The "Hamilton"craze is sweeping the nation, confounding even the tamest of musical lackeys. I’m not counting myself in that company; movie musicals like "Sweeney Todd" and "Moulin Rouge" bring me some of my greatest film-watching jollies — I’m full of musical Kool-Aid. By now, though, the musical’s been out long enough for its skyrocketing fan base to realize the tragic reality that their wallets aren’t deep enough to pay the scalped price for "Hamilton" satisfaction, because the play is now sold out through the rest of the Broadway season, and the only way in is to buy resale tickets. In the past week I’ve developed a strong desire to see creator Lin-Manuel Miranda playing the title role himself, but it seems that barring an act of God, I will be limited to grubbing for scraps under the YouTube table of public appearances and snatching at snippets of him and his actors through their online ticket lottery show “Ham4Ham.” From those bits, I superimpose over their figures the costumes of their characters I’ve seen in photographs. A shadow play of the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton has been playing on a loop on my mind for the last week of my life.

(Left to right, top to bottom: Angelica Schuyler, Aaron Burr, Eliza Schuyler, Hercules Mulligan, Alexander Hamilton, Marquis de Lafayette, and John Laurens.)

"It must be nice, it must be nice” to see "Hamilton" on Broadway, as it is now, fresh, with its original cast. While we’re at it, “Let me offer you some free advice”: Do not listen to the "Hamilton" soundtrack, because it will only make you fall in love with a musical that is well out of your reach! The musical tells the story of America’s youngest founding father Alexander Hamilton, and his rise and fall in the realm of military leadership and politics during the revolutionary and post-revolutionary era of this country; but the tale is told through hip-hop verse and from the point-of-view of Hamilton’s rival Aaron Burr. Its real genius, however, is in the dramatic character tension and the cohesion of its musical score, which is the first thing that really hammers through you when you listen to the soundtrack (which you’re not doing, remember?). Among the many remarkable qualities that I’m sure come through in the full stage production, the soundtrack is impressive all on its own, both for its lyrical prowess and for the robust production it implies.

From Disney musicals to Broadway legends, there are some great musical scores out there, and none of us are strangers to a good score that tastefully recycles sections of its own music to echo in and nuance other songs. Doing so gives not only a feeling of familiarity but also of transformation to the progression of the narrative. In this regard, "Hamilton"’s score is no exception, though this listener certainly does find it exceptional with the extent to which its songs are in discussion with one another. From the very first musical number, the soundtrack creates a recognizable refrain that is repeated several times throughout the album, always introducing a new stage in the drama. With each permutation, it simultaneously sets the tone for the scene that follows and documents the next stage in the relationship between the protagonist and antagonist, all while still ringing back to themes that consistently color their personalities and understanding throughout the play: That refrain comes back in one of the last songs, and Burr’s dark tone as he sings it paints the scene in stark contrast to the optimistic opening and signals a vengeful and tragic end. And this sort of echo keeps happening. The full album is a package deal — and it feels like one because Miranda uses his repeats well and often. Hip-hop, of course, enables this to a great extent, as this genre of music lends itself well to musical repetition in storytelling. Its lyrical speed and fluid fragmentation is also able to quickly disseminate narrative details that other forms of music may take more time to say. In that way, the music is very impressive all on its own, weaving quite a narrative that is both rich and easy to follow — and allowing me, a poor, pining musical fan in Houston, to conjure up a stage play from a distance.

(Left to right: Marquis de Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens, and Alexander Hamilton.)

The actors on the score also tell a lot through voice acting; their inflections in the music go a long way toward character development, upon which the main thrust of the production’s dramatic engine rests. Miranda has created characters that step through the music and tell their stories in such a way that it can start to feel like they’re right there speaking, and as if the only way they ever learned to speak was to sing.

And, of course, there’s the historical backdrop to the entire musical, because what could be better than a song where Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are two black guys rapping about their loathing for their arch nemesis, first American treasury secretary? Or, not one, but two rap battles, both proctored by George Washington, in which Alexander Hamilton completely obliterates the third president of the United States? It’s "Epic Rap Battles of History" meets trained Broadway talent — something more than worthy of my replay button.

(Jefferson and Hamilton battle it out in a cabinet rap battle.)

Something must also be said for the amount of historical detail Miranda has worked into this musical; I find it immensely amusing to dig through the lyric annotations of these songs to uncover how much their lyrics speak to true events. Though historical fiction is not a new genre, I must applaud an artist who can fashion such a powerful and popular stage play from mostly true events we’ve all picked up to some degree in our elementary school days. (I don’t know about you, but I had American History way too many times in a row.) You could say I went into this "Hamilton" experience with that same feeling you get when you watch a movie that claims to be “based on a true story,” and you think to yourself, “Yeah, Gerda and Einar were real people who really existed, and Einar was indeed the first transgender woman in Denmark to undergo sex-change surgery, but that’s just about where the verifiable facts stop.” (Note: For The Danish Girl, the Wikipedia article more accurately uses the phrase “loosely inspired by….”)

But no, Miranda’s Hamilton was born of diligent study of the uncoverable historical facts. Miranda himself said he sifted through his information in search of true details because details are what really bring a story to life. His diligence in that aspect really shows. Of course, there’s plenty of creative license taken in the name of drama, but even then it is tasteful and strategically positioned so as not to outshine the factual narrative.

(Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton emblazoned on the $10 bill.)

Clearly, I’ve spent copious amounts of time with this musical already, and I can’t even get my eyes on it. It’s safe to say that my obsession with "Hamilton" has led to a great deal of independent study of the history behind it, and, in turn, trying to better understand the elements of what make this musical great both on and off stage has only made me fall deeper and harder for the production, its original cast, and its incredibly talented creator, playwright, lyricist, and lead actor. Sadly, though, for any of you who have ignored my warning and cursed yourself with listening to the fantastic original cast album, this amazing work of art won’t be at our doorstep anytime soon. The tour will eventually get to Houston sometime in the 2017-18 season, though the dates haven’t been set yet, and what’s worse is that by that time Lin-Manuel Miranda won’t even be joining the rest of the cast. Apparently, he’s with the cast only through the rest of the Broadway season, and tour-production viewers will be watching an entirely new non-white Hamilton traipsing across the 18th century stage. Which is a shame, because I still believe that, even through the rigors of Broadway rehearsals, there is still something about the central character that only the creator of the show has a particular understanding of.

So alas! Unless I can magically cough up two NYC roundtrip tickets’ worth of cash for me and a plus-one to slip into the theater on scalped tickets, I am relegated to "Ham4Ham" snippets and the trace amounts of Miranda’s spirit woven into the music he created. This is what I have to last me for the months or years until I finally get tickets to be “in the room where it happens.”

I’ll end the article with these two videos, one of the cast members of "Hamilton" performing the plot of a favorite musical of mine, "Sweeney Todd," to the tune of the "Hamilton" introduction song, and one of the Schuyler sisters of "Hamilton" cast as three adorable little Broadway boys. Of course, you won’t be able to fully appreciate these because you haven’t listened to the soundtrack and won’t be doing any such thing in the near future (it’s for your own good, promise), but there is amusement to be had all the same. Have faith, musical enthusiasts. There is a new wonder of the musical world waiting in the wings; it shall be yours if you “wait for it, wait for it, wait!”

Demon Barber Sweeney Todd

Little Schuyler Sisters