Hamilton: The Revolution.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter.

A preface: this book is about the making of Hamilton and follows the project from conception to opening night on Broadway.

Okay, look. Hamilton is brilliant, that was never the issue. Although I will admit that the first time I heard about a hip-hop musical it didn't particularly capture my attention. Soon the overwhelming support and awe people had for it overtook any reservations I might have had. But here's the thing, I still never listened to it. I knew nothing about it. I knew nothing about Alexander Hamilton. And I started to purposely keep it that way. If I was going to experience Hamilton, I wanted to experience it the whole way. I wanted to see it in all it's glory. Not try to pull and pry it out of cast recordings and youtube videos. 

A story: many years ago I had a musical theatre friend who introduced me to Wicked. It was amazing. I loved it. I spent months if not years listening to the music and watching cast interviews and performances. I spent so much time consuming the soundtrack that by the time I actually saw the play years later, it was almost boring. There was nothing to surprise me anymore. I knew every word to every song and the story was old news. 

I knew Hamilton was going to be good and I wanted to be able to experience it the first time in its fullness. Of course, listening to this book kind of wrecked any possibility of that happening. I quickly inferred most of the major plot points from listening to the stories about casting, writing, producing, and developing the story. Of course it was a natural progression that I would then begin listening to the soundtrack (up to this point I honestly only knew one song - Dear Theodosia - from the entire thing). And then of course it was a natural progression that I would listen to the soundtrack again. And again. Of course it is brilliant, I knew it would be. But I wanted to be able to hear it the first time while I was watching. Not this trying to recognize voices (the only voice I could recognize at first was Lin's) and guess who is who while also trying to actually hear what they are saying. It just feels like such a poor way to experience it for the first time. 

So while this book was great. And the soundtrack is great. I am finding myself disappointed to have listened to it. I feel like I have robbed myself of a much greater experience I had saved for so long. Now it is gone and I will never get it back.

But here's the thing. As much as this is my fault for pushing play on the audiobook (honestly, I think the biggest reason I did is because I didn't really know what the book would be and there was a hella long waiting list and I finally got it and it seemed like a waste not to listen to it) I would also like to put a bit of the blame on to the exclusive nature of theatre. Look, I get it. That is a part of what theatre is at its core. Its about being there in the room when the production is happening, it is about how no two nights are the same. It is, by nature, exclusive. I respect that. But at the same time I am frustrated by it. 

I respect some of the ways that they tried to make Hamilton more accessible. From programs that allowed school kids to see the show to lotteries for tickets. That is great. But if you do not live in NYC these are not a great help. So then you have to be rich. Because not only do you have to pay high prices for tickets, you have to get yourself to New York City. If you cannot do that, your only other option is to wait. Wait for the show to finally tour. But wait, you don't live in another major US city? Well then you get to wait longer. Wait until the play becomes accessible to other companies and productions. That is years. Wait until some local theatre company picks it up?

I know from listening to this book, many of the parts were altered and sometimes even re-written to perfectly fit the original cast members. What about that? So then, if you are not a lucky New Yorker or a very rich person with the ability to travel and drop money on tickets, your chances of seeing this 'Hamilton as it was meant to be' are nil. It is simply not possible. This seems unfair. 

I'm not trying to say that Broadway should change, I know it probably won't. But I am saying that maybe there could be a way to provide more access to a show. I would pay admission to a theatre to watch a live stream of the show. Or some sort of recording of a show. It wouldn't be the same as watching it live. Not by any means. But it would be access. And I don't think it would take away anything from the show itself. Like how having a copy of a cd or hearing a live recording of a song wouldn't ever stop you from going to a concert. But if you could never get to a concert, a live video would at least be something. And I know, I know, there is the cast recording, which is like a cd. But it is different. With a play, the audio is only half of what is going on. Maybe even less than half. And Hamilton is so fast that it is nearly impossible to pick out characters and voices without the visual cues. I just want the ability to experience it, even if it is not perfect. I just want to be able to feel included. To share an experience that so many people are enjoying and raving about. I'm not trying to suggest theatre needs to change to suit my needs. But it would be nice if it would. Maybe I just need to get rich.

Anyways. This book was great. Hamilton is great. And I am glad to have finally heard it. But I am also fundamentally disappointed that I have destroyed my ability to see it for the first time the way I wanted to. Even though I may never have ever actually had the opportunity to do so. So much time wasted. If I was going to just do it this way I might as well have listened to it years ago when it first came out. And all of this is also to say, if you would like to take me to New York to watch Hamilton, please let me know. The sooner the better. Please, take me soon before I listen to it too much and all the magic is gone. 

(Should I also mention that I finished the book today at work, then listen to the soundtrack three times, then got super disappointed, then got home from work at one am, and instead of going to bed sat down and wrote this whole post in a fury trying to get all my thoughts out. I wouldn't let myself go to sleep because I had write it NOW. You know, writing like I'm running out of time.)