Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Hamilton’ Wins Pulitzer Prize For Drama

Critically acclaimed Broadway play Hamilton won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama today, making it the first musical to win the drama award since 2010.

Today was the hundredth anniversary of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize awards, which saw several awards bestowed upon news outlets including the New York Times and the Associated Press for achievements in photojournalism and news reporting. But Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton scored big at the Pulitzer Prize ceremony today, adding another award to Miranda’s already impressive collection — he was awarded the MacArthur “genius” grant and recently performed at the White House for President Obama.

Hamilton’s big win today comes after months of adoration from the press and celebrity fans praising the musical based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, through the lens of biographer Ron Chernow. Hamilton the musical has met with praise from both sides of the American political establishment — with fans on both the left and the right. According to Deadline Hollywood, the show’s diverse cast has lent to its tremendous success, with a nearly all African-American and Hispanic cast Hamilton gives audiences a fresh and interesting take on otherwise well-trod historical events.

“Hamilton” has won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for drama https://t.co/T8s8I1xsmK

— New York Post (@nypost) April 18, 2016

Alexander Hamilton, himself an immigrant to the United States, has been the subject of renewed popularity after the success of the Broadway play. Hamilton was a controversial figure in his day, the United States’ first treasury secretary ushered in bold reforms for the fledgling nation under George Washington, and led something of a tumultuous life. Hamilton portrays Alexander Hamilton’s life and eventual death with inspired lyrics and dazzling showmanship – making an obscure historical figure into the star of a blockbuster musical.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is bringing in around $1.7 million a week, and has been sold out for months. It’s been added to public school historical curricula, and has had tens of millions of listens on Spotify.

Variety reports Hamilton had seemed like a shoo-in for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize after enjoying a stellar year in terms of sales and critical acclaim. Hamilton’s Pulitzer Prize win makes it just the third recent musical to receive the prestigious award – the last two were 2010’s Next to Normal and 1996’s Rent.

Hamilton‘s Pulitzer win today makes it a strong contender for other prestigious awards this year, reports Variety, much of the theater industry considers it a foregone conclusion that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton will sweep the Tony awards later this year.

The Pulitzer Prize committee lauded Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton in a statement released with the announcement of the award, calling it a “landmark” of American musical theater, a refreshing take on an important period in American history.

PULITZER?! pic.twitter.com/Y7W6JQWhZF

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) April 18, 2016

“[Hamilton] is a landmark American musical about the gifted and self-destructive founding father whose story becomes both contemporary and irresistible,” said the Pulitzer Prize committee, discussing the Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned musical.

Hamilton started off humbly enough, premiering off-Broadway in January, 2015, at the New York’s Public Theater. Before long, the official Hamilton cast album appeared on Spotify and started reaching audiences who hadn’t even heard of the play — which had critics singing its praises since its premiere in early 2015.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the man behind the music in Hamilton, not only stars as the titular Alexander Hamilton, but also penned the music and lyrics which have received so much attention for their colorful take on the American Revolution, as the Inquisitr reported previously.

President Obama himself referred to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton as a cultural landmark. Obama famously invited Miranda and the Hamilton cast to the White House to perform songs from the show back in March.

The Pulitzer Prizes announced today mark the one-hundredth anniversary of the celebrated awards bestowed by Columbia University.

[Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP]