Hamilton, Nonstop

LIN - MANUEL MIRANDA , the 36 - year - old creator of the hit musical, talks about trusting his instincts, the value of a vacation, and how he accidentally married the oldest form of entertainment with the newest form of social media .

- Kia Kokalitcheva

What surprised you most about the Hamilton phenomenon?

Um, everything. Honestly. I knew we’d be a hit with history teachers. Everything else has been sort of a surprise.

Do you have a process, a formula, for your creative work?

Not really. One of the best things about the success of Hamilton is that this is an idea that sounds crazy when you say it in one sentence. I had that experience over and over again. When I performed the first song at the White House, on that YouTube video in 2009, I said, “Someone who embodies hip-hop, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton,” and the room laughed. Then by the end of the song they’re in it because they’re sucked into the story. Which is what happened to me. I picked up Ron Chernow’s [biography of Hamilton] and I got sucked into the story. I had the idea when I grabbed Ron’s book to read on vacation.

What are the lessons there?

One: You can have good ideas when you take a break from what you’re normally doing and don’t just go 100 miles an hour. Two: really trusting my gut. I won a Tony with In the Heights. I got offered movie adaptations of musicals. I got offered a lot of Latin-theme stuff. But I had faith that the idea I was chasing with Hamilton would be worthwhile.