To watch or not to watch Hamilton
Hamilton is coming to town. Would you believe that the blockbuster musical’s tickets on Broadway were selling for almost a thousand dollars each! The much-awarded (11 Tonys plus some Oliviers, a Pulitzer, some Drama Desks and others) and definitely much-acclaimed musical will start playing at The Theatre in Solaire on Sept. 17 up to Nov. 26.
Watching this one takes some preparation and we only have about a month to go before the show. Hamilton is not like the musicals we usually get from Broadway or the West End. Set in a troubled 18th-century US of A, it is a sang-and-rapped-through musical with a lot of hip-hop, some pop and soul and some show tunes.
Do not expect to leave the theater singing something like Climb Every Mountain or marveling at the effects. There is no helicopter or underground river on stage. What you will get is rapid-fire rap about America’s early years by men hip-hoppin’ in long boots and tight breeches as the Founding Fathers.
So, to better enjoy Hamilton, everybody should brush up on American history, particularly that time of the revolution against England. Listen also to a lot of rap tunes. Maybe Eminem or Jay-Z, their style is close to the sounds of Hamilton. Better yet watch the film of the Broadway show which is available on the Disney channel.
I am lucky to be pretty much covered in that area. I have Disney. I like Eminem and Jay-Z. I was also fortunate to have had a teacher who was obsessed with American history. As a result, I got infected and ended high school more fascinated with Alexander Hamilton than I would ever be with Andres Bonifacio. Besides, I later read and enjoyed Burr very much.
Burr is a historical novel written by Gore Vidal, about Aaron Burr, the third vice-president of the US of A. Although known as a Founding Father, he is not talked about as much as George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. I do not think that his visage also made it to a dollar bill of some denomination. What he is best known for is that he killed Hamilton in a duel.
Alexander Hamilton was born in the island of Nevis in the West Indies to parents who were not legally married. Because of this, he was denied a conventional education. Although largely self-taught, the teen-aged Hamilton so impressed community leaders with his writing and leadership qualities that they decided to send him to study in New York. From there he rose to become a lawyer, soldier, statesman, secretary of the US treasury, adviser to Washington and a Founding Father.
An incisive biography titled Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow chronicled his incredible life. The writer and musician Lin-Manuel Miranda found this so impressive he decided to create Hamilton. He wrote the book and lyrics and composed the music of the entire show aside from performing as Hamilton in the original production. In a brilliant move, he put together a mixed-race cast as a nod to Hamilton being an immigrant. Miranda is himself from Puerto Rico.
Based on all that we have seen and heard, Hamilton promises superb entertainment. It is one of those must-sees if you love musical theater. But then I think, I live in far-off Quezon City so getting to Solaire means at least three hours back and forth on the road on a good day. No rain. No heavy traffic. Add in an hour for a meal. Then three hours for the show and that will be seven hours of my busy life spent on Hamilton.
The temptation to skip the show is strong given the fact that I had also been having a hard time buying tickets. I need 10 tickets but the online seller only gives me four, probably thinking I am some scalper doing resales and not somebody with a big family.
But then there came the news. Rachelle Ann Go will be coming home to play the role of Hamilton’s wife Elizabeth Schuyler. I am very curious to know how she bested all those actresses in London to star in the original West End production and I want to hear her sing Burn live. Check out her rendition on YouTube. She sounds fantastic.
So maybe…
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