Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, which tells the story of Alexandar Hamilton and his determination to leave a legacy behind, took the world by storm when it premiered on Broadway in August of 2015 in the Richards Rodgers theater. In 2016, the musical set a record at the Tony Awards with 16 nominations and won 11 of them, including Best Musical. Hamilton became such a phenomenon that Lin-Manuel Miranda once again teamed up with director Thomas Kail to film a live version of the Broadway musical so that masses could witness the magic.
It’s a bit hard to rate the characters of Hamilton given that they were based on real people who had complex beliefs and personalities. With that in mind, this list aims at ranking the Hamilton characters based on how entertaining they are on stage and the entertainment value of their songs, not on the policies and ideas they upheld in the show or in real life.
Updated on December 21st, 2020 by Kristen Palamara: Hamilton is still an incredibly popular musical especially after a professionally recorded version of the original Broadway cast’s performance was released on Disney+ ahead of its theater release schedule. Viewers have watched it multiple times since it’s been added to the streaming service and the musical provides an emotional, funny, and dramatic viewing experience that’s meant to introduce the real-life story without fully delving into the history or exactly who the characters were as a musical wouldn’t be able to cover everything.
Charles Lee
Charles Lee is introduced as a silly character who is happy to be promoted to “a General, whee!” Hamilton continually mocks and hates him until eventually setting up a duel between Lee and his friend Laurens that ended with Lee being shot but surviving.
Washington was upset that the duel happened between two soldiers on the same side, but Lee had made some terrible decisions as a General and Hamilton felt he had to do something about it.
Maria Reynolds
Maria Reynolds, portrayed by Jasmine Cephas Jones who also portrays Peggy Schuyler, doesn’t have much screentime and unfortunately only has her story told from Hamilton’s point of view.
Hamilton claims that she seduced him and he couldn’t “say no to this” and the affair caused him political and marital scandals he never fully recovered from. Jones is great in the role, but the Maria Reynolds character and storyline presented in Hamilton leaves a lot to be desired.
James Madison
James Madison doesn’t have a big role in Hamilton and is pretty much identified as Thomas Jefferson’s right-hand man throughout the second act of the musical.
He backs up everything Jefferson says and conspires with him and Aaron Burr to try to bring down Hamilton and helps Jefferson become elected President. Madison is mostly there for comedic effect and to play the straight man to Jefferson’s exuberant character.
Peggy Schuyler
Peggy doesn’t have a lot of time on stage especially compared to her two sisters Eliza and Angelica, but she’s still become a fan-favorite despite her few lines in the first act.
Eliza and Angelica are more adventurous than Peggy and it shows in the song that introduces the Schuyler Sisters when her sisters introduce themselves wholeheartedly and she adds on her “and Peggy.” Although she has little, Peggy’s still a fun and comedic character.
George Washington
There is no denying that George Washington is one of the most important figures in American history; however, his legacy isn’t the focus of Hamilton. While his character is important, he is not as entertaining as some of the other characters in the musical.
That being said, Washington does have some powerful and impactful moments while on stage. For instance, he has one of the most iconic lines of the musical, “Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder.” He also echoes the statement “History has its eyes on you,” with Eliza, Angelica, and Maria.
Philip Hamilton
Philip Hamilton is Eliza and Alexander’s eldest son who turns out to be exactly like his father. He’s shown growing up in the second act and is just as determined and prideful as Alexander is when he challenges a man, George Eacker, to a duel when he speaks badly of Alexander.
His father gives him advice before the duel and tells him to aim the dueling pistol in the air and any man of honor will do the same, but instead, Philip is killed in the duel and changes the course of his parents’ lives.
Hercules Mulligan
Hercules Mulligan is perhaps, one of the most underrated characters in Hamilton. Mulligan is one of Alexander Hamilton’s friends he makes after moving to the colonies. Like most of the young men in Hamilton, Mulligan is ready to go to war to earn the colonies their freedom. He takes things one step further and ends up becoming a spy who helps the colonies defeat the British.
While Hercules Mulligan doesn’t have a song of his own, he does sing and raps on quite in quite a few numbers. Most notably he sings on “The Story of Tonight” and has his own verse in “Yorktown.”
John Laurens
Most would agree that John Laurens deserved better in Hamilton. Part of what makes John Laurens such an amazing character is his personality. Laurens, like Hamilton, doesn’t have much going for him in the wealth department and thus, he must make up for it with his personality. He’s truly a ride-or-die friend who always has a smile on his face.
He’s also one of the most good-natured characters in Hamilton and actively tries to recruit the first all-black military regiment, though it’s not explored as much as it should be. John Laurens has a lot of great lines and sings quite a bit, but his role in “Ten Duel Commandments” is definitely a fan favorite.
Marquis de Lafayette
Aaron Burr says it best when he introduces Lafayette in “Guns and Ships” singing “Ev’ryone give it up for America’s favorite fighting Frenchman!” Lafayette is an entertaining character because he’s always up to something. What’s even more amazing is he manages to rap his line while keeping his French accent alive!
He and Hamilton end up bonding over the fact that they’re both immigrants. In fact, the two singing one of Hamilton’s most iconic lines together: “Immigrants! We get the job done.” Daveed Diggs is phenomenal.
King George
King George might be the villain in Hamilton considering he tried to hold the colonies hostage but that doesn’t mean he’s not an entertaining character to watch. In fact, King George is the most hilarious character in Hamilton. He’s dramatic and over-the-top and it definitely works in his favor.
Even when he’s delivering the line “I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love,” one can’t help but laugh at his hilarious personality and choreography.
Thomas Jefferson
There’s no denying that Thomas Jefferson is a terrible human being but much like King Goerge, his persona and Daveed Diggs portraying him in Hamilton somehow makes him lovable. Or, at the very least, widely entertaining. Jefferson waltzed into Hamilton in the second act with the upbeat and ever flamboyant solo “What’d I Miss” and his personality just grows from there.
Jefferson’s feud with Hamilton is not only interesting but it’s also extremely entertaining thanks to their rap battles in “Cabinet Battle #1” and “Cabinet Battle #2” where they both take shots at each other.
Angelica Schuyler
Angelica Schuyler may sing about never being satisfied but as an audience, everyone is extremely satisfied with her. As the oldest Schuyler sister, she is often seen with her siblings and is constantly encouraging them to think for themselves. Angelica is a modern woman living in the 1700s and that’s what makes her so relatable and fun to watch.
Not only that but she gets the best verse in “The Schuyler Sisters” and she gets to rap her heart out in “Satisfied.”
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda) may be the focal point of the musical but that doesn’t mean he has to be the best character. That’s not to say he’s not an amazing character, because he definitely is. He’s confident and determined to take the world by storm even though he’s some poor immigrant who doesn’t have a dollar to his name.
Part of what makes Hamilton so amazing is that his interactions with the other characters vary so much. He also gets some of the best lines of the musical including, “Hey yo, I’m just like my country I’m young, scrappy, and hungry. And I’m not throwing away my shot.”
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr is the villain the audience is supposed to hate, but many fans can’t help but feel for Burr. After all, all he ever wanted was to be included and involved, unfortunately, he was too bipartisan to ever be valued. Ultimately, his need for power is his downfall.
As if his character arc isn’t complex and entertaining enough, he also has an amazing repertoire of lines and songs to deliver. One of the most famous of his lines is, “Talk less! Smile more! Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for!”
Eliza Schuyler-Hamilton
Hamilton may be the focal point of Hamilton, but Eliza Schuyler is the true hero of the musical. Not only is she a strong independent woman but she managed to keep getting back up even though she had every right to give up. After Hamilton’s death, she pulled herself together and decided to put her time to good use and she sure did a lot of good.
In addition to being an amazing woman, Eliza also gets to sing the ultimate ballad “Burn” after she finds out about Hamilton’s affair. It’s the best break-up anthem ever.
