Hamilton the Musical

 

It was about a calendar year ago today, my mom sent me a text message: “on September 11^th next year we are going to see Hamilton!!” I responded, “What’s that?” My mom sends back the rolling eyes emoji with the message, “You’ll see”. So the rest of the year goes on and while my entire family is counting the days until we get to see Hamilton, I had already forgotten that I had agreed to go.

Fast forward to the week of September 11^th: my mother reminds me that I must go home this weekend because the day that the rest of my family had been looking forward to for a year is now quickly approaching. I asked my mom what day of the week the play was, and she tells me that it is Sunday. Normally this would not be an issue, but this was the opening weekend for the NFL and the show happened to be right in the middle of the Philadelphia Eagles game that I had been looking forward too for almost as long as my family has been looking forward to seeing Hamilton the Musical.

On Thursday, in class, my professor, Silagh White informed our entrepreneurial communications class that she herself was going to see Hamilton. Her excitement to tell the class that she was going to see the Broadway show added a bit more interest in the show on my end. To this point, I was much more upset that I would be missing the football game than I was excited to see Hamilton.

When I got home for the weekend, my uncle jokingly offered me $250 dollars for my ticket and I would have happily accepted, still ignorant to what exactly Hamilton was and how special it is. My mother rolled her eyes at me and called me a fool. At the time I was annoyed that I just lost out on $250 and the ability to watch football in peace.

I have gone to several Broadway shows in the past, and to be quite honest, I was not the biggest fan. I usually found the music to be corny and I was not a fan of the fact that the characters always broke into song. Because of this generalization, I had little to no interest in seeing Hamilton the Musical.

On the day of the event, my mother, father, two sisters and I drove into New York City while I made the entire care sit through a radio broadcast of the first half of the Eagles game. As we arrived in Manhattan and approached Richard Rogers Theatre, we searched for a parking spot, eventually having to settle for an overpriced parking lot. As we were walking we noticed several memorials to those that lost their lives 15 years ago on that date (September 11^th, 2001). We stopped and took a moment to acknowledge the tragic event that will live on in infamy.

There was an incredibly long line to get into the theatre. I stood there, not paying attention, following the Eagles game on my phone. “Anyone selling tickets? $300? $400?” I heard an elderly man and his wife exclaiming. I looked at my mom and was about to offer my ticket before receiving the worst death glare I had ever received. I looked around and saw a family wearing custom made shirts saying “Finally Seeing Hamilton!” At this point, my ignorance to how special this show is was beginning to go away.

We walk into the theatre, are handed the playbills, and sit down in our assigned seats. As we wait for the show to begin, I am still following the Eagles game on my phone before the usher asks me to put my phone away. I comply, and before I know it the singing begins. There’s one thing, though. They aren’t singing, they are rapping. It actually sounds good, like something I would listen to outside of this environment. The entire show was a rap. It was amazing. I had no idea that I could enjoy a musical but I sure was wrong.

Not only was this show incredibly brilliant and clever, but also it was a great refresher on my United States History. When people discuss the founding fathers, they talk about George Washington, of course, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, but no one ever really talks about Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was instrumental in the drafting of the constitution and was George Washington’s most trusted advisor during the Revolutionary War. His role in the foundation of the United States is often overshadowed, but without his efforts it is questionable what this nation would be today.

As far as the play was concerned, my favorite character was without a doubt King George III. Although he is singing more than he is rapping, he was absolutely hilarious and brought the entire theatre into a laughing frenzy. Also, my favorite scene is when they are drafting the constitution with Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson engaging in a rap battle.

I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed the show. I was completely focused and did not check the score for the Eagles game a single time.

While I undoubtedly recommend this show to anyone who has an interest, and that should be everyone, Hamilton has absolutely no shortage of people that will buy their tickets. I even had the opportunity to sell my ticket for about four times how much it was worth paid just minutes before the show started.

I’m really happy that I let my mom “drag” me to this wonderful musical. Because I haven’t enjoyed musicals in the past, and because of this I wrote off all musicals. This experience was so enjoyable that I can see myself attending more in the future.