Hamilton is a
musical about the life of American
Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics and book by
Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show, inspired by the 2004 biography
Alexander Hamilton by historian
Ron Chernow, achieved both critical acclaim and box office success. The musical made its
Off-Broadway debut at
The Public Theater in February 2015, where its engagement was sold out. The show transferred to
Broadway in August 2015 at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre. On Broadway, it received enthusiastic critical acclaim and unprecedented advance box office sales, as well as a
Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Off-Broadway production of
Hamilton won the 2015
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical as well as seven other
Drama Desk Awards out of 14 total nominated categories. The show was nominated for a record-setting 16
Tony Awards, ultimately winning 11—including
Best Musical,
Best Score and three acting awards.