This Grandma is very lucky that her best friend from high school lives in Manhattan. She knows our love of theater and lets us in on the newest and the best plays and musicals when the buzz is new in New York City. When we get an email from her about a new musical or play, we rush to get tickets for our next visit to the northeast to see the grandchildren. Her email about the new play then at Lincoln Center was that tickets were already impossible and everyone, by word of mouth, was saying this is the play of the century. The “boy genius” behind the award winning musical, “Into the Heights,” wrote a hip-hop new genre musical about Alexander Hamilton, called “Hamilton.”
We could not gets tickets. It was sold out at Lincoln Center. Unless one was willing to pay thousands of dollars, it was impossible to see this play. Word of mouth become a firestorm. Then, the articles started coming. Every movie star and celebrity was at Hamilton. Lead articles in the Sunday New York Times Arts Section weeks in a row was unheard of by this Grandma! Some were about the play, now publicly being called the play of the century. Some were about Lin-Manuel Miranda, now being called the artist of the century. He has already won prizes and awards for Hamilton. And he is the lead in the play, as well as having written the book and the music.
We wanted to see the Musical, “Hamilton.” Now I was watching on a daily basis. The musical was moving to Broadway and, of course, to sell news, media was saying there was a concern it would not transfer well. Were they kidding! The play of the century should be able to be performed anywhere. I thought this negativity might mean we could get tickets! Yes, we did.
We flew to New York especially to see this musical, after having read everything about it, watching YouTube videos, and securing coveted tickets, not the best seats even the moment they went on sale at Ticketmaster, but not the worst. The anticipation and expectation and excitement made Grandpa and me wonder if we would be disappointed.
OH, MY, GOD! I found myself at the edge of my seat the entire performance. The standing ovation did not end and none of us in the audience wanted to end cheering for Hamilton. All of the accolades and awards are well deserved. The play is breathtaking and breakthrough. American history comes alive through hip-hop, would you believe! It will make a hip-hop music lover of even the most reluctant Boomer grandma.
Run, do not walk, to see Hamilton with your preteen and older grandchildren.
Grandpa and I were each introduced to theatre when we each were not yet into double digits. One of Grandpa’s grandparents’ friends who lived in Grandpa’s apartment building worked in Broadway theatre as an electrician and took him to musicals and plays he watched from the wings and rafters of the theatre as his neighbor worked. My Aunt Fay introduced my brother and me to Broadway, and to this day, I think of her as my Auntie Mame, who introduced me to the world outside my sheltered existence. Our life-long love of theatre connects Grandpa and me, and we will journey anywhere for great theatre. We passed that love onto our children, taking them on a Broadway theatre holiday trip for many years seeing as many plays and musicals and performances as we could in one week in New York City. Our youngest daughter became a “Les Miz” addict and I think she is up to having seen it thirteen times. My only failure in selection was “The Nutcracker” ballet, where
Grandpa and our daughters slept through the entire brilliant performance, in only my opinion. We took them to London to blitz British theatre where KiKi Dee, who we had never heard of prior, blew us away in the musical, “Blood Brothers.” We have tried to carry on this tradition of love of theatre with our grandchildren, and have been helped by their parents who have continued this family tradition, and their other grandparents who have shown also a love of theatre. This past summer the parents of our older grandchildren took them to London where they saw the British hit musical, “Bend It Like Beckham.” They all loved it. I know our future generations of great grandchildren and beyond will run to Broadway, as we all do.
Walking out of Hamilton, I called the mother of our oldest grandson, now twelve, and said she must take him as soon as a new block of tickets becomes available. She has seen the play and is concerned about some of its racy content. My response was, in this era of mass media, there is nothing that will negatively impact him, in my opinion. I hope she exposes him to this amazing theatre and, if not, Grandpa and I will just have to go again. I might get up to thirteen times!
Now I must tell her that educational experts agree with this Grandma. In The New York Times, October 27, 2015, the author, Michael Paulson, in “Students Will Get Tickets to Hamilton, With It Hip-Hop-Infused History,” says:
“The hit musical “Hamilton” has excited critics and audiences with its hip-hop exploration of America’s revolutionary era. Now educators and philanthropists are hoping it will excite high school students as well. The Rockefeller Foundation and the producers have agreed to finance a program to bring 20,000 New York City 11th graders, all from schools with high percentages of students from low-income families, to see “Hamilton” at a series of matinees beginning next spring and running through 2017. The lead producer, Jeffrey Seller, said he was planning to continue the program after that time in New York City and then on the road once the show – a bio-musical about Alexander Hamilton with Hispanic and black actors playing the founding fathers – begins its expected touring life.”
Yes, I knew it! Here is more of the article:
“Here’s a story that talks about American history and the ideals of American democracy, and it features an immigrant who is impoverished initially and shows through perseverance and grit what he can achieve, in a vernacular that speaks to young people, written by a product of New York public education,” Ms. Rodin said. “Could there possibly be a better combination in terms of speaking to students?”
“Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of “Hamilton,” said that he was frequently asked at the stage door how the show, which is both costly to attend and often sold out, could be made more accessible to young people, and he said finding a way to do that has been a priority for him. Mr. Miranda, 35, is a graduate of the Hunter College elementary and high schools for gifted students in New York City. “If we can excite curiosity in students, there’s no telling what can happen next,” he said. “Not to say we’re going to make 1,300 history majors or 1,300 musical theater writers every time we do the show, but hopefully they will take away how much Hamilton did with his life in the time that he had.”
And, what about the concerns of the mother of my preteen grandson?
“The musical’s language and content will not be toned down or altered for a student audience, Mr. Seller [the lead producer] said. The lyrics for “Hamilton” include a few instances of profanity, and the plot includes an extramarital affair, two deaths by dueling, and, of course, violent resistance to a repressive government authority (Britain). Educators love the show because it is also a passionate civics lesson and a de facto love letter to the American experiment, with rap battles over federalism and foreign policy and a paean to democracy sung by an actor portraying George Washington.”
“It’s extremely appropriate – you’re not fighting a revolution and saying `please’ and `thank you’ to everyone,” said Carmen Fariña, the New York City schools chancellor and a history buff who read “Alexander Hamilton,” the biography by Ron Chernow that inspired the musical, before she went to see it to assess whether it might work for students.”
Run, do not walk, and take whatever journey is necessary to get to Hamilton. Note that, as of the time of this post, Lin-Manuel Miranda does not play in the Sunday matinee, so if you want to see him perform the lead, inquire before you purchase tickets. President Obama missed him, so Hamilton is considered superb either way.
Now I just have to work on the mother of my grandson.
Joy,
Mema
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