."
Supporting his dream
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesAfter college, when Miranda was in his 20s and supporting himself while working on "In the Heights," he wrote political jingles.
Miranda wrote the jingles in English and Spanish for ads for politicians including Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York. He got the work through his father, who worked as a political consultant.
Even when Miranda was supporting his career in music, he was writing it.
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