#13 - See Hamilton

Laura Masters came to visit me in Boston and we took a little road trip to Maine. During that trip, she mentioned that if I were to move back to Chicago by March, she probably had an extra ticket to Hamilton with their group. On November 21 (my actual birthday), I received a phone call offering me a position at DePaul University in Chicago. On November 22, I accepted. After informing my parents and references, I texted Masters something like: "I got the job! I'm coming back to Chicago! Do you still have that Hamilton ticket available?" I'm hoping it sounded much less selfish, but damn, I really wanted to go to Hamilton.

Last night, Laura, Beth, Carrie, Kathleen, Alan, and I met outside the PrivateBank Theater in Chicago for the show. We were all excited, but it's impossible not to wonder if the hype is too much, if Hamilton is really as good as everyone says it is.

It is.

It's funny. I know the entire show is based on actual history, but I still feel compelled not to comment on the specific parts I loved because they feel like spoilers. So instead, I'll start with the encore, as it was unique, and then I'll move to some generalities and how they made me feel.

At the end of the show, I was moved and energized. It was such a beautiful performance and a thought-provoking story. When the performers came out for their curtain call, they then asked to speak to us. We learned they were raising money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Providing buckets for people to donate to a specific cause on their way out of a show isn't uncommon. What they did to inspire us to give was.

I was fortunate to see the production with Wayne Brady as Aaron Burr. Having been out of the Chicago and Broadway scenes for years due to my doctoral work, I hadn't thought to look up the cast. I assumed I didn't know anyone. When Brady stepped on the stage, I was stoked... Then I looked at my Playbill to confirm it was him because I didn't believe my eyes -- we were in balcony seats -- and confirmed it.

After curtain call, the lead, Miguel Cervantes, explained the cause to us. Then, Brady told us that, as he was well-known in the improv world, they were going to compose a song for us. They wanted 10 words from the audience, really complex words, and he'd freestyle a song with all 10 words. People paid $100 a word and shouted out things like, "lugubrious," "potato," and "persnickety." Then he asked us to give him a topic for the song: "Freedom!" "Freedom to what?" "Freedom for everyone to be exactly who they want to be!" yelled a woman in the balcony. Brady lauded the suggestion and asked for something simple. "Freedom to walk your dog!" Then he quipped that at the rate we're going, maybe that would be illegal someday soon. He stuck with the general freedom topic.

Then he rapped: cohesive rap with sensical lyrics, jokes, jabs at Trump... with no pause between phrases. It was amazing. It was such a cool way to end such a fantastic experience.

Motherfucking Wayne Brady entertaining the crowd AFTER the show.

Feel free to consider the remainder of this post a *spoiler alert* and forgo reading this blog post until you see the show (or ever, because are you really going to remember to come back?).

Taken before the show started

The set was beautiful yet simple. The costumes were similar. They set the time and mood yet never distracted from the performances nor the story.

The performances were incredible. I was amazed by the performers' abilities to switch from rap to melodies and to impress with both. Their voices were powerful and beautiful. Their lyrical abilities were melodic, energetic, and articulate. The rapping was so quick at points, yet, even with only a basic knowledge of the songs, I was able to understand the majority of the words in a large theater over music. They killed. I was particularly fond of Chris D'Sean Lee as Lafayette / Jefferson. His performance was energizing.

While I have been an admirer of Lin Manuel-Miranda for awhile now and appreciate his incredible abilities to work with words and to use his brilliance to advocate for political and social change, I was so incredibly impressed with the writing. The lyrics were witty, emotional, and, often, hilarious. I am eager to more closely read through and listen to the lyrics as I'm confident I missed a lot of poetic beauty woven throughout the entire piece (e.g. "I'm not throwing away my shot.").

In addition to the poetry, I keep thinking about the story. I really won't spoil it, but the lasting message was very different than the one I believed I knew prior to seeing Hamilton and even most of the way through it. While the historical account of one of our founding fathers was intriguing, what still resonates with me were the messages of the importance of storytelling and the exploration of the past and the people who lived it as inspiration for us in the present.

While everyone else I saw this with disliked the very final moment of the show. I loved it. I thought it was pure poetry. I'd love to discuss this with anyone else who's seen this show.

While Manuel-Miranda wrote Hamilton before the most recent election, seeing characters struggle with the ambiguity of a difficult political time was so salient.

I feel inspired to talk more, smile less.