Weird and Wonderful Conspiracy Theories: "Hamilton"
Harri Wilson
Cyber space is full of weird and wonderful conspiracy theories. Alongside the invasion of aliens, and thousands of top secret governmental plans, there have been proposed some fantastic ideas about popular theatrical productions. In this blog, I am going to summarise some of the best conspiracy theories that I could find based on the musical Hamilton (and these really are just about the musical; they have no historical grounding at all). Whether or not you believe them, these theories are definitely food for thought.
1. Jefferson and Lafayette are twins.
This one came from Tumblr user angelicaschuylerr, who noticed that, whilst Jefferson was born in America and had an emotional connection with France, Lafayette was born in France and drawn to America. Their lives mirror one another – i.e. they must be twins.
What other possible explanation is there?
Source: https://angelicaschuylerr.tumblr.com/post/159161785001/a-hamilton-theory
2. Maria Reynolds was behind whole the Reynolds affair.
This theory has been debated by lots of people, but Mad Queen Alanna argues that it simply cannot be true. Maria doesn't gain anything from the affair, she seems to be genuinely distressed in Say No To This and, equally genuinely, seems to be in love with Hamilton. It's more likely that James Reynolds, her husband, manipulated the whole situation – although this is slightly less exciting as a theory.
Source: http://madqueenalanna.tumblr.com/post/143096559671/bad-hamilton-theory-that-maria-reynolds
3. Angelica ices Jefferson out because he didn't 'include women in the sequel'.
WickedWyvern points out that 'the real Jefferson and Angelica' were in correspondence for some time, during which Jefferson is kind of flirty. But Angelica doesn't reciprocate. What if that's because she did tell Jefferson to 'include women in the sequel', and he didn't follow the advise? Okay, this one is quite a stretch.
Source: https://www.wattpad.com/274218359-hamilton-fan-theories-angelica-and-jefferson
4. The number of songs in Hamilton mirrors the age at which key characters die.
I saw this fantastic theory on aegyoster's Tumblr blog. But, firstly, HUGE spoiler alert – so, if you don't know how Hamilton's life pans out, stop reading this and skip to the next theory.
Still here? Okay.
Hamilton died at the age of 47 (I did warn you that this was a spoiler). If we include Laurens' interlude, the musical has a total of 47 songs. Philip died at the age of 19 (second spoiler), and lived through 19 songs … Coincidence? Maybe, but maybe not. How cool would it be if this was intentional?
Source: https://aegyoster.tumblr.com/post/154949930653/ok-but-i-once-saw-a-post-on-facebook-about-how
5. Hamilton's story was doomed purely because of that one time he said “Macbeth”.
This theory is based on the idea that everything falls apart for Hamilton after the song Take a Break, which seems logical considering that this is the point at which he refuses to go away with Eliza, essentially leading to the downfall of their relationship. Perhaps it is coincidence that, during Take a Break, Hamilton says the ONE thing that you're not supposed to say in a theatre. But perhaps it's not a coincidence at all.
Source: https://www.wattpad.com/322119070-hamilton-fan-theories-another-scottish-tragedy
6. Aaron Burr is an identity thief.
This hilarious theory was proposed by flowerjolras. Allegedly, Burr doesn't confirm his identity at any point in the whole of Hamilton. Well, apart from when he introduces himself as Aaron Burr in Right Hand Man, but we'll gloss over that. So, 'fake Burr' is really just an ambitious man who wants to 'rise up' and steals somebody else's identity to do so. Far fetched? No …
Source: http://flowerjolras.tumblr.com/post/140856241703/ok-but-consider-this-at-no-point-during-the If you've heard any other fun theories about Hamilton (plausible or not), be sure to let me know.
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Harriet has been immersed in the theatre life from a multitude of angles, from writing to working backstage to performing to directing. She spends most of her spare time in the West End or regional theatres and fills the rest with talking about the wonderful world of theatre through regular blogs.
Photograph by Sara Krulwich