Hamilton; The Musical of the Century

By: Grace Griego

Hamilton. You’ve probably at least heard of Hamilton whether you like it or not. This is the revolutionary (ha) musical that has been sweeping the nation. Hamilton follows the story of the ten dollar founding father without a father as he arrives at America and forever changes this nation. I realize this may sound boring beyond belief, but this Broadway musical is told through a variety of music genres such as rap, hip hop, and etc. All the actors are played by POC (People of Color) and there is only one role played by a white male. To quote the creator, Lin Manuel Miranda,  “This is a story about America then, told by America now,” Miranda explains, “and we want to eliminate any distance between a contemporary audience and this story.” Now I was pretty skeptical before listening to the soundtrack. A rap musical about the Secretary of Treasury? It sounded too much like a teacher trying too hard to make history more relatable. But, boy was I wrong. Once I actually took the time to listen to the full Hamilton soundtrack I was blown away. I was left feeling helpless yet satisfied all at the same time. The songs were catchy and full of emotion. I could laugh during A Winter’s Ball, cry during Burn, and hopelessly attempt to rap with Lafayette (Daveed Diggs) during Guns and Ships. And the song Helpless left me feeling satisfied and Satisfied left me feeling helpless.These historical figures became beloved characters with flaws and complex emotions. I cannot even count how many times I yelled at Alexander Hamilton for being an idiot. I never thought I’d say that sentence in my life. This musical has truly taken over my life. Sometimes thinking of Alexander writing the other fifty one essays in the Federalist Papers is the only thing motivating me to write my essay. If Hamilton could write every second he was alive, surely I could finish one paper for English. To put it simply, Hamilton is amazing, Lin Manuel Miranda is a gift to humankind, and if you ever have the chance to see or listen to Hamilton, don’t wait for it.

I actually had the pleasure of interviewing Kristen Lamb who had the amazing opportunity to see Hamilton on Broadway. Here are the results.

Q: How would you describe Hamilton to someone who has never heard of it before?

A: Hamilton is a story about the guy on the $10 bill who no one has ever been heard of before through rap. It drew me in and everyone I know who has heard it. It’s full of wit and action.

Q: When did you see Hamilton? Was it with the original cast?

A: I saw Hamilton in February 2016 and it was with all of the original cast except for the guy who played Hercules Mulligan/James Madison(Okieriete Onaodowan). I saw the man, the myth, the legend: Lin Manuel Miranda.

Q: Who was your favorite actor?

A: I had two favorite actors; Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler) and Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr) They were my favorites because Renee had such a powerful voice and I was in awe and Leslie was my fav because you could really see the emotion in his acting and his singing. It was moving. I was moved.

Q: What was your favorite scene and why?

A: Hands down my favorite scene was Room Where it Happens because it zones in on Burr and he does these aggressive dance moves to demonstrate his upset emotions and contempt. It was really a lot at one time.

Q: What was your favorite song and why?

A: My favorite song is Satisfied because it is super sassy, super fun and the rewind part “Oooh!” This also ties into my favorite scene because the dancers totally rewinded their dance moves. Super sassy and we got to see the complex side to Angelica and her feelings. I think she had the most interesting rap in the whole score. It’s my favorite “to go ham on”.

Q: What was your favorite dance scene?

A: Also Room Where it Happens.

Q: Did you cry at any scenes? If so, which ones?

A: I did. After listening to the soundtrack religiously to be prepared to see the play, it never got me to an emotional state. But after watching the play and seeing Phillip die, seeing the emotions in the actors brought me to tears. Also not in the soundtrack, Eliza screams when Philip dies and that really got me.

Q: Did the show live up to the hype and how so?

A: It so lives up to the hype. The people who are hyping it up are not even hyping it up enough. Because it’s really different on so many levels, there’s rap with clever lyrics that just keep coming at you, it talks about immigrants and their role in American history, and puts the spotlight on different ethnicities that really represent America.

Q: If you had the chance would you go see the show again? If so who would you bring with you?

A: Hands down yes. If I could, I wouldn’t mind spending a year watching Hamilton on repeat. I would definitely take my family because they are super obsessed and Lin is a household name so if we could see him that would be really awesome for us.

Q: Would you recommend others to see this show? If so, who would you recommend to see this show?

A: Hands down I would definitely recommend this. I recommend everyone to see it if they can get tickets. I would recommend this to everyone from middle school and up. There’s a little profanity. I learned about Hamilton before going into APUSH and it definitely helped with my learning so I would definitely recommend this to high school students. Even adults would have a lot of fun.