A couple of years ago when I first heard that there was a new Broadway musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton, I didn't understand what the hype was all about. And I wasn't going to spend hundreds of dollars for tickets. I mean, what could be so great about watching rap and politics for over two hours? No thanks.
Boy, was I wrong.
Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago when my co-workers played the soundtrack to 'Hamilton' while we worked. To be honest, I felt a little jealous because they knew every single word to these songs, and I didn't know any. But I sat and listened, and I have to admit, the songs were extremely catchy. Since I was working I wasn't fully immersed in the story, so I decided to give it another listen during my commute home. At that moment it was as if the clouds opened up and the angels started singing. I get it now! I'm late, but I'm here! I get the hype behind it! I get why people drill holes in their wallets just to get ANY seat in the theater. That'll definitely teach me not to judge in the future.
If I fell in love with 'Hamilton: An American Musical' just by listening to the soundtrack, I can't imagine how amazing it would be watching it in a theater. Lin-Manuel Miranda does a wonderful job telling one of our Founding Father's story. And spending ten years on an idea after reading Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton that ends up being a phenomenal hit? To be honest, he's quite a genius. I loved that Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn't paint Hamilton entirely as a hero, as Hamilton definitely had his flaws.
I wanted to throw out some of my favorite songs, just so you can get a feel of where I'm coming from when I say how great it is. Every time I listen to it, I pick up on something new (i.e new information, clever word play). I got hooked on Aaron Burr, Sir pretty quickly; and yes, I totally asked my friend if we could reenact it. My Shot is a classic Hamilton that will be important throughout the entire musical. More of my favorites include: Wait For It; That Would Be Enough; Take A Break; Say No To This; The Room Where It Happens; We Know; and Burn.
Notable mentions include: Stay Alive (Reprise); It's Quiet Uptown; Your Obedient Servant; Best of Wives and Best of Women; The World Was Wide Enough; and Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story. The power in these last six songs of the musical had me in a wide range of emotions. They were intense and extremely heart breaking. At the end, after everything that went down, I even felt bad for how sour Aaron Burr's life was. As for Alexander Hamilton - although his life was ephemeral, his legacy will live on forever; and the cast of 'Hamilton' have done a job well done in portraying that.
I highly recommend listening to the entire soundtrack, so do not throw away your shot (I genuinely hope someone laughed at this word play).
