I wasn’t immediately a fan of the Broadway musical Hamilton. In fact, I kind of didn’t like it at first, despite nearly everyone I know that had seen it giving it rave reviews. Some people even saw it more than once.
But then about a year ago, I gave it a closer listen. I say listen, because oftentimes I guess I think of looking closer at something. This time that wasn’t the case at all.
What I discovered is what I can’t describe any other way other than a near masterpiece. I don’t say that without thinking it through. In fact it’s altogether more of an all inclusive experience, one I feel inside of me. Like… yup, that’s good. That’s simply so so good.
It started by me listening to the soundtrack in my car over and over again on the way back and forth to getting groceries. Pretty soon I found a favorite song and was memorizing lyrics.
The first song I fell in love with is #3 My Shot.
Seeing the show Hamilton: An American musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda on Broadway last summer in New York City, where much of the story takes place, was the best show I’d ever seen. I’ve seen a lot of shows. It was so well done, to put it in the most simplest terms. But unlike other shows that my high school director Mr. C would say have a lot of what he called fluff, Hamilton is simply in a different category altogether. There is so much history and its got hip hop and rap, fantastically memorable rhythms, and catchy lyrics. It makes learning history very accessible and, in a word I’d use but the youth today wouldn’t… cool. Yup, it’s cool. Very, very cool.
Maybe you’re wondering why I didn’t like it right away? I first saw it on TV. That is quite possibly the simplest explanation. I found a recorded stage production. It didn’t grab me. That didn’t surprise me really, most shows meant for stage do not transfer to TV well in my experience. But I let it stop my curiosity, which is a shame.
I gave the musical Hamilton “another shot” and I’m so glad I did.
Hamilton celebrated its 10 year anniversary last year.
When I first watched it on TV, I wanted to see what the big fuss was about. It moves quickly. You have to hear the words. Not knowing much of the story or anything about Hamilton didn’t help. Admitting I didn’t know much about how our country was formed or about him was not something I really acknowledged to myself. But why? I love history. I felt like I knew the basics, but maybe the watered down version. That no longer interested me. Now more than ever, I want to dig in and get grit under my nails digging up all of it. Bring it on!
He’s on the $10.00 bill.
Next weekend I’m going to see Hamilton a second time live. I’m taking my oldest son along. He’s discovered the music and is connecting to the musical, its rhythms and lyrics too. We found something we can enjoy together, and it never gets old. Every time we listen there is another part we never heard before or haven’t quite got memorized yet. We enjoy the challenge. We learn something. It brings up topics we can discuss. We also allow it to not get too heavy. After all, it’s a musical. But I’m so excited to share a love of mine with him. This will be his first musical, and I’m confident it will be about the best introduction into a genre near and dear to my heart.
We recently went to the bookstore and I picked up a copy of the illustrated biography Who Was Alexander Hamilton, as part of the “Who Was…?” series geared for readers ages 8-12. It’s not a terribly long book, but is jam packed with background and stories about his life. I liked it because the print was similar to Large Print in adult books! Ha! I didn’t even need my readers. My son read it after me, in one night before bed. He said: It was good. We both agreed there were a few things different than what we heard in the musical lyrics, but we learned something and it was an opportunity for us to compare non-fiction and historical fiction as genres in written and audio and soon to be visual interpretation that we consume. I definitely will be picking up more in the series, including about the creator of Hamilton Lin-Manuel Mirada– born in New York City to a Puerto Rican family.
Upon following a curiosity I had one day… I discovered this!
It’s Your Story to Tell | Hamilton Education Program
Who is someone you’d like to read a biography about or share with others? Leave a comment below.
