On February 1st, US History students attended Hamilton, a Broadway performance, and were able to experience the lights, songs, and immersive theatrics of it all. Hamilton, a musical following the life of founding father, Alexander Hamilton, focuses mostly on the time period surrounding the American Revolution. Despite the questionable historical accuracy, the show cites several historical documents, many written by or contributed to by Hamilton himself. Some of these documents were made familiar to students in US history, building context and a connection between learning and the arts.
Some students who attended the event share their experience below:
Alexander Diaz
As a part of the Gilder Lehrman Foundation, WHSAD Juniors were able to experience the Broadway musical of “Hamilton”. The musical is about Alexander Hamilton, from his immigrant origins to Washington’s 2nd hand man. It’s a historic coming of age story with many historical references to its time period, such as the “French Revolution” and “Washington’s Farewell Speech.”
My favorite part of the musical is when the lighting would change whenever a certain feeling or event was portrayed. When Hamilton sings about his hometown and parents being taken away by a hurricane, the light turns blue and gives the illusion that the stage is being flooded. A lot of music genres are fused into the play, and the songs were composed with such love and care.
The last scene where Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton duel is very elaborate, a fist is used to symbolize an oncoming bullet. The bullet seemingly stops and Hamilton reflects on his life/his loved ones/ and his regrets.
It’s quite an experience that needs to be seen in person, and I’d definitely recommend it if you have the time and interest in plays!
Abraham Galindo
As a part of the Gilder Lehrman Foundation, WHSAD Juniors were able to experience the Broadway Musical of “Hamilton”. The musical is about Alexander Hamilton from his immigrant origins to Washington’s 2nd hand man. It’s a historic story during the founding era of the United States of America.
My favorite part of the show were dual moments. The moments building up like the music playing and the choreography. The more funny part was the fact that Buddy Angel was referencing how the family is 1-2 in duals. My second favorite moment of the musical however was the little scenes where the king of Great Britain was talking. Those scenes were great fillers and let the audience know the challenges Alexander Hamilton faced.
The last scene was so heartfelt and so emotional that tears started coming out from the audience. That last scene made you feel you were a part of the moment when Alexander died. That moment right there was why I enjoyed the show .
I recommend anyone else that knows or knows the story about Alexander to watch the play in person . I hope your experience is great as it was for me. I enjoyed it to the fullest and would be happy to watch the shows again and again.
Before the trip, students attending were required to submit a creative piece relating to the time period of Hamilton. Examples of what these pieces could be are poems, skits or drawings.
Below are some of these student pieces:
Eliza written by Britney Carryl
Second daughter of a wealthy man
She married someone
She could stand
Hamilton, Hamilton
Was her love
For he wrote to her
Though he was unworthy of
After a couple months
Of talking
Back to back
They got married to each other
No turning back
Was his love for her
Entirely true
Or was it influenced by money too?
Marrying a Schuyler
Would give him status
Something he needed
So desperately
He figured it out so,
quickly
When he had wronged her
By sleeping with another
Elizabeth couldn’t find a way
to turn and walk away
She stayed beside him
Loved him so
No matter what he did
She and him were one
Losing a child
And losing a lover
One of the hardest things
A person can face
Both her losses were the same
As they both died from
Having no shame
Though they suffered a lot together
Elizebeth saved his name
Without her, would anyone even care?
Being a widow
She lived for some time
Where she wanted to make impacts
With using funds
Formed the first private establishment for orphans
She did this to honor her husband
Today we regard him as a well known figure
And as the man who didn’t pull the trigger
Harbor Depths written by Alexander Diaz, Angel Diaz, Jared Birks
As the day melted, tea had been splashing threw the Boston Harbor
One by one, they had been soaking in water and slowly
but surely they would soon drown.
Along with the British sorrows, as just like tea, their economy would have sank.
Although chaos had been spread amongst those participating in the protest,
There was a noticeable amount of respect and pride passing around
One by one, they had loaded onto the boat
Dressed as the locals that has settled here before us
One by one they grabbed boxes and had thrown them onto the harbor
Making splashes, in almost holy and glorifying way
Quite a tragedy it was
Seeing necessities like these brought a solemn tear to my eye
But it had to happen
Tea was simply to needed to be taxed
I collected myself
Tears ran one by one as I exited my domicile into the chaos that was settled
The night sky had settled
But my fellow colonists had continued to discard the tea
Each one of them were dedicated to the matter
Artist Statement:
My group’s vision from the original outline was to describe the story as if a colonist had been witnessing it first hand. The poem now, to me, visualizes certain aspects of the documents we used. A little bit of everything was used, thanks to the organizer that we were able to come up with. The original title was going to be “Poetic Justice”, but after writing the actual poem, the name simply didn’t match.
