More on Lin-Manuel Miranda's debt to "Sweeney Todd."
Both shows open with a "ballad" to narrate the hero's journey from year zero to (approximately) year twenty. Both of these ballads also end with the arrival of a ship "in the harbor."
Additionally, LMM and Sondheim explore the possibilities of a "duet."
In "Hamilton," Seabury explains why the colonists should not rebel against the Brits. ("Heed not the rebels who scream REVOLUTION..." "This Congress does not speak for me. They're playing a dangerous game. I pray the King shows you his mercy...") Hamilton takes Seabury's own words and twists them, perverting the meaning, creating a new argument:
*"The REVOLUTION is comin'....."
*"My dog speaks more eloquently..."
*"The King? Is he in Jersey?"
This recalls Sondheim's "Pretty Women"--a song from Act One of "Sweeney Todd." Here, Sweeney is soothing himself as he contemplates his loss. "There, there," he sings, as if comforting an infant. "Revenge can't be taken in haste...."
But the Judge--self-absorbed and drowning in lust--makes his own use of Sweeney's sad words.
*"Make HASTE and if we wed you'll be commended, Sir..."
*"Pretty women! Even when they leave....they still are there....They're there!"
Homonyms are a tool for psychological commentary. Various characters are "invading the psyche"--even as they stand apart from our heroes, they worm their way into our heroes' thoughts.
P.S. "The have-nots are gonna win this..." "The rebels have not your interests at heart...."
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